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Oregon Hell Hole?


Croaker

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Posted

quote:
Originally posted by Gloom:

quote:
Originally posted by mckee:

Probably someone getting lucky.


 

What does that have to do with deer season??? bad_boy_a.gif

 


 

Some of those deer are hella sexy!

 

--------------------

Would you like some cheese with your whine?

Posted

I keep seeing references to "an old brown rope" that has been left there to descend into the rift. I would advise someone to remove the rope and chuck it in the nearest trash can. There is no way of determining if it's safe just by "inspecting it" at the site. The only way to know if it's safe is if you placed it yourself and if it's rated for climbing or rescue. Using the rope that was left there is taking a massive risk.

 

videbo tu in caelum

Posted

quote:
Originally posted by Beefcider:

I keep seeing references to "an old brown rope" that has been left there to descend into the rift. I would advise someone to remove the rope and chuck it in the nearest trash can. There is no way of determining if it's safe just by "inspecting it" at the site. The only way to know if it's safe is if you placed it yourself and if it's rated for climbing or rescue. Using the rope that was left there is taking a massive risk.

 

videbo tu in caelum


I agree with you man. That rope could be rotten.

Posted

The rope is in fact an old brown rope. At the risk of encouraging more visitors, this is not a rock climbing experience. That said, if the rope had broken I probably would have had some minor injuries and serious abrasions. Not a death defying descent or ascent. But I probably wouldn't have attempted it without either the old brown rope or the brand new one we had in the pack icon_eek.gif

 

Further on into the heart of the Hell Hole there is an area where the guys in the OPB video used a rope to descend through a rock tunnel to the very bottom - I am not even sure I'd want to do that with a good rope!

 

Who am I kidding? I'll be back there next Spring....

Posted

I didn't see the video, was there a good natural anchor for the rappel? Rapping into a rock tunnel sounds cool. I'll be there in the spring as well.

 

videbo tu in caelum

Posted

I was able to climb down into the crack without any rope. I guess you could call it bouldering. There was one slippery area with crumbly hand holds, where I could have fallen a few feet to the next landing, and then I had to lower myself over a rock jam ledge and drop down to the bottom- again only about 3 feet. The route I took was west of the cache area, and marked with a PBR can place on top of a small Douglas fir tree.

 

There was a very sheer wall that would be really cool for rapelling- with plenty of big trees at the top to anchor. See the photo with my log for an idea of what it looks like.

Posted

After seeing the video and the images, a straight rappel into the rift seems easier than a rope aided descent on swaths of crumbly funk. Looks like fun as long as there is no rockfall. If you were in there during even the most minscule of seismic events, you be pretty much screwed.

 

videbo tu in caelum

Posted

I recommend anybody entering the hell hole to use there own equipment. There is an old brown rope there and I did use it. I Inspected it and felt it was safe to use. I was very cautious on the decent and didn't rely on the rope solely. I kept myself ready if the rope did decide to break. as stated earlier the fall isnt very far and you may only get minor injuries. I was more trusting of the rope on the ascent and climbed out much quicker than the descent. But I don't think everybody should go there expecting the rope to be safe. You should bring your own. You could find some places to rapell down but isn't necassary. Also the climbing down through the the rock tunnel in the video is not necassary either. You can just as easily go around the tunnel. The first time I went down I went around the tunnel. But the second time I went through it just for the fun of it. And I didn't need a rope at all. They did allot of things in the video to make it seem more dramatic than it really is.

Posted

CFM - I read your description of entering near the tree with the PBR can growing out of the top. I can't believe you went down at that point without a rope - we walked quite a ways to the west to find a place that we thought we could walk into the crack from. It turned out to much more challenging - although very interesting and fun - than the brown rope route.

 

The area around that tree seemed virtually vertical, I'll have to take a closer look next visit. After all somebody got that can out there!

 

Interesting to hear you guys talk about the various ways to the bottom - we stood at the top of the final shelf (remember we already hiked the westside) convincing ourselves it was virtually impossible to go any further. Next time we'll be fresh and have the rope with us instead of leaving it next to the brown rope!

 

This is definitely a place worth visiting even if you have no intention of ever leaving the trail on High Prairie.

Posted

Just so you guys know. This thread discussion appears in the GPS For Dummies geocaching chapter. Navdog you are mentioned as well as Moun10bike.

 

Its a short page article abt this topic the quest and the cche.

 

If this has been posted already, since I have no idea when the book came out then disregard this.

Posted

glad to see this thread showed up again on the forum. I can now add a link again on the cache page. I took some friends to Hell hole a few weeks ago. Used my own rope and noticed the old brown rope is getting frayed half way down where it rubs on a root. So diffinitly don't use the old rope.

 

Wow, glad to hear this topic showed up in a book. I'll have to check that out.

Posted

OLD BROWN ROPE ..BAH......I found none...3 sets of eyes searching for an hour and a half covering a very wide area...could find no brown rope and no area to descend into the hole.

 

Please people that have been there ...put the coordinates of where you descended from.......

 

If I coulda I would picked up the entire hell hole and drop kick it off the nearest cliff ...i was pretty ticked off for wasting an entire day on nothing...felt like I was living a seinfeld marathon.

Posted

OLD BROWN ROPE ..BAH......I found none...3 sets of eyes searching for an hour and a half covering a very wide area...could find no brown rope and no area to descend into the hole.

 

Please people that have been there ...put the coordinates of where you descended from.......

 

If I coulda I would picked up the entire hell hole and drop kick it off the nearest cliff ...i was pretty ticked off for wasting an entire day on nothing...felt like I was living a seinfeld marathon.

If you found the cache, while looking into the hole the descent via brown rope is down (or up) the trail a few hundred yards to the left. If you went the other way (downhill), you'd have a more difficult time getting into the hole :)

Posted

So Syn,

 

If you were intent on going down into the Hell Hole, why didn't you bring your own rope? Were you really counting on an old brown rope reported from 2 years ago?

 

I was able to scramble down into the Hell hole very near the cache. I entered just across from the western tip of "the island" in the middle of the rift. There were some rubble piles to drop down onto- no more than a 3 foot drop as you lower yourself over hanging onto a small fir tree and slide down, then scramble down the rubble to another drop off down to the bottom- the hard part was getting back up it. I risked turning my ankle, but they're like rubber!

 

While in the area, I recommend Alpine #3- also by Grin'n'bearit for some fun non-technical scrambling to a nice little summit.

Posted

So Syn,

 

If you were intent on going down into the Hell Hole, why didn't you bring your own rope? Were you really counting on an old brown rope reported from 2 years ago?

 

I was able to scramble down into the Hell hole very near the cache. I entered just across from the western tip of "the island" in the middle of the rift. There were some rubble piles to drop down onto- no more than a 3 foot drop as you lower yourself over hanging onto a small fir tree and slide down, then scramble down the rubble to another drop off down to the bottom- the hard part was getting back up it. I risked turning my ankle, but they're like rubber!

 

While in the area, I recommend Alpine #3- also by Grin'n'bearit for some fun non-technical scrambling to a nice little summit.

 

Hey cfn ..long time no talk.....

 

We were looking for the brown rope because we wanted to go into an "established" way in the whole. And yes I did bring my own rope but was looking for the old brown rope or any remnants of it. We checked, double checked, and triple checked every viewpoint there was...I indeed remember the area you are referring too and there is no brown rope or remnants left of it anymore. That area held a little more promise in looks to get inside but we all 3 concurred that there was a drop off at the bottom into the whole...was hard to see because the light was starting to fade at the point that we got back up there to check the upper part.

 

I had 8 geocaches planned for the day but hunting for those slowly slipped as time was lost on a distant logging road.

Posted

I will be making this trek very soon as I live(or used to), very close to this area. I now am up in Ft. Lewis, but will be coming down to tackle this guy to check it out. I have traveled all over this area for one reason or another and had never heard of this place untill I did some latenight forum surfing. Originally from Springfield though and Oakridge is a half hour drive away. Thanks to all who did the research as I was very happy to help solve this mystery until I realized the dates on the forum pages. I will post any pics and info that I retrieve.

Posted

I will be making this trek very soon as I live(or used to), very close to this area. I now am up in Ft. Lewis, but will be coming down to tackle this guy to check it out. I have traveled all over this area for one reason or another and had never heard of this place untill I did some latenight forum surfing. Originally from Springfield though and Oakridge is a half hour drive away. Thanks to all who did the research as I was very happy to help solve this mystery until I realized the dates on the forum pages. I will post any pics and info that I retrieve.

If you do it on a weekend, let me know.

Posted

I will be making this trek very soon as I live(or used to), very close to this area. I now am up in Ft. Lewis, but will be coming down to tackle this guy to check it out. I have traveled all over this area for one reason or another and had never heard of this place untill I did some latenight forum surfing. Originally from Springfield though and Oakridge is a half hour drive away. Thanks to all who did the research as I was very happy to help solve this mystery until I realized the dates on the forum pages. I will post any pics and info that I retrieve.

If you do it on a weekend, let me know.

Will do Criminal. 20 years?, how th heck did you do it? I'm coming up on 8 or so and burnt out.

Posted (edited)

Take hwy 58 towards westfir turn left onto hwy 19 towards huckleberry flats 15.4 miles, turn left onto forest service rd. 1926. Drive on 1926 2.5 miles and turn left onto forest service rd. 636. Follow 636 1.6 miles staying to the left at a wye in the road. At 1.6 miles exactly there will be a little turn out onto the left to park. There is a definite trail starting on the same side of the road as the little turn out. Due east about 1/10 mile up the trail. Sign on tree Hellhole. If you want to go down in it bring a 100ft piece of rope. Good luck.

Edited by bigjimmy111
Posted

Thanks bigjimmy111, great directions we took advantage of. What a great spot! I hope to go back with a rope and some geo friends to get down into that hole and have a good look around! I did see a couple places where it looked safe enough if you had a rope to hang onto going down and back up. Didn't get all the way around the trails this time, next time I'll make a day of it. Hope that NavMan and Croaker make it back into the cache for their prizes, which are still there and we rewrote their names on the faded envelopes. Exellent time of year to make the trip, with a great window of good weather for the next month or two.

Cheers!

Posted

If folks don't want a geocache near the Hell Hole, the answer is easy: start posting a few "this cache should be archived" notes on the cache page.<BR><BR>State why, but be very classy and polite about it in the process. It's probably just an honest mistake. icon_smile.gif<!--graemlin::P--><BR><BR>-Elana (a.k.a. "Sparrowhawk") <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/peepwall.gif">

 

I am Glad that someone DID place a cache here. I'm not about the numbers, But Having Coordinates and a description (besides in the forums) Does make it easier for my wife and I to make the 500 Mile Drive. Now to decide on Hells Hole or Yellowstone for next year??

 

The Steaks

Posted

I am Glad that someone DID place a cache here. I'm not about the numbers, But Having Coordinates and a description (besides in the forums) Does make it easier for my wife and I to make the 500 Mile Drive. Now to decide on Hells Hole or Yellowstone for next year??

 

The Steaks

No contest - go to Yellowstone. When you get right down to it, Hell Hole is just a hole in the ground - however unique as holes go. Yes, it's a cool place to visit, but it doesn't have nearly the geological significance that Yellowstone has, nor any of the other great things for your kids to see that Yellowstone has. On the plus side, it doesn't have the crowds of people that fill up Yellowstone. You probably won't see a soul at Hell Hole.

Posted

i grew up in oregon before i came over here to wyoming for college. i have beenin the vacinity but havent actually found it.....yet. i had anold logger friend tell me it was NE of oakridge in the willamette NF, but i forgot the rest of the info. i would guess i was within a mile or two of it.

Posted

Well I have made this trip, since it is only a 45 minute drive from where I grew up in Springfield. It is definately worth going to see. Unfortunately when I went with some friends the Hell Hole sign that was on the tree was gone. Not really a kid friendly cache unless the little ones are tied to you with a two foot rope. For some reason when you are standing on the ledge of the cliff it feels like the Hole is trying to pull you into it. I thought it was just my head playing with me but my two other friends that went with me said they felt the same thing. If anyone has any questions on this Geocache please feel free to e-mail me.

Posted

Wow, I'm glad I found this thread. I stumbled upon Hell Hole in the 1970s as a teenager out chasing some deer. I've wanted to go back but it had been so long that I could not remember exactly where it was. I became interested in going back after reading about it in the newspaper a few years ago and how the forest service was keeping the location quiet. I remember it being up the north fork and on fairly flat ground. At that time I did not see an evidence of other people having been there. I grew up in Oakridge and never heard anyone else talk about it. Well, I'll have to go back once again.

Posted

Wow, I'm glad I found this thread. I stumbled upon Hell Hole in the 1970s as a teenager out chasing some deer. I've wanted to go back but it had been so long that I could not remember exactly where it was. I became interested in going back after reading about it in the newspaper a few years ago and how the forest service was keeping the location quiet. I remember it being up the north fork and on fairly flat ground. At that time I did not see an evidence of other people having been there. I grew up in Oakridge and never heard anyone else talk about it. Well, I'll have to go back once again.

 

Well growing up in Springfield (Mohawk), I thought that I had traveled all the backroads in Lane County, but had never even heard of Hell Hole, untill about a little over a year ago when I came upon it in here. I've made the trip up there and it is definately a really cool place to go. Plus there are a bunch of other caches along the river heading up there and all around out in the woods. If anybody is looking for an excuse to get out and see something that will boggle their mind, head out to this cache. Just make sure that you don't suffer from Vertigo, as it is a long way down.

Posted

I had a chance to explore the area yesterday - it is amazing it was kept hidden for such a long time. I was able to make it into the rift from the SW side without a rope. It was a bit loose for the last 10' or so, and a rope would have made it safer (along with a helmet). I have the coordinates of the entry point marked in my GPS is anyone is interested.

Posted

I was in this forum a couple YEARS ago, and this one has Somehow resurfaced my enthusiam for this area. The Wife(lizard_sme) says that IF GW8 Is *cough* where it should be next year *cough* that we WILL do it!!!

 

YEAH!

 

The Steaks

Posted

I was in this forum a couple YEARS ago, and this one has Somehow resurfaced my enthusiam for this area. The Wife(lizard_sme) says that IF GW8 Is *cough* where it should be next year *cough* that we WILL do it!!!

 

YEAH!

 

The Steaks

Well *cough* the Hell Hole is nowhere near a proposed GW8 venue, including the one in Washington, so not sure why GW8's location would be a factor. *cough* The Hell Hole is an hour east of Eugene, OR, which puts it about 6 hours from the Seattle area and several hours from Spokane, as well. Just sayin'....

Posted

i was at hellhole today...

dont go there, that is some dangerous stuff. we had to rappel into it. there is stuff constantly falling from the sides, its extremely easy to fall in, its in pretty dense woods and that crack come up on you pretty quick. there is a reason the forest service has kept it off the maps. for the record, at the hikeable entrance to hellhole it is about 30 feet wide, after that it is only about 15 feet wide. at the deepest part it is about 250 possible 320 feet deep. all the rock is incredibly soft and unstable. the entire bottom of the crack is practically mud, but there is so much stuff falling that in the spots not containing vegetation, the floor is bone dry. very slippery at the bottom, also. no trails going into it, either. very hard to find, you'll just have to walk around in the woods until you find it. i am purposely not saying how i got there, learned the location, or any other such information.

Posted

OK , so I read about the first 50 or so posts, and maybe the last 20... I just don't have the time to read the whole ~240 posts.

 

Has this place been found? Are there Lat and Lon numbers available?

 

What about NWTrails?

 

Or shall I not worry about it because there might be ghosts there? Or maybe the boogie man?

Posted

OK , so I read about the first 50 or so posts, and maybe the last 20... I just don't have the time to read the whole ~240 posts.

 

Has this place been found? Are there Lat and Lon numbers available?

 

What about NWTrails?

 

Or shall I not worry about it because there might be ghosts there? Or maybe the boogie man?

Maybe you'd like to find the cache at the Hell Hole? Cool Place :mad:

Posted
OK , so I read about the first 50 or so posts, and maybe the last 20... I just don't have the time to read the whole ~240 posts.

 

Has this place been found? Are there Lat and Lon numbers available?

 

What about NWTrails?

 

Or shall I not worry about it because there might be ghosts there? Or maybe the boogie man?

 

Yes, Hell Hole (as well as the trail in to it) can be found in NW Trails! (But shhh, don't tell! :mad:)

Posted
OK , so I read about the first 50 or so posts, and maybe the last 20... I just don't have the time to read the whole ~240 posts.

 

Has this place been found? Are there Lat and Lon numbers available?

 

What about NWTrails?

 

Or shall I not worry about it because there might be ghosts there? Or maybe the boogie man?

 

Yes, Hell Hole (as well as the trail in to it) can be found in NW Trails! (But shhh, don't tell! :))

Is there a super secret password you have to have for the trail to the HH to show up in NWT? :mad: I have the latest release and the closest trail I see is 4.5 miles from the cache.

Posted

Is there a super secret password you have to have for the trail to the HH to show up in NWT? :mad: I have the latest release and the closest trail I see is 4.5 miles from the cache.

 

Hmmm, you're right - the trail is missing. The trailhead and Hell Hole waypoints are in, though. I'll make sure the trail (which is a minor one) is added back in in the next release.

Posted

I went, I saw, and I conquered. I didn't really conquer it, but I was there and I did see it. Pretty cool place... no harrowing story or alien abduction or anything. Just a nice warm Summer day in the mts. Stopped at a couple of place on the middle fork of the Willamette (wild and scenic status). It was awesome. If any of you are in the area be sure to check out another enjoyable cache: Secret Falls, GC12R1K.

Posted

I worked for the FS out of Oakridge for many years, not that long ago. We referred to it as The Crack (to be polite) but also as Hell Hole. Sometimes, I'd meet people out in the woods looking for it, but I never told them where it was. If anything happened to them, who knows if they'd end up blaming (or suing nowadays) us because a 'Ranger' told them how to get there! I just found this thread and found it really fun to read through. It's been years since I was there, I don't remember a trail or a sign, so sounds like lots of folks have found it.

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