We recently spoke to Karrie Carns, a volunteer ambassador for the nonprofit women’s outdoor empowerment organization Women Who Explore, and she shared her best-kept tips for backpacking in Oregon. Here are her picks, broken down by difficulty levels:
Easy
- Salmon River Trail (54 miles southeast)
- Lower Twin Lake (108 miles southeast)
- Boulder Lake (79 miles east)
- Shell Rock Lake (91 miles southeast)
- Timothy Lake (80 miles southeast)
Intermediate
- Silver Star (40 miles northeast)
Difficult
- Timberline Trail (70 miles east)
Know how strenuous [the hike] is, know what your elevation gain is, and particularly backpacking, know whether there's any water sources because water is heavy — and the weight of your pack matters.
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