REI in Tigard is hosting a presentation by Ken Patton, experienced NW hiker, who will speak on his 23 day hike on the Oregon Coast Trail. This is a free event where Patton will show pictures of his experience as well as share his tips for planning and packing for hiking this beautiful trailway.

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John D. Carr put together a great piece on the best places to hike this fall in the Pacific Northwest. The trails he highlighted are known to showcase some of the best wildflower and tree colors the season has to offer. They also often have opportunities for animal watching. Deer and elk can be spotted in nearby meadows and smaller critters may be out foraging along the trails. Below are the trails he recommends this time of year:

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The Pacific Crest Trail started out as a simple dream of Catherine Montgomery’s back in 1962. She envisioned a trailway that ran along the crest of the western mountains from Mexico through California, Oregon and Washington to Canada. Her dream started to form into reality in 1932 when Clinton C. Clarke began getting the backing from area leaders to set aside land for the trail. That effort is part of what pushed President Johnson to enact the National Trails System Act in 1968 which established two of the greatest scenic trail efforts in the National - the Appalachian Trail system and the Pacific Crest. The governments enthusiasm for preserving the trailway and building them out for future generations is waning.

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Phyllis E. Hall hoped to hike the Pacific Crest Trial from Canada to Mexico during her lifetime. The Happy Valley, Oregon woman had completed hiking the Oregon and Washington portions of the trailway and was in the middle of working through the California portion in sections.

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Many Oregonians, and the majority of the rest of the world, don’t remember that nearly 66 years ago, a Japanese fighter pilot bombed the southern Oregon Coast near Brookings during World War II. On September 9, 1942, in the early hours of the morning, Nobuo Fujita, a Japanese pilot along with a submarine crew approached the Oregon coast aimed at starting forest fires in the U.S. that would distract the U.S. and its manpower during a critical junction in the war. Luckily, Oregon’s damp weather hampered the two bombs from doing much damage other than creating a large crater that remains there today.

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