The First 40 Miles

The First 40 Miles is a podcast for people who are new to hiking and backpacking. New episodes every Tuesday.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

It has been a delight to share our wilderness backpacking journey with you! We’re deeply touched by all the kind words and the stories that you’ve shared with us over the past four years. We hope you enjoy this final episode. https://t.co/fwBIcQWaeY

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

We were in Idaho for our daughter's college graduation last week, so we took a night to backpack in the Tetons on the South Leigh Creek Trail. We didn't go tentless this time. The mosquitos were thicker than the wildflowers!

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

We took advantage of a 24-hour break in the weather to backpack Siouxon Creek in western Washington during #SpringBreak. It experienced a wildfire in 2020, but it's exciting to see the rejuvenated growth.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

We learned that the world's smallest rabbit leaves here, the pygmy rabbit. It's diet is entirely sagebrush. We had fun watching rabbits on our trip. We're not sure if this one is a pygmy or a mountain cottontail. #SteensMountain https://t.co/zlU6bICeWw

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Our original plan was to hike down Big Indian Creek Gorge, but plans changed and we drove down the mountain instead. Looks like it would've been a beautiful hike. #SteensMountain

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Can you spot our vehicle at the end of the highest road in Oregon? 9,000+ feet. It's kind of eerie up here! Not another soul in sight. #SteensMountain

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Scenes from Little Blitzen Gorge: a lovely small river, canyon walls that make you feel small, and lots of butterflies. But the 1,400 feet of elevation gain in the last mile in the afternoon sun was kind of brutal! #SteensMountain

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

The most memorable moment of our #SteensMountain trip: About halfway up Little Blitzen Gorge, we heard a thunderous sound from the west. Four fighter jet came roaring up the canyon right over our heads. It brought us to our knees!

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Our daughter had to make an unexpected trip to a store for supplies. Since the nearest store is 2 hours away, we changed our plans to hike the 9 miles up Little Blitzen River Gorge and meet up at the other end. We had all-you-can eat currants the entire way. #SteensMountain

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

@leanna_h_ This spot was amazing in its bug-free-ness!

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Ever since the first time we ditched the tent, we've been big fans of tentless. These days, we're tentless whenever the weather allows... which is most of the time. It's so easy-- and perfect for stargazing. #SteensMountain

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Lots of driving on day 1 of our #SteensMountain trip. Car camping tonight, so we got to enjoy salad, engine-cooked garlic bread, and cake for dinner. Oh, and Heather decided to stay home and have some alone time, but we were able to talk with via radio.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

The table of calories. Someone's getting ready for a backpacking trip!

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

But we finally have a trip coming up! Back by popular demand from the kids, we're revisiting the Alvord Playa. This time we're adding in 30 miles of backpacking at Steens Mountain.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

Backpacking trips have been few while we've been restoring an old house, taking a daughter between college and home, sending a son to El Salvador as a missionary, building a garden and wanna-be farm, and helping kids fix a car after they took turns crashing it...

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

@Catman_Jim Thanks for thinking of us. We live a few miles away from one fire, which is mostly contained now. Lots of natural fire breaks between it and us. We also had lots of wind last week, so we're helping friends repair fences and clear limbs.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

#Ochocos day 4: Finished the loop back to our car, explored two more mercury mines, and visited Big Summit Prairie.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

#Ochocos day 3: meadows, lupine, corn lilies, mountain pennyroyal, and more. Brush Creek was our destination water source. No good camping areas there, so we hiked a little further and camped on top of the hill.

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

#Ochocos day 2: water coloring while waiting for the kids to wake up, then a 3-mile gradual downhill hike to where we hoped to find water and make camp. Along the way, we saw abundant wildflowers and even harvested some strawberries. And luckily, we found water!

[The First 40 Miles @TheFirst40Miles]

#Ochocos day 1 started with exploring the Motherlode Mine (an old mercury mine), then a gentle climb through the forest to the wildflower-covered meadows on top of Lookout Peak, the highest peak in the Ochoco Mountains at about 7,000 ft.