— —
THIS PHOTOGRAPH of M t Jefferson was taken by
Donald Lowe from Bear voint. Lowe's photography work
in v n u ., n r n , <■
will appear In the May publication of Alpine Country of the
West The Sandy Library will hold an autograph party for
the Lowes in May.
Lowes love High country
Friends of Don and Roberta
Lowe don’t even bother to ask
what the couple is dong
anymore
I t ’a too confusing and
changing all the time, ac
cording to the husband wife
team of photographer and
writer who live near Sandy.
According
to
Roberta,
“ there’s a very definite division
of power" in the work going
into the couple’s well known
hiking and trail guides Don
takes
charge
of
the
photography
work,
and
Roberta sticks to writing
The Lowes are the authors of
such books as "100 Oregon
Hiking Trails", “70 Northern
Oregon Cascade Hiking Trails",
"100 Northern California Hik
ing Trails" and a large book.
"M t Hood ”,
They’ve also produced hiking
guides for trails in Southern
California. Northern Colorado
and West Central Colorado
Right now they’re working on
a book of 36 hiking trails in the
Columbia River Gorge and
other plans include dividing
and updating “ 100 Oregon Hik
Ing Trails into guides for cen
tral, eastern, coastal and
southern areas of the state
This summer they will work
on hiking guides for the Sierra-
Nevada
Range,
Northwest
California and Central Oregon.
In May, Graphic Arts Center
in
Portland
will
publish
“ Alpine Country of the West“
featuring Don's photography
The 44-year-old photographer
also does some freelance work
for such publications as Time
Life Books and Oregon Rain
bow Magazine
Don's first love is landscape
photography.
He
doesn’t
photograph people
“ I'd last four minutes as a
child
photographer,"
he
quipped
Publishers are quick to
praise Don's technical ability.
"We process our own color,”
said Don, modestly explaining
the quality of the work.
"The 'we' is used very
loosely,” chimed in Roberta “ I
don’t even vacuum the lab. ”
Meanwhile, Roberta does a
little freelancing of her own,
contributing to The Oregonian
and writing a regular column
entitled "High Country” for the
monthly Oregon Times.
Those columns are often
based on the couple’s ex
periences as they travel in their
blue Volkswagen bus which
serves as home during much of
the year. The Lowes have
logged 124,000 miles in the
vehicle.
Those experiences include
stepping on a rattlesnake in
Colorado (R oberta wasn’t
bitten); camping in Yosemite
National Park in a spot where a
woman was later killed by a
grizzly bear; and jumping in a
lake while wearing nice clothes
to save their dog, Faust, from
drowning (Faust learned to
swim later).
“ My best columns," she said,
"are based on fear.”
The most dangerous thing in
the
outdoors
is stream
crossing, according to Roberta
“ But what really frightens
me are the lightning storms in
Colorado," Roberta said. And
she's discovered a new rule
governing lightning
“ It strikes where it strikes.“
Don moved to Sandy from
California when he was 14-
years-old with his mother, a
retired doctor Amanda Lowe
had moved to Oregon after
giving up a private practice in
I jos Angeles which catered to
such clients as actress laina
Turner She was an artist as
well, said Don, and once
painted an ear of corn which
looked so real that a horse ate
it.
Don has been a bicycling
enthusiast since his youth,
chalking up 18,000 miles while
commuting back and forth
during his four years at Sandy
HighSchogl
"He would sit in school
soaking wet, steaming all day,”
joked Roberta.
During the 1060s Donald
sometimes would bicycle 200
miles a day to stay in shape. He
was good enough that the
Federal Reserve Bank con
sidered sponsoring him for the
Olympics at one point, but
those plans never jelled
because he left the bank
Don later worked in the trust
department of the Oregon
Bank Those were the days
when he and a friend would run
up five flights of stairs without
taking a breath to keep in
shape
A fte r
attending
the
University of Oregon and
studying journalism, for one
year, Don transferred to Lewis
and Clark College to finish with
a degree in political science
He worked as coordinator of
the
program
planning
department at the University of
Oregon Medical School before
he went into photography and
working on the couple’s hiking
guides full time
Both said they haven’t
regreted the decision.
The two were married ten
years ago, just three weeks
after their first date.
"We were going to go on a
hike for the honeymoon,”
Roberta recalled They were
both sick instead and the
honeymoon was postponed
Roberta, who will be 37 in
June was bom in Portland Aft
er high school she attended
Reed College in Portland for
“ two years, three weeks and a
day.”
Roberta was a physics major
until quitting Reed one day in a
fit of rage.
“ They suggested that I either
switch schools or switch
majors," she said, adding that
Reed was just hastening the
inevitable
She then transferred to
Portland State University and
majored in geography
After college she spent some
time as a professional dancer in
Las Vegas-type nightclub
revues. It was before the time
of go-go dancing, said Roberta
—and it was respectable.
She still keeps in shape with
regular ballet lessons from
J a c q u e lin e
Schumacher,
director of Portland Ballet
School.
During the summer, the
couple’s lifestyle is simple
They’re the kind of hikers who
regularly bathe and wash
clothes
Some hikers don’t take a bath
for a month, Don said with a
shudder.
While at home, the schedule
tends to be less regular, but
both try to spend at least two
hours reading each day.
“ The bathtub's a good
place,” said Don.
Cooking for Donald is easy
and his tastes aren’t gourmet,
according to Roberta. He has a
sweet tooth and has been known
to put up to five packets of
sugar in one cup of coffee.
The
Lowes
said
that
rewriting and updating their
current hiking books should
take up most of their time in the
future.
. They’ve hiked the trails
featured in their books, with
Roberta
taking
meticulous
notes during each trip. The
Lowes have also made it a
policy to never feature the
same picture in more than one
book,
Roberta and Donald have
favorite memories of each area
they visit
TTie Northern Cascades have
the spectacular scenery, they
said It ’s easy to get away from
civilizatio n
and
th ere’s
generally better weather in the
Sierra-Nevada Range.
Colorado has the edge on
wildlife and wildflowers, the
couple noted
But as far as year-round
living goes. Sandy's definitely
home
Story/photo
by Sue Lafky
Sandy Post editor
DON AND Roberta Lowe hike every trail critiqued in
their well known hiking guides. Don does the photography
work; Roberta sticks to writing.
Now in GRESHAM!
AAMC0
FROM LOWER left: Faust, named after
the literary character who sold his soul to
the devil, doesn't live up to his name, said
the Lowes. Don takes a drink from a
mountain stream in the Columbia River
Gorge and discusses new book with
Roberta at the recent Sandy Library Tea.
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