About the Blog

This blog is the voice of the Mount Hood National Park Campaign, a private, grassroots effort to bring Mount Hood the recognition it deserves as a national treasure of natural and cultural significance (read “About the Campaign”). I started the blog in 2008 to provide more timely articles than the main Mount Hood National Park Campaign web format allows.

The model for the WyEast Blog is decidedly old-school: magazine-style, with more depth, photos and maps than you’ll find on a typical blog. What you won’t find are posts on what I had for lunch, the weather outside or anything resembling a stream-of-consciousness tweets. Plenty of that on the web, already! Instead, I publish 1-2 articles per month in an ad-free environment that are, hopefully, as informative for you as they are for me to research and write in my lifelong quest to explore all things Mount Hood.

A couple of important caveats: all photos on this site are taken and copyrighted by me (read “About the Photos”), or public domain with photo credit provided. I’m also my own editor, so please be patient with the occasional ramble, bad grammar or just poor spelling.

Thanks for stopping by, and please consider posting a link in other forums!

The Author at Angels Rest

Tom Kloster | Mount Hood National Park Campaign

34 thoughts on “About the Blog”

  1. Dear Mr. Tom Kloster,

    I am a Ph.D candidate at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. I study irises for my doctoral research and I have recently defended my dissertation. My sample of Iris tenuis was provided by a friend located at Portland for my study of their flowers, but she doesn’t have a photo of it. I am wondering if I can get your permission to use your photo of “Clackamas iris” in your blog article “Clackamas River Trail”. I need a close up of Iris tenuis flower to include in one of the figures in my dissertation, which is due quite soon.

    Sorry I have to write this letter here because I do not have your email address. Please feel free to contact me at jinyan.guo@cgu.edu

    Thank you very much!

    Like

  2. Dear Mr. Kloster,

    Sorry, the email I replied to your address couldn’t get through. So, I have to reply you here.

    Thank you very much for letting me use your photos of Iris tenuis. I will really appreciate it if I can get a higher resolution of the close up of the flower (as I study these flowers). The second iris picture in your blog would be perfect. I may need this high resolution photo when I publish in peer reviewed journals. I will acknowledge your name in both my dissertation and the coming papers.

    Thank you very much!

    Sincerely,

    Jinyan

    Like

  4. The article “Million Dollar View” mentions the hiking trail on the west side of Beacon Rock that goes to the summit and which was built by Henry Biddle. The article states, “The famous network of catwalks and stairways installed on Beacon Rock in the 1920s leads thousands of visitors to the airy summit each year to marvel at the view.” Just for the record the trail was begun Sept. 1915 and finished March 1918 as recorded in Biddle’s account books now in special collections at the University of Oregon. As you probably know the trail is unfortunately currently closed due to damage from the Nov. 2015 storm.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Hey Tom, The BPA powerline near Hiyu Mountain, Lolo Pass is one tenth of a mile (520 feet) wide, not a half mile wide. I just measured it on our GIS systems at work. Should correct the mistake on the caption on the photo. Cheers,

    Like

  8. Thanks, Bill — I did some re-measures myself and came up with width that vary from 800 feet to nearly 1,400 feet, so I’ll meet you in the middle and correct the caption to read one-quarter mile. I think you must be looking at the section east of Lolo Pass, whereas I’m measuring the section west of the pass (where the devastation is quite a bit worse). Whatever the case, the impacts are impossible to minimize — the location is still an environmental catastrophe for the mountain.

    Like

  9. Tom Kloster,

    I’m a graduate student researching the historic drinking fountains along Oregon’s highways and you referenced one i Hadn’t heard of, the Sherwood fountain. Can you please email me and let me know where you found it?

    Best,

    Lys

    Like

  10. Hi Lys,

    It’s located at the entrance to the Sherwood Campground on Highway 35 (along the Mount Hood Loop), a few miles toward the Hood River Valley from Bennett Pass and the Meadows resort. There are sister fountains at Sahalie Falls and just west of Barlow Pass on bypassed sections of the old loop.

    Hope that helps!

    Like

  12. Hi, my name is Austin Brigden. I operate a small seed company, Reliance Seed, specializing in PNW native species. I’m offering Iris tenuis this year, but don’t have any photos of it in bloom. Would it be possible for me to use one of yours, providing credit and linking back to the blog?
    -Austin

    Like

  15. Hi Tom,

    We love the Celilo Falls panorama you created, and are wondering if it’s available to purchase? Or if not that, if it’s possible to buy the 3 prints you used separately?

    Thanks so much!

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hi Katy — can you send me an e-mail? You can use this address (note: replacing the @ in my e-mail address with an & for spam purposes): tom&mounthoodnationalpark.org

    Like

  18. Hi Tom-

    Great site. I found it looking for info on the Elliot Crossing. In 2002, I built what looks to be the last bridge footings at Elliot crossing according to you 2014 article, working for the Hood River RD. This bridge, the one in your photos, was not removed seasonally by helicopter as stated but could be dissembled and reassembled and stored by a couple people on site each year. I have a couple of photos from the construction viewable at http://www.brandonalleman.com – Find Galleries – Bridges – 2002 Mt Hood. I only had a disposable camera at the time.

    Best,
    Brandon

    Like

  19. Tom,

    Thanks for the great blog. Looks like comments are closed, but wanted to let you know that the Hood air quality webcam is back online and some of the others, hooray! Although it looks like the Gorge one is still offline for now.

    Cheers,
    Stephen

    Like

  20. Thanks for the background, Brandon — just catching your comment now. I’ll add an update to the original article. Much appreciated!

    Like

  22. Hello! I just want to let you know that I stumbled upon your website while I was doing some research on Mitchell Point …I have enjoyed reading all that is here and seeing the interesting photos…I can see that Mt Hood is a passion of yours…My grandmother always talked about Mt Hood…She grew up at Mitchell Point (at Little Boy Ranch)…I was so surprised that ODOT used the photo of my Great-grandparents Christmas card on their Mitchell Point Tourist marker…What a wonderful treat! I submitted my email so I can keep up with your blog and project…May peace always find you!

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Thank you, Hannah! You’ve got a pretty cool ancestral connection to the Gorge, to say the least — glad you found the blog! 🙂

    Like

  24. Tom, on July 29th, 2020 I hiked to Owl Point for the first time from the Vista Ridge TH. I recorded the waypoints for all the downed trees along the trail. I sent this information to the Zigzag Ranger station but got no response. I am not sure if the Mt Hood National Forest Service maintains this trail. Perhaps the TKO does. I know this information is useful to someone. It may be a matter of getting it into the right hands. Can you help with an email address?

    Like

  25. Hi Dean! Thanks for recording that. The Hood River Ranger District is responsible for this trail, but you are right that TKO has adopted it and is responsible for maintenance. TKO still isn’t cleared for work parties due to COVID, but if you can send your waypoints to me I’ll make sure to hang on to them for the next work party. I’ll send you an e-mail from my TKO account to follow up. Thanks!

    Tom

    Like

  26. Tom, I hope this reaches you. I’m trying to get a print of the interpretive sign from Zig Zags Falls. I know this image is most likely copyrighted, so I know I’m being a fool. I got engaged there at the falls this past Monday and now I can’t get it out of my head…. I want to print a 20×30 on wood and would cherish it for decades. Any advice?

    Like

  27. Good Evening,

    Concerning Newton Clark, his son William Clark, and his son Newton M. Clark, some of the details of your blog might be off a touch.

    My name is Ed Clark. My Maternal Grandfather was a Newton Clark, born 1899 in Hood River, and attended Stanford for at least one year.

    He became a civil engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers, and was instrumental in several dams on the Columbia river.

    He passed away in Seattle in 1975

    Here’s where the differences occur. He was married. I am not certain of the year, but he married a miss Hallie Puddy. They had 2 children. Bonnie Lou Clark, born 1933 in Hood River. And Newton Clark III, born in 1937. Also in Hood River, I believe.

    Bonnie Clark was my Mother. She married in 1957, to a gentleman with the same last name of Clark. She passed away in 2014, at the age of 80.

    Just thought you’d like to know.

    Respectfully submitted,

    Ed Clark

    Like

  28. Hi
    I am a stone mason in the Columbia River Gorge, and I do historic restoration work on these very walls. This is a great article. Would love to get in touch with you.
    Thanks
    John DiBona
    DiBona Stone LLC

    Like

  29. I have followed your blog for years and have loved your writing and your campaign for a Mt. Hood National Park. Your discoveries and insights are captivating. I recently started my own nature blog, after having been a newspaper columnist for several years. I would be thrilled if you would take a look at it! The link is nwnatureblog.blogspot.com. Please subscribe and share, if you’re so inclined.

    Best,
    Bobbie Snead

    Like

  31. I just built a house in Tygh Valley and am trying to learn more about its history. Just stumbled on your blog while searching for history on the Tygh Valley log pond. Just gotta say, your site is great! Thanks for the great effort.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Hello, I just wanted toto say that I find all the information on your blog t be so informative. Thank you so much for putting this information out there and please keep it coming!
    I also wanted to let you know (since I just read your post on mountain goats) that I just saw one wandering along near the peak of Zigzag mountain on 9/19/23. I thought somebody who is passionate about the subject should know. Also, I wasn’t sure who else to tell besides my friends. It looks like we are well on out way to having a goat population on Wyeast again!

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Hi Tom,
    I would love to know if its possible to get approval from landowners to access these old school houses, dance halls etc that you have provided such stunning photos of. I have a certain fascination with the history surrounding such buildings and would love to be able to explore the grounds.

    Like

  34. @cjensy, that’s very cool! There were regular sightings of a male goat near McNeil Point a few years ago, and the only reasonable explanation is that it had wandered up from Mount Jefferson, where they have been re-introduced in recent years. That’s quite a trip — but also encouraging. Thanks for sharing!

    @Mark, if you are referring to the areas around Tygh Ridge, I’ve found that many of the farmers have scattered, very extensive holdings, so the best way to find an owner is using the Wasco County tax assessor maps (they are online). From there, an old-fashioned letter would work, as e-mail info is not provided. I’m religious about staying on public land and right-of-way, so I appreciate you do the same. Most of these old structures only exist because the land owners have let them be.

    Apologies for missing some of the earlier comments on this page — I usually catch comments on individual articles but often miss them here!

    Like

Leave a comment