MESSAGE FROM COACH GUNN OCT 8

  Leave SMC Niles campus at 5:00AM for charter bus transfer to O'Hare airport to catch our 8:54AM  nonstop from Chicago to Portland, Oregon  arriving at 11:26AM.    We will meet Reggie and our deluxe Windstar charter bus.  We'll drive 45 minutes to Multnomah Falls for lunch and a short hike.  Then it's an hour and ten minute drive to our lodging in Kelso, Washington, the Comfort Inn & Suites.

Niles, MI weather forecast      Kelso 10 Day Weather forecast

  This is our big day for a variety of hikes at Mt. St. Helen.  I have scheduled a 6:00AM breakfast buffet (9:00AM body time) and a 7:00AM sharp departure for the 45 minute drive to our trailhead for an 8:00AM start.  Please pack the night before, be sure   you have 5 liters water, a water filter for backup, and bring trail lunch supplies as there will be no water or dining facilities.  Hopefully everyone will be off the course by 5:00PM and we will drive back to the fabulous McMenamins Brew Pub on the Columbia River for our celebration. 

Johnston Ridge Observatory weather forecast

  We will check out at 8:30AM and take the scenic three hour, fifty minute ride to charming Bend, Oregon and en route do an afternoon cool down recovery hike on the beautiful Deschutes River Trail.  Our hotel in Bend is the Fairfield Inn & Suites   in the heart of the downtown area.

Bend, OR weather forecast

We will leave the hotel at 8:39AM for a 4.1 mile hike up Tumalo Mountain for some spectacular views.       AllTrails Tumalo Mountain Trail              Weather

 Check out at 8:30AM for our two hour, fifteen minute drive to Crater Lake National Park and a wonderful 6 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail along the bluff overlooking Crater Lake.  We will also have an extra credit 3.4 mile hike up scenic Garfield Peak.  Our lodging in Grants Pass, Oregon is the Best Western and we will stop at a store for supplies.

Crater Lake National Park weather forecast

  We will checkout and leave at 8:30AM for a scenic one hour 40 minute drive to the Redwood National Forest and an 8.7 mile Big Tree hike.  Plan to bring trail lunch supplies.  Our next lodging is at The Lighthouse Inn  on the Pacific Ocean in Crescent City, California. 

Redwood National Park weather forecast      Crescent City, CA weather forecast

  We will leave at 9:00AM to Redwoods for a 11.2 loop on the James Irvine, Fern Canyon, Pacific Coast and Miner's Ridge trails.  Plan to bring trail lunch supplies. 

Redwood National Park weather forecast

  We will checkout and leave at 9:00AM.  We'll breakup our five hour drive with a short hike in Eugene, Oregon at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum.  Our lodging will be at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Salem, Oregon. 

Eugene, OR weather forecast    Salem, OR weather forecast

We will leave at 9:00AM and take a short drive to the Silver Falls State Park where we will hike the 7.2 mile, spectacular Trail of 10 Falls Loop Hike.  

Silver Falls State Park weather forecast

We will checkout at 9:30AM and leave for Portland to catch our 2:12PM non-stop flight back to Chicago O'Hare landing at 8:13PM.  We should be back at SMC Niles campus at midnight.  

Chicago, IL weather forecast     Niles, MI weather forecast