Oregon Field Guide

Mt Washington Climb, Slugs, Umpqua Fish Watcher

This has to be one of our most treacherous but beautiful climbs ever, as three climbers from OSU ascend Mount Washington in the central Oregon Cascades. Using harnessess and ropes, they take us along narrow ledges and up sheer cliffs while trying to avoid falling rocks -- it may be dangerous, but what a view from the top! Do you know how to get slug slime off your hands? What’s that weird hole in the right side of every slug? Learn from an Oregon woman who now loves slugs and welcomes them in her garden. Lee Spencer is a volunteer who spends his time watching over a unique pool, called the Dynamite Hole, on the Umpqua river that is a seasonal home to spawning Steelhead Salmon. He spends twelve hours a day at the river's edge to ensure poachers do not disturb this fragile environment. His work ensures the salmon can finish their treacherous journey up river to lay their eggs so that the cycle of life can continue into the future.