I'm not much of a mountain climber. But I set myself the goal of summiting one of the Oregon Cascade's peaks this year and picked one of the most accessible - Mount Bailey - to lead an Oregon Wild hike to.

 This mountain has always appealed to me, with it's humble rounded summit - as opposed to Mt. Thielsen's pointy pinnacle standing out across Diamond Lake. It's a 10-mile round trip hike, with 3000 feet of elevation gain, which seemed doable on paper.

When I scoped out the hike in preparation for the Roadless Recreation Week hike coming up on August 7, I found a few different challenges I wasn't expecting, and overall a fantastic hike. First of all, I had forgotten about the mosquitoes. Silly of me, as I had hiked in the Diamond Peak Wilderness a few summers ago in July and had been eaten alive then as well. The snow on Mt. Bailey was still melting, and the elevation - between 5000 and 8000 feet is just perfect for these little suckers to thrive in mid-July to early-August (yes, they'll be much better come hike time!). Annoying! But getting beyond that, the hike was pleasant, not very steep, and offered amazing views of Diamond Lake and Mt. Thielsen. In the top 1/4 of the hike, we enjoyed the lovely pasque flowers growing amongst the rocks and remnant snow, adding a dash of green where our eyes needed it most.

The second major challenge was near the top, where really cool rock formations had crumbled away to small, loose rocks - making the footing tricky. I had a capable hiking partner who cheered me on, and we made it safely to the top to enjoy the 360 degree views of the Three Sisters, Thielsen, the rim of Crater Lake, and Mt. McLaughlin.

What a view! And for Roadless Recreation Week, a perfect example of the value of wild lands. Mt. Bailey is the centerpiece of a large unroaded area, currently protected by the Roadless Rule, and a part of our Crater Lake Wilderness Proposal. It's a perfect connection between several other large unroaded wildlands stretching across the Cascade crest, offering an ideal migration corridor for countless plants and animals in the face of continued habitat fragmentation and global warming.

Unfortunately, Mt. Bailey's wild nature is threatened on multiple fronts: Parts of it are planned for logging in the misguided "D-bug" project, winter-time motorized trails crisscross the otherwise unbroken snow, and other proposals adjacent to Crater Lake National Park would break the silence and unbroken forests of this pristine landscape.

Come out and learn more about these wildlands and all they have to offer Oregonians - even those who don't like to climb mountains!