Oregon Pacific Crest Trail, Oregon
This trip is no longer available !

This trail ride starts on Fir Mountain and guides you for 2 weeks and 200 miles over some of the most beautiful trails in this part of the world. Majestic fir trees, wildlife in its natural habitat, colorful wild flowers, serene mountain lakes, meandering creeks with native trout, spectacular views of major mountains of Oregon, from the Washington cascades to the vastness of the desert are all part of the experience this package provides.
Comfortable sleeping arrangements in spacious tents with foam mattresses. Fresh food brought into camp daily and cooked over the fire to your satisfaction are just a few amenities to help you endure life in the wilderness. Wine and other drinks are included.
A modern "Chuck Wagon" provides us with refrigeration and wash facilities. All the camps have toilettes.
Because we keep our groups small, we are able to make your experience a very unique and individual one.
The presence of a passenger van in camp gives us great mobility. We are free to go exploring anytime we have a few hours to spare, especially on the weekends when we try to catch a local rodeo or other festivity. A friendly team of capable hosts and guides is looking forward to giving you a lifetime experience.

RTOR01 
Rates include all meals, accommodations, 6 (13) riding days
8 days/ 7 nights    

This trip will be discontinued for 2007

Transfer: Portland   $55 for 1 week trip; no charge for 2 wk trip 
Horses:   Appaloosas, Arabians, Paints, Pintos, Quarter
Tack:  Western, Hackamores
Pace: Moderate with trots and  canters, 6-8 hours in the saddle per day
Level: C
Min/Max Riders: 4-8
Note: long hours in saddle



Equipment You need to bring: sleeping bag, comfortable clothing, sun block, sunglasses, hat and sturdy boots. Remember that we will spend nights at up to 4500 feet in elevation. So warm clothing is essential.
We provide camping gear (roomy tents and thick foam mattress, a horse trailer with  shower facility).

Itinerary
Day 1: Pickup at Portland Intl. Airport and transfer to Hood River along the Columbia Gorge.
Day 2: After breakfast we’ll get together for a pre-ride meeting and than select the horses which will accompany us for the next two weeks. We saddle up and ride along surveyors ridge to Bald Butte for a magnificent view of the neighboring snowcapped peaks (Mt Adams, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and if the weather is right Mt. St. Helens) . (4 h ride, ~ 12 miles)
Day 3: We ride south on surveyors ridge, than cross the water shed area and ride along heavily wooded trails to our next camp at Knebal Springs. ( 6 h, 16 miles)
Day 4: Today we will be able to ride through some of the old growth forests along Fifteen mile Creek towards our next camp at Camp Friend . Several creek crossings and repeating peeks at the over towering Mt. Hood will make this ride very interesting. (8 h, 20 miles)
Day 5: A loop ride to Flag Point (one of the few still working fire towers) will offer more views and a terrific panorama of the adjacent plains stretching towards eastern Oregon. (4-6 h, 16 miles)
Day 6: On we go to Bonnie Crossing. Severe elevation changes show us the different ecosystems today. From the heavily wooded alpine region we started out at down to the high desert of Wamic with its oak forests and high desert valleys. (8 h, 20 miles)
Day 7: Off again we ride along the original Oregon trail, the Barlow road. Like the early immigrants we can admire the deep forest trails and learn to appreciate their courage and persistency to endure such treacherous mountain terrain in wagons. We camp near the white river crossing, a difficult obstacle during the old days for the wagons (don’t worry, we’ll take the bridge) (9h, 24 miles)
Day 8: This day is reserved for transfers of one week guests from and to the airport.
Today we’ll make another loop ride through the Badger creek wilderness and follow the creeks source to Badger lake which lies at an elevation of 6500 ft. Of course you can go for a swim if its not too chilly. (8 h, 20 miles)
Day 9: Next stop Devil’s ½ Acre, a beautiful meadow created by native Americans practicing slash/burning to facilitate new growth of berries to harvest. Since this is only a ½ day ride we can elect to ride up to Twin lakes for a swim in the afternoon. (4-8 h, 18 miles)
Day 10: We hit the Pacific Crest trail and follow it to the Timberline Lodge. During lunch by the lodge you’ll have the opportunity to do some souvenir shopping or just enjoy the interesting architecture of the lodge. (Just watch out for those snowboarders coming down the slopes.) (6-8 h, 20 miles)
Day 11: Again we’ll follow the Pacific Crest trail. This time however we head south passing several crystal clear mountain lakes on the way, until we reach our destination by Timothy Lake (horse camp: Joe Graham). (9 h, 25 miles)
Day 12: Today we’ll ride around Timothy Lake. During lunch break we’ll have the opportunity to go for a swim (with or without horses).
Day 13: We head further south on the Pacific crest trail towards Ollallie lake and loop back to Joe Graham. Lush green meadows with an abundance of native Wildflowers and untouched nature lets us enjoy this ride through the warm springs Indian reservation. (camp at Triangle Lake horse camp). (8 h, 20 miles)
Day 14: We follow a small hiking trail towards Ollallie lake and its neighboring mountain lakes. (4-6 h, 16 miles). In the evening we enjoy a farewell dinner in camp.
Day 15: Farewell. Transfer to Portland airport.

• all camping gear (except sleeping bags)
• roomy 3-4 person tents with thick marine type foam matresses
• hot showers in camp
• all meals (hearty cowboy breakfast, saddle bag lunches and a variety of dinner menus). Please let us know of any special dietary requests at the time of booking.
• all beverages (non-alcoholic, alcoholic beverages available at self cost)
• horses and tack (including canteens and saddlebags)
• friendly, knowledgeable staff (all guides are First Aid certified)

You just sit back, relax and enjoy.

Since these are not real pack trips using packhorses to carry our gear, we do not have a weight and quantity limit on luggage. The luggage as well as all other gear will be transported in our support vehicle. A horse trailer with shower facilities and portable toilet will await us in camp daily and a 12 passenger van will be available to explore local attractions or events.

We do require riding experience. You should be able to walk, trot and canter and should be in good physical condition able to ride 6-8 hours per day for most of our trails. We do take breaks every hour to stretch our legs, but the pace can be quite challenging with long stretches of trotting and cantering where the terrain allows. However, we do adjust to everyone's riding ability to make it enjoyable for riders and the horses as well.

In regards to our horses. We have horses for all riding levels. From Appaloosas, to Arabians, Quarter Horses, Mustangs and Missouri foxtrotters. The tack is western with comfortable cordura saddles. Cantle bags, saddlebags and canteens will be provided. You will choose your mount in the beginning of the trail, which will be yours for the rest of  your time with us. You will be expected to groom and saddle your horse ( of course we'll help you and make sure everything is how it should be) as this is part of forming a bond between you and your 'partner' . Otherwise all you have to do is to enjoy the ride and we'll do the rest. We strictly center around horses and riding and since our horses are as important to us as our guests. Please take your riding ability and physical condition in consideration when choosing a trail.