Until September of 2011, I was a relatively happy customer of Yahoo Mail. I paid $20 a year for their “premium” service, not knowing that part of their “premium” benefits included giving out my contacts information to spammers.

On September 16 last year, I opened my Yahoo email to find a bunch of weird bounce messages from people in my contacts list – it looked like spam had been sent through my email address. Panicky, I started by doing a complete scan of the computer which came up clean. I then started looking at the emails – one of which was sent to my other Yahoo account so I could inspect the actual mail. It did appear to have actually been sent from my account, and not a “spoof” account.

In a real panic at this point, I quickly changed my Yahoo password, then tried to email Yahoo to tell them about the problem. I received this canned response:

“Some users have reported that their contacts received spam that originated from their Yahoo! Mail account.

If you’ve experienced this issue, we strongly believe your account has been compromised and was used by an unauthorized third party to send spam or fraudulent emails to your contact list.

The best way to assure that this does not happen in the future is to change your password. By changing your password, you minimize the resulting risk for your Yahoo! account. For help selecting a strong password, please review the tips posted in the password section of the Yahoo! Security Center.”

I replied that I had already changed my password (I do so every 3 months anyway), but that no one had accessed my account, there was no way that anyone could have gotten my password, and that I believed they had some sort of security breach. I received no reply for a week. I sent another request for further information, and again received no reply.

During this time I received emails from a few friends who had exactly the SAME THING happen to them with Yahoo. Talking about it on Facebook and different online forums garnered even more responses from people who had the same issue! At this point I am certain I was not hacked, but that Yahoo has a massive security issue that they are simply ignoring or covering up.

Finally two weeks later on September 27, I received this reply:

“We are very sorry for the significant delay in responding to your message. We are currently receiving an unusually large number of emails and have mobilized additional resources to get them answered. We are committed to providing you with the quickest and most accurate answers to your questions.”

During this time I switched everything over to Gmail, copied my contacts, then completely deleted my contacts list from Yahoo, and canceled my Premium service.

On October 1, another batch of spam was sent to my contacts – this is AFTER I had changed my password and deleted all my contacts from my yahoo account. I again changed my password and also backed up my saved emails to a different computer, then deleted every stinkin’ thing from my online Yahoo account.

On October 4 I received another copy of the same “We are very sorry for the significant delay in responding to your message.” I have replied to each one of these and have never actually received any kind of response whatsoever, other than these canned messages.

Just last week, another batch of spam was sent to my contacts list from my Yahoo account. The same one that has had multiple password changes and absolutely NO WAY of anyone but Yahoo accessing the account.

So, after reporting this last batch of spam, I’ll bet you can guess what their response was?  “We are very sorry for the significant delay in responding to your message. We are currently receiving an unusually large number of emails…”

I wish there was some way to make the general public aware of this problem, and to force Yahoo to own up to it, figure out the cause, and FIX it. If anyone has a good idea on how to make that happen, I’m open for suggestions! And if you’ve had the same thing occur to your Yahoo account, please say so in the Comments!

 

 

Fern Blohn, Grant Iowa, 1920′s

My Grandma Fern had a friend “from Home” (meaning Grant Iowa) who she had a sort of Christmas Present Armageddon with every year. She’d receive a huge box with dozens of wrapped presents, and she’d send off something similar. Most of the things were just tiny knick-knacks – even freebies. The lady’s husband owned a Chrysler dealership, so things like promo pens and calendars were included. I’m sure my Grandma did the same with trinkets from Montgomery Wards where she worked.

Anyway, I can remember helping her open all those individually wrapped presents and being just amazed at the variety of stuff, from a nylon slip to a coffee cup exhorting us to “See the USA in your Chevrolet” to a stationery set with some sickly-sweet painting of puppies or flowers on the cover.

Even to a kid who LOVED to get presents, this seemed just a tiny bit over the top. As an adult I know now it’s a story of two people who were proving to each other every Christmas that the Depression was over, their sharecropper times were done, and they had riches beyond measure, enough to share.

After years of exploring this state by motorcycle, car, camper, and on foot, its variety and beauty still amaze me. Uncage the Soul Productions has made a gorgeous video showing some of the timeless glory of the State that “flies with her own wings”.

“Finding Oregon is the compilation of six months of timelapse photography across the state of Oregon, punctuated by a 1600 mile road trip in September. We’ve filmed the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, the Southwestern Coast, the Alvord Desert, Leslie Gulch, Blue Mountains, Crater Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Deschutes River, and more. We’re proud to have touched all four corners of the state; however Oregon is the kind of place that the more you see, the more places there are to still discover”

Finding Oregon from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.

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Crater Lake is only a few hours from home. It is a National Park. It is one of the top rated places to visit in Oregon. We haven’t been there in over 20 years. Pathetic, aren’t we?

I’d always wanted to fit it into our itinerary, but hated to deal with the summer crowds, then again there’s riding. If it’s warm enough to hike around Crater Lake, then its warm enough to ride – enuf said! So, it takes a broken wrist and some time off the bikes to finally get around to a visit, and all I can say is, why did we wait so long???

Driving that lonely, impossibly straight road early in the morning, we arrived in the park just as the sun was coming over the rim. We stopped first at the parking area for Watchman Peak, a 2-mile round trip hike that takes you to the old lookout tower on the West rim. The first part of the trail is actually the original park road, it’s interesting to see how skinny and treacherous this road was in places, and a few of the original mileposts are still in place if you know where to look.

The view from the top is spectacular! Early in the quiet morning, everything is dark in the shadows, with deep blue sky and water, and sunshine to dazzle the eyes. We had the whole place to ourselves, never met another hiker the entire time.

View from Watchman

See, it's a sign about Fire Watch, and look, there's fires...to watch...

Vintage binoculars in the lookout tower

That's our car down there.

After coming back down, we hopped in the car and headed around to the lodge, which has been recently restored. I have a love/hate thing with how the government “restores” these old lodges. In some ways, I’m just happy their still around, and that they’ve added fire protection and other updates that hopefully will keep them here for years to come. In other ways though, I’m frustrated by how radically they change things – from new windows to elevators and air conditioning, the old feel of the place has been washed away.

Crater Lake Lodge

That’s not to say I don’t think the lodge is beautiful, the location and design are gorgeous, and I’d stay here in an instant if I could justify the cost.

As we were wandering through the hallways, we crossed paths with one of the workers who asked if he could help us find anything, we said we were just snooping around, he happily told us about the lodge, the renovation, then gave us a special treat – opening up one of the most popular rooms so we could see the bathtub with a view of the lake!

A view of Crater Lake from your bathtub, how cool is that?

After a quick cup of coffee at the little shop next to the lodge, we headed towards our major hike of the day, Mt. Scott, a 5 mile round-trip hike that has an elevation gain of 1,500 feet. The view at the top gives you a great panorama of the lake and the surrounding valley, and is also the highest point in the park.

Look, a sign.

I’d definitely recommend doing this one as early in the day as possible for two reasons, one, it’ll be less crowded and dusty, and two because you’ll have a clearer view. We caught it just as the sky was beginning to get hazy, by the time we started hiking back down, smoke from some small forest fires had started to fill in the valley below, turning an impressive view into something less awe inspiring.

View from the top of Mt. Scott

Even though this was only a 5-mile hike, I can see why they rate it as strenuous, it is a constant uphill pull all the way to the top, and then constant downhill on the way back down. Usually on hikes like this you’ll have some flat sections or up-and-down areas, but this one is just one uninterrupted pull. Whether you’re headed up or down, it’s tiring and tough on your joints. Still, it’s worth every ache!

Uphill slogging.

Tired feet rest at the top

Pain with a view.

After gratefully arriving back at the car, it was on towards Medford, with a quick stop at Natural Bridge of the Rogue. This is a geological oddity that really has to be seen to be believed. The entire Rogue river is flowing along naturally, when it suddenly just disappears underground, re-appearing in a thundering rush a few hundred yards beyond.

Water disappearing under Natural Bridge

Although Mike was unimpressed, I thought it was very cool, and it’s worth stopping and hiking the short and easy trail to take a look.

Medford Super 8 tonight, Ashland tomorrow!

I admit, I was a little concerned about taking Mike to Ashland, I mean, it’s a theatrical town and Mike is decidedly NOT theatrical. I figured it was useless to try and get him to see a play, so we’d just be exploring the area and of course checking out their Antique Stores. I’d have a good chance of Mike liking Ashland if they had a good selection of cool antique stores. Heck, if he found some cool vintage motorcycle toys for cheap, he’d practically be ready to move there!

We got into town very early, so spent a few hours just cruising around the neighborhoods above the city.

Plenty of neat old craftsman-style homes here have been updated and are now pretty darned fancy. I love that even though quite a bit of money has been thrown at these restorations, there’s still some artistic flair and whimsy showing that you wouldn’t find elsewhere.

Driving through a neighborhood, I saw one of those cheesy cement deer statues in someone’s front yard and thought it really clashed with the other landscaping – until it moved.

Live statuary

Nice rack on that fellow, and he’s definitely not missing any meals.

Next we drove through a development area that had roads and sidewalks constructed, but not much else. We were enjoying the view of the opposite hillside when I noticed a cat walking down the road in front of us. He turned around and gave us a look, and I realized “that is not a cat”. Actually, it was, just not a domesticated version.

Bobcat gives us his best cool, calculating stare.

Not often that you catch a bobcat in a residential area – and this guy was huge. He was completely unconcerned about the car, just kept slowly walking up the road and occasionally turning around to size us up. He finally walked into the treeline and was gone. I love unexpected sightings like this. It reminds me of how nature is just living its life right next to us, and I’m usually just too preoccupied or ignorant to notice.

After exhausting most of the back roads, we traveled in to town where I had Mike sample the Lithia water. He was not impressed. Fortunately, he WAS impressed with the town.

Ashland Springs Hotel - built in 1925, and originally named the Lithia Springs, I remember it as the Tudor-Styled Mark Anthony.

One of the B&B's downtown

The outdoor Elizabethan Stage - changed with added balconies since I'd visited last in the 1980's

Mike wasn't impressed until he saw all the plaques and realized they'd been putting on plays here since 1935.

As You Like It Antiques apparently means "as the owner likes it", since they never did open.

Amazing, gorgeous, and a little strange - only in Ashland would you see a multi-million-dollar home restoration with a theme of dragons and sunflowers.

Dilapidated down by the railroad tracks. At what point do you decide the shrubs win, and just stick a fence across the front stairs?

Hey look, they do have homes under $100k in Ashland!

As the sun sets on Ashland, we bid farewell to Chautauqua-inspired artistry, and head down the road to K-Falls

We had a great time exploring Ashland, Mike really loved it here. Hey, maybe next time I can actually get him to see a play!

After spending the night at the moderately sketchy America’s Best Value Inn near the north end of town, we got up for another early start. First we headed up into the hills, winding past an old grade school and up a decrepit asphalt single-lane road that terminated at the abandoned radio station. The view from here showed the entire valley, and gives me a better idea of why I can never really get a handle on Klamath Falls, the place looks like it’s made up of patches of different towns, sewn together by multiple connector roads and forced to work at different angles because of lakes and other waterways.

We kept on going up this road, which turns to gravel and eventually turns into a private drive to a big, expensive new home nestled in a small valley. On the way back down the hill we noticed some sort of building at the top of a rise with a little-used two-track branching off from the road we’re on. We parked the car and walked up to a small bluff to a burned out hulk of someone’s little slice of personal craziness. It looks as if someone decided this would be a great place to build a home, so they did. To heck with the fact that they didn’t have permits, property ownership, or building skills. Walls of various types of brick and stone are slapped together, not in a bond pattern, just stacked vertically with a piece of re-bar stuck in the middle. Old wood mingles with new in a burned out mess, you can just feel the insanity oozing from the place.

Wandering back down towards town, we had a great time looking for old houses. Klamath Falls definitely is a town that’s tried many times, and failed almost as often. There is beauty here, and good weather, lakes to fish and float, they have industry and a decent retail district, I just really don’t know why Bend got bigger.

Although some older homes have been restored, most are simply being lived in. Mike said it well, “it’s like the original owners moved in, grew older and their homes grew old with them, became decrepit, and the shell of the house is still standing, sort of reflecting the life of the owner.”

There’s one Victorian beauty on the once-tony Riverside drive that is nearly abandoned. The owner of Little House Antiques said the Goeller Mansion has a reputation for bringing unhappiness to the owners . This site has some interior views taken a few years ago, peeking through the windows, it appears most of what you see in the photos is still there. For a history of the home and its owners, I’ve compiled some information here.

Goeller House

Goeller Carriage House

Beautiful woodwork and original stained glass live precariously in their abandoned state

Next to the Goeller Mansion is what seems to have been called the Baldwin House, and is now housing the Klamath Crisis Center.

Baldwin Home

This whimsical turreted wonder still has a neat frontage, but construction of two rear towers (probably housing an elevator) really messes with its original roofline. The current use of the house is extremely appropriate, given a famous former owner, Maude Baldwin, drowned herself out of desperation and depression. I have a bit more information on the home here.

Maud Baldwin

Massive brick house with original attached greenhouse

Continuing on through the rest of the town, we enjoyed another hour of gawking and making the locals nervous as we stopped and clicked away at old places.

Our first antique store stop was at the quaint and beautiful Little House Antiques, an old brick house right across the road from the lake, the owner Joan Maricle is a very neat lady and her large collection of furniture and other bits are definitely worth the trip.

We also discovered what I believe to be the world’s ugliest BMW

Check out that bitchen' seat.

Speaking of Beemers, our next stop was Airhead Motors and a nice chat with Howard Jones who’s dad was one of the founders of the uber-awesome Collier Museum.

Down the road from moto-goodness is one of the coolest antique stores I’ve seen in a long time. Housed in (and spilling out of) a vintage heavy machinery repair shop, the Antique Warehouse is a guy-friendly place that on initial inspection seems to be a massive jumble but on closer view shows some very savvy categorization. I definitely recommend spending some time here.

A veritable plethora of vintage trinkets

At top left, barbed wire and bits, bottom left ladies clothing, bottom center lampshades, top center wooden boxes, to the right you'll find books mopeds etc. etc...

Looking for union suits in their original box?

Or maybe your own personal fan club?

Or how about an instant beer can collection (with Ebay potential!)?

Cameras to document everything.

A few tools to choose from.

Player piano rolls to keep you entertained.

And some padlocks to keep it all safe.

Like I said, this place has everything.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we left Antique Warehouse only $5 lighter in the wallet, and Mike carrying a very rusty British bike tank.

The rest of the antique stores in town are of the more fluffy “artique and collectible” variety. Although cute and worthy if you like tea towels and scented candles, finding motorcycle memorabilia in these spots would be nearly as tough as finding it at your local WalMart.

Closing in on evening, we decided it was time to head towards home. And crazy thing is, we still need to come back here and visit their great selection of museums sometime. Seems like no matter how much time we take exploring a place, we still need more.

Maud Baldwin

‘You will find me in the lake’   By By BILL MILLER  for the Mail Tribune

February 13, 2011

They found her exactly where she said she would be, floating face down under the Link River Bridge.

Never married, 47 years old and daughter of an Oregon state senator, Maud Evangeline Baldwin had finally given up.

Born in summer 1878, “Vinnie,” as her family called her, was her father’s princess, the only girl in a family of five. He lavished his attention on her and made sure she had everything she needed or desired.

Wallace Baldwin, her uncle, was said to be the first non-Indian to settle in Klamath County, arriving in 1852.

Four years later, Wallace moved to Jackson County, settling with his sister Harriet on a homestead near Talent.

His letters home to Missouri made Southern Oregon seem so exciting they enticed his younger half-brother, George, Maud’s father, to come west in 1872.

Only 16 years old, George took a room in Ashland and began studying tinsmithing at the Academy, the forerunner of today’s Southern Oregon University.

He married, moved to Klamath Falls, opened a tin shop and began his climb to success by building up one of the largest retail hardware businesses in Southern Oregon.

In 1906, he built the city’s first four-story brick building, selling hardware on the lower floors and renting out rooms on the uppers.

Three years later, he moved the hardware store out, made some changes, and reopened the building as the Baldwin Hotel, the first hotel in town with running water and electricity.

The hotel and her father’s political career marked the beginning of Maud Baldwin’s downward spiral.

George Baldwin’s political success mirrored his business career. He moved from city councilor to county treasurer and county judge, and ultimately served two terms as a state senator.

Maud was expected to be there for her father, appearing at all social and political functions and helping however she could with her father’s career. It was a duty she didn’t enjoy.

There were exceptions. Maud attended Oregon State Normal School in Monmouth, beginning in 1894, and in 1905 studied at the California College of Photography in Palo Alto, Calif.

She had taken up photography as an amateur in 1898 and over the next 15 years opened a succession of studios, eventually becoming a successful professional.

Family pressures began to intrude even more in her life and, by 1915, Maud was trapped in the needs of her father’s career and stuck managing day-to-day operations at the hotel.

Tragedy piled on tragedy. The hardware store went bankrupt. She fell in love with one of the cooks in the hotel’s kitchen, but her father refused to let her marry. And then came 1920.

George Baldwin’s wife suffered a stroke that left her an invalid, needing Maud’s constant care. No sooner had Maud begun that tedious chore than her father died and she was left to run the hotel all alone.

The pressures grew to be too much. In May 1926, she gave up.

“I am going insane and cannot stand it,” she wrote. “You will find me in the lake.”

She walked a few hundred feet from the hotel into Lake Euwana and kept her promise.

Writer Bill Miller lives in Shady Cove. Reach him at newsmiller@yahoo.com.

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Klamath Crisis Center (from Simple Solutions website)

When Marta Carpenter learned that Klamath Falls was one of only five Oregon counties that did not have a shelter for abused women (and yet it ranked third highest in the number of reported domestic violence crimes) she decided to do something about it by donating a home. At the time, Marta owned the historic Baldwin house, which was built in 1900 on the banks of the Link River in downtown Klamath Falls. When she had purchased the 8,000 square-foot mansion, it was painted six different colors, was completely boarded up, and had a leaky roof. After she bought it, she replaced all the windows with energy-efficient frames and glass, installed a new roof, and completely re-sided the house. Although this exterior work was completed, the house required interior renovations estimated at $1 million to complete.

To fund the interior work, the dedicated staff of the Klamath Crisis Center turned to the community for help. The City of Klamath Falls received a $600,000 grant for the renovation project from Regional Strategies Economic Development, and local groups initiated a fund-raising campaign. Simplexity Health Business Associates themselves donated $55,000 in 1998. When the work was finished, the four-story home, which was first renamed the Harbor House, included fifteen domicile rooms, several areas for individual and group counseling, a community room, and a huge kitchen. The original terraced gardens were also rejuvenated and are now irrigated with Klamath Lake algae water for fruits and vegetables accessible to all residents.

As part of our Simple Solutions outreach program, we provide monthly financial support to the Klamath Crisis Center.

The Goeller house is a George Barber – designed house in Klamath Falls, Oregon built by John Goeller around 1905.  It is from the cottage catalog number 2, design 56

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John Fred Goeller

Birth:	Jan. 22, 1860 Tuscarawas County Ohio, USA
Death:	Apr. 14, 1935 Klamath Falls Klamath County Oregon, USA
John Fred Goeller followed his carpenter trade in Ohio and Nehama County Kansas, came west, with his wife Alice and son Harry, in 1890 and contined his trade in Santa Rosa and Alameda, California until 1891 when he purchased a half interest in the A.M. Peterman planing mill in Linkville. In 1896 he became the sole -storyowner and later erected his own two-story mill in the same locality. This he operated with his son Harry, under the name of J. Fred Goeller and Son, until his retirement in 1926. He belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge. An automobile accident in front of his home on Riverside Drive resulted in his death on April 14, 1935.

John Fred Goeller married Alice Zua Sawyer September 1, 1887 in Harden City, Finney County, Kansas. Their son Harry was born in Kansas, and three more children were born to them in Klamath Falls, Fred L. Goeller, born July 1888 in Kansas, Hazel M. (Orem) born Sept 1894 in Oregon, and Barbara F. (Sowers) born Nov. 1894 in Oregon.

The Goellers built a house at 234 Riverside, they moved into a house next door while they built the big house.

(John was the son of Johann Michael Goeller born Germany settled in Ohio in 1852. There he married Anna Barbar Wucherer on April 16, 1857. They had five sons and a daughter.)

Family links:
Spouse:
Alice Zua Sawyer Goeller (1868 – 1954)*

Children:
Harry E Goeller (1888 – 1974)*
Hazel Maude Goeller Orem (1894 – 1990)*

*Point here for explanation

Note: bur Apr 17, 1935 see: Alice Burial:
Linkville Pioneer Cemetery
Klamath Falls
Klamath County
Oregon, USA
Plot: 10-2-2 IOOFCreated by: jeanie sawyer
Record added: Jul 15, 2008
Find A Grave Memorial# 28303342

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Currently owned by Tamara Kay (Beach) (Caillouette) Taylor, who purchased the house sometime around 1995 with her then-current husband Conrad Caillouette. Their submission request for the National Historic register has quite a bit of information about the original owner, it can be viewed here.

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 Beach-Taylor

Posted: Sunday, November 25, 2001 12:00 am

Tamara Kaye Beach (formerly Caillouette) and Charles Ray Taylor exchanged wedding vows Oct. 13, 2001, at the bride’s home in the historic Goeller Mansion in Klamath Falls.

Phil Studenberg performed the double-ring ceremony. The bride was attended by Tawnie Taylor, daughter of the groom. The groom was attended by Cody Taylor, his son.

During the ceremony, the bride was accompanied down the aisle by Clint Taylor, son of the groom. Honored guests were Adelaide Brown of Ashland, the groom’s grandmother; and Leona Hawkins of Coos Bay, the bride’s grandmother.

The bride, daughter of Alice Virginia Beach of Oregon City and step-daughter of Robert Burback, is a 1978 graduate of West Linn Senior High School. She attended Clackamas Community College and Hawaii Business College. She is employed as executive administrator of Winema Inn.

The groom, son of Sandra C. Rapp of Ashland and step-son of Chester Rapp, is a 1973 graduate of Ashland High School. He attended Southern Oregon State College and Pacific University. He is employed as vice-president of business resources at Jeld-Wen.

  —————————————

December 14, 2001

Goeller Mansion open house Sunday

Charlie and Tamara Taylor will open the doors to their Victorian Goeller Mansion located at 234 Riverside for their fifth annual open house from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Cookies and cider will be served.

The house is included on the National Historic register. Fred Goeller started construction of the house in 1900. He owned a sawmill in the area that now includes Veterans Park. Construction was finished in 1905.

The Taylors started restoration in 1995, adding electricity, plumbing, heating and new roofing.

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Historic home open to visitors

Posted: Thursday, December 12, 2002 12:00 am

Visitors to the Goeller historic home open house this Sunday will enjoy holiday sweets and music and step back in time to earlier Christmases.

The public is invited to come from 5 to 9 p.m. to the cream-colored gingerbread house at 234 Riverside Drive.

Owner Tamara Taylor has decorated rooms with themes in the lovingly restored Queen Anne/Eastlake-style home, built by planing mill owner Fred Goeller between 1900 and 1905. The home is opened to the public once a year as required of houses on the National Historic Register.

In the parlor are Santas, more Santas, and the family Christmas tree. The dining room features angels sparkling in candlelight, and the library has a brigade of nutcrackers marching on a shelf around the room. Antiques donated by the Goeller family and purchased by Taylor recreate an earlier era throughout the home.

A work in progress since 1995, the restoration took some major steps this year, one of which is all new wiring. French doors now open from the dining room onto a deck. Insulation was blown into the walls, a first in the home’s lifetime, and Taylor, her husband, Charles, and his two teen sons now have a real kitchen, completed just two months ago.

Taylor is encouraging visitors to bring a donation of a can or two of food which will be given to the Klamath/Lake Counties Food Bank.

 —————————————

May 2008 - Listed for sale through John L. Scott in May 2008 for $949k, pulled from market 11/09 after reduction of price to $748k a few months prior.

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2008 House left vacant: Charles Taylor and Tamara Taylor Moved to Florida sometime in 2008. It appears the owners held an auction as there are some items still inside the house with price tags on them. Some pieces of furniture sold to Little House Antiques (they still have one table) http://littlehouseantiques.homestead.com/

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Death – 2010: Charles Ray Taylor, “Charlie,” age 54, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 12, 2010.

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Got up this morning and watched the cats watching the deer who were completely disinterested in looking at anything but food.  

Decided we were too antsy to just do what we “should be” doing, and so we grabbed the backpacks and headed south on 97 to Lava Butte. We’d driven to the top about a million years ago, but neither one of us could really remember what the heck it looked like up there, so it was definitely time for a refresher course. Sure, we could drive, but where’s the challenge in that? So we hiked up from the parking lot, and it was beautiful. Just a bit of a breeze, perfect clear skies, awesome views.

Looking across the crater towards the Three Sisters

Lava Butte Lookout

We had a vague plan to hike the lava trails, head in to Benham Falls, then maybe back to Bend and check out the Des Chutes Museum, but instead decided to head up to Paulina and hike around the lake.

First Mike drove us up to the top of the caldera for a beautiful panorama of the entire area. Even though the gravel road is quite washboarded, it’s totally worth the drive.

Looking down into Newberry crater and Paulina Lake

Miles of cinder cones as far as the eye can see

Incredibly massive lava flow has such beautiful swirls and whorls it looks like a giant Van Gogh painting.

Back down the mountain, we got parked and stuck our trusty NW Forest pass in the window and headed off down the trail.

I think we made a great choice, but I don’t recommend doing it on an empty stomach, I hadn’t packed for an all-day hike, so by the time we were halfway around the lake I was starving! Okay, it’s not like my body doesn’t have any reserves to work on, but still, I was pretty shaky. Good thing it was such an interesting hike with varied terrain and beautiful views.

Rustic depression-era Oddfellows Cabins were nearly destroyed by the Forest Service in the 1980's.

Built by volunteers from the Bend Oddfellows club in the 1930's, these will hopefully be restored and ready to rent soon.

Some views look more like a rugged coastline than lakefront.

Double crested Cormorant pair hang out looking for fish

Natural Bonsai cling to sharp and shiny black obsidian.

Looking across the water to the peak we'd been on just a few hours before.

One section raises above and behind a rockslide, for a broader vantage point.

Back at the boat dock, 7 1/2 moderately tough hiking miles later, I'm tired and really ready for some dinner!

There are some low-lying areas of the trail that were surprisingly mucky considering the lake was low and it’s been weeks since we’ve seen any rain. I can imagine this trail could be a real muddy mess early in the season.

Another issue here are the flies and in spring/early summer, the mosquitoes. Walking through the swampy sections would raise clouds of blackflies, nothing bit us, but it’s still a bit yukky and doesn’t lend itself to dawdling along the path in these sections. For this reason, I’d definitely recommend waiting until late in the season to hike this trail.

Being a weekday it was amazingly quiet and peaceful here, we only met 5 other hikers the entire time, and saw a couple of small fishing boats with trolling motors when we first arrived, then a solitary kayaker quietly paddling along the shoreline as the shadows lengthened and the winds calmed down later in the afternoon.

A very pretty hike, but next time I’m eating lunch before we head out!

Originally submitted at REI

Take your fitness training into the great outdoors with the REI Stoke 19 pack. It’ll keep you hydrated and carry your gear as you fly down trails.

REI Stoke 19 Pack

Conforms to multiple uses and body sizes

By ducatisti from Central Oregon on 8/23/2011

4out of 5

Pros: Good padding, Lightweight, Comfortable, Highly Adjustable

I’m a Camelbak user from waaaay ‘bak’, my first pack was purchased in about 1991 and used until the material started to fall apart 5 years later. We were riding dirt bikes and ATV’s at the time, and have since branched out to adventure motorcycle riding, long distance riding (cross country), and plenty of hiking – we wear hydration packs for all these activities. My most recent Camelbak was my least favorite due to fit issues.

I’m female, overweight, and big in the chest. I’m also short. Not exactly the demographic for this type of product! So, I understand that I’m not an easy fit. I tried every pack offered by Camelbak and other vendors, and just couldn’t find anything that suited my needs perfectly, until I tried this little lightweight by REI.

This pack has everything I loved about my older packs, especially the moveable sternum strap – this allows me to move the usually too-low strap up to a higher point on my chest and redistribute the load very effectively. As others have mentioned, all the straps are very long, and would accommodate someone much larger than even myself, and all the straps have great retention bands to keep things from flapping in the breeze.

In regards to bladder size, I have a 3.0L Camelbak bladder, which filled to near capacity WILL fit into the holder on this pack. It is a VERY tight fit, and requires some work to get it in there, but it does fit. I have to insert the bladder as far as it will go (about halfway), then holding the pack by the top of the shoulder straps “jog” the bag up and down to settle the bladder in completely. This does bulge the back of the pack outwards, but it isn’t uncomfortable.

The rest of the pack works very well for active use, and I love that it is smaller towards the top. The main section can fit a day’s worth of food for 2 people, my small first aid kit, my utility knife. The outer zipper section holds my wallet and gps. The two hip pockets are awesome, and can be reached “on the fly”, these hold a bottle of asprin, lip gel, asthma spray, and still have room for more. The outer fly that’s held closed by straps easily fits my rolled-up rain coat (which is a man’s XL). The two mesh side pockets are great to stash a snack and can also be reached without removing the pack.

Fully loaded, the pack is still comfortable. We hiked 7 miles Saturday, and 12 on Sunday, and the pack never chafed or felt uncomfortable in any way.

I’d really recommend this day pack to people who’ve had a hard time finding a good fit in other packs.

(legalese)