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Orion
Looking for a nice, relatively easy mid-December backpacking and camping journey for 4 days in Oregon - Any suggestions?
Orion
Thank you but I can also run a web search. :) I'm hoping for someone with some personal experience who can offer some suggestions as to a nice trip.
Answer
Dec. is the wet month for Oregon. I spend Jan. through May van camping along the Oregon Coast, mostly in Curry County, Port Orford and Brookings. I plan on rain for part of each day. Actually, you get dry spells lasting for several days. Which makes it all worth while. There is a coast trail along the beach for the entire length of the state. You are only on the road in a few of the towns and for bridges over the rivers. And if the rain gets to bad there are buses several times a day on the road, HWY US 101. Check on the web for schedules. Please remember the rain on the coast is snow in the mountains, LOTS of snow. The storms are great to watch. There are lots of streams and water falls along the trail. When the sun comes out it is fantastic. but you will live in Gor-tex, the only rain gear to use, boots to hat. Tent with rain fly and bathtub floor.
Check out the Lost Coast and the Redwood National Park just a bit south in Ca.(The land of more money than brains) Also the Avenue of the Giants along the eel river also in Ca.
If you want to car camp and day hike I recommend Humbug Mt. State Park by Port Orford. There are two good trails, up the mountain or along the coast., good beach. Close by the are Orford Heads State Park, Arizona Beach State Park and Cape Blanco State Park. That's only about 15 miles of coast but, my favorite.
Dec. is the wet month for Oregon. I spend Jan. through May van camping along the Oregon Coast, mostly in Curry County, Port Orford and Brookings. I plan on rain for part of each day. Actually, you get dry spells lasting for several days. Which makes it all worth while. There is a coast trail along the beach for the entire length of the state. You are only on the road in a few of the towns and for bridges over the rivers. And if the rain gets to bad there are buses several times a day on the road, HWY US 101. Check on the web for schedules. Please remember the rain on the coast is snow in the mountains, LOTS of snow. The storms are great to watch. There are lots of streams and water falls along the trail. When the sun comes out it is fantastic. but you will live in Gor-tex, the only rain gear to use, boots to hat. Tent with rain fly and bathtub floor.
Check out the Lost Coast and the Redwood National Park just a bit south in Ca.(The land of more money than brains) Also the Avenue of the Giants along the eel river also in Ca.
If you want to car camp and day hike I recommend Humbug Mt. State Park by Port Orford. There are two good trails, up the mountain or along the coast., good beach. Close by the are Orford Heads State Park, Arizona Beach State Park and Cape Blanco State Park. That's only about 15 miles of coast but, my favorite.
i am considering a career in outdoor education leadership (scuba, rock climbing, etc.) What is it like?
Q.
Answer
SKIP COLLEGE!!!!!!!
Don't waste your time getting a degree in Outdoor Recreation Management. You will not score a job that will support your student loan payback schedule for many years. I see this all of the time.
I get lots of applications from kids fresh out of college and all I can offer them are $10/hour guide jobs. When I go on line to post jobs, I see other resorts and guide companies all are offering about the same seasonal or part-time work. Management jobs are even harder to find.
Instead of going to college, focus on attending courses like NOLS and work on getting certificates like WFR, PADI, and USMGA. Then get a job working for a guide service. This way you'll be able to support yourself doing the job without having to worry about the hefty student loan payment.
If you get hired by a guide service, they may be able to get you the certs themselves or they may send you to school. (This is common in the ski industry; dive shops and climbing schools frequently do this as well.)
Be prepared to lead a fluid life in order to travel to the work for the first several years. Most jobs are seasonal in nature. Ski Instructors sometimes go south for the summer and work in South America, Dive instructors can make a living year round if they are in the tropics. Many climbing instructors can work all year if they also can do ice...otherwise they find a winter job (usually skiing or something.) If I was 22 again, I'd definitely be skiing all winter in North America and be heading to New Zealand, Chile or Peru in the summer for more work. Or I would be a vagabond working ski resorts in the winter and teaching backpacking all summer.
If you get a Full Time job at a resort or a year round school or guide service, get used to some monotony. I lead hikes almost everyday and after a few weeks of hiking the same trails it can start to get boring. By the sixth day in a row of the 7:00am Kayak class I teach in summer, I'm usually hoping someone cancels so I can sleep in. You teach the same stuff over and over usually at very basic levels of instruction. So you have to like doing that sort of thing. Luckilly I do, but every once in a while it does start to feel like a "job". It's one thing to be passionate about something as a hobby, it takes a bit more discipline to turn it into a career.
If you want to work with At-Risk kids or get a job as a park ranger then you might need a degree. Otherwise, just start looking for jobs that will get you the experience you need. You'd be better off to take a few classes in business management and advertising at a community college WHILE you are working as a guide so once you have enough experience you'll have some idea about how to manage your own business one day. You don't need the Art History 101 and Readings in Shakespeare Seminar class if you want t o dive, climb, or ski for a living.
I am the Director of Outdoor Recreation for a small luxury resort in Pennsylvania. I make less money (about $13K less) at this job than I did when I was an executive for the Boy Scouts, however I am outside and actually in the woods more with this job than I ever was when I worked for the BSA. If I did not have to pay back that BIG FAT COLLEGE LOAN I'd have few complaints and there is little in this job that I ever have to call upon my college classes for. On the other hand, I've been working at camps, teaching skiing, climbing, and hiking for years. That's the info I refer to on a daily basis.
Good Luck.
SKIP COLLEGE!!!!!!!
Don't waste your time getting a degree in Outdoor Recreation Management. You will not score a job that will support your student loan payback schedule for many years. I see this all of the time.
I get lots of applications from kids fresh out of college and all I can offer them are $10/hour guide jobs. When I go on line to post jobs, I see other resorts and guide companies all are offering about the same seasonal or part-time work. Management jobs are even harder to find.
Instead of going to college, focus on attending courses like NOLS and work on getting certificates like WFR, PADI, and USMGA. Then get a job working for a guide service. This way you'll be able to support yourself doing the job without having to worry about the hefty student loan payment.
If you get hired by a guide service, they may be able to get you the certs themselves or they may send you to school. (This is common in the ski industry; dive shops and climbing schools frequently do this as well.)
Be prepared to lead a fluid life in order to travel to the work for the first several years. Most jobs are seasonal in nature. Ski Instructors sometimes go south for the summer and work in South America, Dive instructors can make a living year round if they are in the tropics. Many climbing instructors can work all year if they also can do ice...otherwise they find a winter job (usually skiing or something.) If I was 22 again, I'd definitely be skiing all winter in North America and be heading to New Zealand, Chile or Peru in the summer for more work. Or I would be a vagabond working ski resorts in the winter and teaching backpacking all summer.
If you get a Full Time job at a resort or a year round school or guide service, get used to some monotony. I lead hikes almost everyday and after a few weeks of hiking the same trails it can start to get boring. By the sixth day in a row of the 7:00am Kayak class I teach in summer, I'm usually hoping someone cancels so I can sleep in. You teach the same stuff over and over usually at very basic levels of instruction. So you have to like doing that sort of thing. Luckilly I do, but every once in a while it does start to feel like a "job". It's one thing to be passionate about something as a hobby, it takes a bit more discipline to turn it into a career.
If you want to work with At-Risk kids or get a job as a park ranger then you might need a degree. Otherwise, just start looking for jobs that will get you the experience you need. You'd be better off to take a few classes in business management and advertising at a community college WHILE you are working as a guide so once you have enough experience you'll have some idea about how to manage your own business one day. You don't need the Art History 101 and Readings in Shakespeare Seminar class if you want t o dive, climb, or ski for a living.
I am the Director of Outdoor Recreation for a small luxury resort in Pennsylvania. I make less money (about $13K less) at this job than I did when I was an executive for the Boy Scouts, however I am outside and actually in the woods more with this job than I ever was when I worked for the BSA. If I did not have to pay back that BIG FAT COLLEGE LOAN I'd have few complaints and there is little in this job that I ever have to call upon my college classes for. On the other hand, I've been working at camps, teaching skiing, climbing, and hiking for years. That's the info I refer to on a daily basis.
Good Luck.
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Title Post: Best winter camping in Oregon?
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Rating: 95% based on 981 ratings. 4,6 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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