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Welcome

Our Web site is about hunting for wildflowers along the trails of the upper Willamette basin in Western Oregon.

Oregon Map
If you're a hiker who is curious about the wildflowers that grow along the trail, then this Web site is for you. You will see pictures and descriptions of some of the most beautiful local wildflowers, along with scenic photographs, maps and descriptions of trails. Everything you see here is original and based on our own observations over a period of 17 years. Every year we kept a trail and wildflower diary, where we recorded when and where our favorite wildflowers were blooming.

We are an elderly couple who worship nature. Above all, we value peace and quiet in the forest. We now live in Eugene, Oregon. From1990 to 2007 we lived in Oakridge, in Lane County, Oregon (OR-e-g'n) in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oakridge is at a latitude of 43°45' N., a longitude of 122°28' W. and an altitude of 370 m (1200 ft.), on the western slopes of the Oregon Cascade mountains. It is near the headwaters of the Willamette (Will-AM-et) River, and is surrounded by National Forest.

A National Forest is a large area of public land managed primarily for commercial timber production, with recreation allowed, while a National Park is a smaller area set aside for its scenic value, with no timber production allowed. Some parts of a National Forest may be managed as wilderness areas, in which no vehicles or logging are allowed. A large part of western Oregon is National Forest, while there is only one National Park (Crater Lake)

The Willamette Pass (1600 m, 5200 ft.) and several wilderness areas lie just to the east of Oakridge. The area's highest mountain is Diamond Peak (2660 m, 8700 ft.).

Our maps are meant to be used with the official Visitor Map of the Willamette National Forest. The map has detailed information on roads and campgrounds in this area. You can buy a copy online from Nature of the Northwest. In addition to our own maps, we have provided links to the U.S. Geological Survey's topographic maps, available online from a commercial Web site. If you use this service, you should be aware that the maps may not show the hiking trails in their current locations.

Some information about recreation in the area is available online from the U.S. Forest Service. Call or visit the Middle Fork Ranger Station (on Highway 58 west of Oakridge) for complete information. The Middle Fork Ranger District has published a technical article on the ancient forests ('old growth') of this area. Many of the trails featured here pass through groves of old growth forest. Information on native plants of Lane County is available from the Emerald Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon. The Oregon Flora Project has an extensive online database on Oregon's native plants.

The local Chamber of Commerce provides commercial tourist information.

Oakridge in the Upper Willamette Basin

Area Map
Click on a red spot to travel around the area
(Map based on the Willamette National Forest Visitor Map)

Spirit Lake Meadow

You might like to begin your visit with our featured pages:
Wildflowers of the Oregon Cascades
Early Wildflowers of the Oregon Cascades
Mt. Yoran Trail
Larison Creek Trail

Our trail and wildflower pages with photographs are listed in the photo index.

The contents page lists every page on our Web site. It includes a summary of the trail and wildflower data.

Footnotes:

You do not need the latest fast computer to read these pages. We have designed our site with a simple layout, so that it works with any browser and looks good on any screen. We wrote it in true hypertext, so you can browse through it in any way you wish. You can safely navigate without automatic loading of images, because all the links are text-based.
This is a personal Web site, hosted by the non-profit organization Eugene Free Net. We can personally vouch for the accuracy of all the information on this Web site. You will find no flashing commercials or other distractions, just plain talk, simple graphics, and quality pictures. Out of respect for your privacy, we do not use 'cookies' or other uncivilized means of collecting information about you, without your permission.
We do not provide reciprocal links to other sites. The Web has grown so large that it is impossible to list all the sites on any given topic. Try one of the commercial searching sites.
Our photographs were taken with a digital camera. The images you see were prepared on a Macintosh computer with a digital LCD monitor. The Macintosh system automatically applies 'gamma correction' to compensate for the non-linearity error of older CRT monitors, as well as color correction to ensure that whites appear truly white. If you don't have gamma correction, the images will look too dark and have too much contrast. Without the proper color correction, the images will have a cold blue cast. The white backgrounds of the maps on this page should match a sheet of white paper held up to the screen in daylight.
We're not hikers in the traditional sense: we use the trails as a way to get out and explore nature. We're followers of John Muir, who is reported to have said "People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike!". It upsets us to meet speeding mountain bikers, and to see the permanent damage that is caused by riding on trails when they are wet and soft.
We believe in leaving wildflowers for others to enjoy. We're well aware that picking a flower can destroy the plant's ability to flower for many years. We never cut wildflowers and take them home to photograph them. Our photographs were all taken on location. To identify a plant, we use a digital camera in macro closeup mode and study the images when we get home. We do not take samples for planting in our garden. Instead, we buy native plants from reputable nurseries who grew them from seed.
The fact that a trail is described on this Web site is not a representation that it will be safe for you to travel on. You are welcome to use the information that we provide, but you travel at your own risk.
Since these pages are distributed on the 'World Wide Web', all measurements are given in metric units, the only system that most of the world understands. Approximate equivalents in U.S. units are given in parentheses.
For the same reason, we identify plants by their botanical names, which are universal. We have included some of the names that they are commonly known by in Oregon guidebooks.
The address of this home page is http://www.efn.org/~k_mccree/index.html. The easiest way to find our Web site is to search for us by author or title.
We moved out of the area in 2007, so we're no longer able to check the accuracy of the information on our Web site. We hope you still find it useful.