Patterson Mountain: Our First Adventure
Stats:
Fitness Level: Easy
Experience Level: Moderate
Distance: 4.6 Miles
Elevation: 600 Feet
Open: April-December
Good for: Day Hiking, Horseback Riding, Mountain Biking
Usage: Lightly Traveled
Accessibility: Honda Civic (the gravel road from Highway 58 can be rough)
The very first hike that Dylan took me on was for our 3rd date, out to Mount Patterson. My hiking experience in Oregon at this point had been limited to Mount Pisgah and Spencer’s Butte, which are very reminiscent of hikes in Southern California from the standpoint of being very populated and not far out of town. Mount Patterson is not even close to either of these. It is a good hours drive out of town, and we did not see another soul on this hike.
Now for a 3rd date, this hike intimidated me, I was with a guy that I did not know very well and after about 45 minutes of driving highways, he takes a turn onto a one lane dirt road that gets narrower and narrower the further up the mountain we get. Oh, and did I mention there’s no reception? As in zero bars for the entire hike and part of the drive. At this point I have to admit the Southern Californian in me is going “Oh shit.” I don’t know this guy very well, there’s no cell reception, and I haven’t seen another person after 20 minutes of driving. Thankfully Dylan is one of the most trustworthy people I have ever met and after this hike I trusted him entirely.
That being said, ladies, a word of advice, really know the guy you’re going on a hike with before heading into the wilderness with him. While Dylan has my full trust, it took a hike of being slightly scared out of my wits to establish that trust, if you can establish trust before going on a major hike, I strongly recommend doing so. Take a walk in populated area first!!
This hike is where I got a glimpse of the depths of Dylan’s experience level as an outdoorsmen; once we got to the trailhead (if you don’t know where it is, you will blink and miss it) he popped open his trunk and REI practically exploded out of it. I thought I was nice and prepared with my Nike athletic gear, hiking boots, and a small Osprey hydration pack…compared to Dylan’s my gear was laughable. Dylan started to tell me more about his search and rescue experience with Lane County, which explained the massive amounts of gear, it also went a very long ways to putting my mind at ease, a search and rescue guy won't pull anything shady on me right?
I love nature, I have hiked frequently before, but I grew up in the city and am not used to dark forests and Mount Patterson is, in the middle of the day, a dark forest. It is beautiful and fascinating to see how the trees and various other plant life grow with such little light peeking through the treetops, it also a bit creepy for anyone who is not used to that level of darkness. I thought I was putting up a good face in pretending to not be on high alert for bears and any matter of scariness that anyone who has watched one too many horror movies can’t help but associate with the woods, apparently I was fooling no one. He noticed, he saved me the embarrassment and didn’t mention it until 6 months later, but he definitely noticed. Lesson learned, speak up, say you’re jumpy, it's better for your hiking buddy to know up front!
The fallen leaves from these trees almost looked like snow!
Halfway through the hike you can take a short side trail to this creepy little shelter.
The hike in itself is relatively easy, the drive in might be the most difficult part. That said, at certain points in the hike it can be tricky to determine where the trail is, which is where being able to navigate and having a map is crucial. A paper map may seem old school but remember there is no reception, Siri can’t help you!! I tend to take Dylan’s navigational abilities for granted, he’s almost a walking talking GPS, but at the end of the day he still has back up maps to his back up maps so that we can stay safe, and so he doesn’t get laughed out of town by his Search and Rescue buddies for getting lost.
The view at the end of this hike is spectacular, it is dead quiet and you can see most of the Willamette Valley. For myself it was an incredibly special experience because I had never really been on a hike where if you don’t talk there is no sound, and there literally were no other people. It is a unique and beautiful experience that, if you’re looking to “get away from it all,” you should by all means try. Just make sure you have a car (not to mention stomach) that can handle windy dirt roads in order to get there!