The Secret is Out -- Valhalla: Oregon Wilderness Natural Wonder Revealed

[L. Coyote]

Welcome to my Oregon, an Oregon free of the domestic terrorists and invasive loons
who would greedily and happily McMansion the commons and end wilderness protections.
This is what we are up to when not distracted by criminal gangs invading public lands.

Discovering Valhalla: Oregon's Hidden Gorge
http://watch.opb.org/video/2365650433/
Enjoy this sneak preview of Oregon Field Guide's expedition into the Oregon wilderness ....

This season, Oregon Field Guide assembles its largest, most complex expedition ever to take you on an unparalleled adventure of discovery.

The resulting half-hour documentary will air on OPB TV on February 4, 2016. Join us then for Discovering Valhalla: Oregon's Hidden Gorge.

The Oregon Field Guide team, along with a crew of five canyoneers and adventure photographers travel deep into the wilderness to explore and bring back the first images of a hidden geologic wonder right here in Oregon. Navigating downstream from a huge glade fed by two 100-foot waterfalls, we traveled over nine major waterfalls, through a dramatic grotto, to end up at the gates of the narrow slot canyon.

Secret's Out! Have You Been To Valhalla?
by John Rosman and Jule Gilfillan OPB | Feb. 3, 2016

..... For the last year and half, Mike Malone, a 34-year Forest Service veteran, and Oregon Field Guide researched personal channels and online, which included digging into Internet outdoor forums and topographic maps, and could not find any specific mention of the slot canyon nor exploration of the gorge. Still the crew believed there must be some adventurous explorers and native people who have witnessed this beautiful place.

After publishing our stories, a few of these intrepid folks reached out. They shared their tales of venturing into the remote gorge nicknamed Valhalla.

What about you? Have you ever been to Valhalla? ....

.... “He warned us to ‘never go there, it’s too dangerous,’” Donnelly said. He added Crist told him about other places as well, but he’s keeping those secret for now.

“We kinda have an ethic that we only reveal places that are threatened and need a constituency if it comes to having to work on protection (at one time only about 40 people had ever been up Opal Creek!),” Donnelly said.

Some great IMAGES here:

Descending Into Uncharted Territory
by John Rosman and Jule Gilfillan OPB | Jan. 30, 2016

.... The previously uncharted falls boomed through their bodies; the echo carried far past their sight and off into the mysterious canyon.

The team stood at the edge of a gorge they believed no person in modern history had ever fully explored. It was part of a larger expedition organized by OPB’s Oregon Field Guide. The objective was to navigate and document an uncharted gorge in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

While the rest of the crew used a hand line to slowly move down into the glade below, Jared Smith, a professional outdoor guide and safety officer, could not resist the opportunity in front of him.

He walked to the edge of the falls, checked his rigging and stepped off the cliff. .............

[flamingdem]

1. Now I'm inspired to head up to check out Oregon

for some political (worth it to visit Malheur?) and nature tourism. Thanks!

* I'll bring my own snacks

[shrike]

2. Pacific Northwest: my favorite scenery in the country

I'm not much into desert. Much of the west doesn't do it for me, but oh, Oregon . . .

I also love northern Michigan, the Smokies, eastern Tennessee, New England.

[ljm2002]

3. The Oregon coast took my breath away...

...when we drove up there years ago on the way to a family wedding in Washington.

When we stopped by a scenic outlook, there was a sign saying that a governor of the state had left the entire coastline to the people, so none of it is privately owned. Is that still true? If so, that is fantastic!

[L. Coyote]

6. Yes, the beach is public in Oregon to high tide line, fishing rivers to high water mark.

I live inland 13 miles from the ocean, lots further by roads, in a true rain forest belt. The area is in the middle of a national forest, steep slopes and rain forest all around. I walk into public land scenes like this almost daily, not the extreme basaltic geology of Mount Jefferson but equally wet and lush.

[Mendocino]

4. I once walked up a hollow

in Appalachia for about 3 miles till it boxed up. It was like middle earth: ferns and green moss, salamanders and frogs, dark and narrow with only occasional sunlight reaching the floor. I did not see a single trace of humans. There was absolutely no trash, no cigarette butts, no cans, nothing. No trees that had been sawed or chopped. The stream was full of small but strikingly colorful brooktrout. I almost felt as though I was the first person to ever see it.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Thanks for posting this, I can't wait to watch it. Oregon Field Guide is an amazing series with

photography that knocks me out.

[L. Coyote]

7. You are welcome.

One of my fav shows, grateful it is online. I have no television.