Appeal Tribune
| WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2020 | 1B
OUTDOORS
7 best hikes in Oregon's
overlooked Old Cascades
Zach Urness hikes along Gate Creek Trail on Browder Ridge in the Old Cascades near Santiam Junction. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN JOURNAL
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A unique region known as the "Old
Cascades" features some of Oregon's
most spectacular but overlooked moun-
tain hikes.
This region, composed of ancient
volcanoes far older than the "young"
Cascades such as Hood and Jefferson,
features old-growth forest, wildflower
meadows and epic mountaintop views.
While the term Old or Western Cas-
cades can be applied to a large area, the
region we're talking about is located
near Tombstone Pass and Santiam
Junction, east of Salem and Albany.
Peaks such as Iron Mountain and
Crescent Mountain, Browder Ridge and
Coffin Mountain, are extinct volcanoes
about 7 to 14 million years old. Their age
gives them a more biodiverse and inter-
esting flora and fauna, but they're also
not quite so old that they've been eroded
to the ground, with most standing 5,000
to 6,000 feet high.
It's a nice combination that allows for
the best of both worlds: climbing high
while appreciating a more intricate for-
est.
The Old Cascade mountains are best
hiked in July, when wildflower blooms
reach their peak. But they're good any-
time a person wants shady forest mixed
with alpine meadows and knockout
views of the state's tallest peaks.
We'll count them down based on my
favorites.
Honorable mention: Echo Basin
This isn't really a mountaintop hike,
which is why we've relegated it to hon-
Bear grass is seen along the Coffin Mountain trail.
See HIKING, Page 3B
MATT REEDER/SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL
Getting hooked
on bass lures
Fishing
Henry Miller
Guest columnist
There is an old truism that fishing
tackle in general, and lures in particu-
lar, are not designed to catch fish;
they’re designed to catch anglers.
As the weather heats up, along with
the local waters, my thoughts and am-
bitions turn to pursuing bass and other
warm-water fish.
And in my experience, there is no
fraternity that is more in the thrall of
the latest fishing fads than bass an-
glers.
Having covered my share of bass
tournaments, I can say from experience
that if competitors get even a whiff of a
second-hand rumor about what the
first-day leader used, every sporting
goods and tackle store will be sold out
within 50 miles of the lake an hour after
weigh-in.
Bass anglers are second only in my
experience to avid wild-turkey hunters
in the fantasies of sporting goods mar-
keters.
When it comes to those who pursue
bass, the best illustration about viral
consumerism is what we used to call
“rubber worms,” which are actually
made of soft plastic.
When I was a kid, a neighbor named
Jack, a fanatical fisherman, advised me
that to catch the largemouths in the lo-
cal ponds, the secret was “black rubber
worms.”
For those who don’t fish, largemouth
refers to a species of freshwater bass,
not a loudmouth such as Jack.
Those black worms were de rigueur
for bass fishing.
A couple of years later, anglers were
accompanying the licorice-toned staple
with, believe it or not, purple worms.
As a personal aside, in between,
there was an effort by an apparently
overstocked tackle supplier who had
misordered a large shipment.
The canny salesperson spread a ru-
mor that the hot ticket for bass was go-
ing to be something that we nicknamed
“banana worms.”
Those were bright yellow, about 6
inches long, occasionally with thin,
Yep, I caught it on a rubber worm. Even outdoor writers get lucky sometimes.
See FISHING, Page 2B
STATESMAN JOURNAL FILE