Cascade Volunteers

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Cascade Volunteers Cascade Volunteers is the nonprofit partner of the Willamette National Forest.

Ever wondered what it takes to install signs in a burned area? It’s definitely not as easy as it looks!Friends of the Ce...
10/12/2026

Ever wondered what it takes to install signs in a burned area? It’s definitely not as easy as it looks!

Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness had a very successful trek into the Diamond Peak Wilderness last week. A crew of 5 replaced the trailhead sign and then hiked up to the Wilderness boundary and installed a new sign and post.

It was challenging to find a place to dig the hole due to the burned terrain, rocks and slope but we got it! It is stunning to see as you come around the corner on the steep trail. Day 2 we went up to Rockpile/Diamond junction and replaced the burned trail junction sign.

The post for this sign was easier to find than the previous day but it was still very hot in the burn but a great filtered view of Diamond Peak showed off the new sign nicely. A quiet hike back to the truck, everyone was exhausted. But driving back to camp the truck got a flat tire and changing it was a learning experience and something we did not sign up for! Tire replaced, we had a nice view of Diamond Peak again on the way back to camp to pack up our things and head home. We had two sunny clear days and a beautiful sky-filled evening at camp with great conversation.


Friends of the Central Cascades Wilderness
U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest

10/09/2026

The B&B Complex wildfires from 2003 burned over 90,000 acres in the central Cascades, with about half that acreage in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness of the Willamette National Forest. Our historic wilderness trails were heavily impacted.



U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest
Pacific Crest Trail Association

The Obsidian hiking club joined Leaders Lyndell, Heidi and Ane in cleaning Rosary Lakes. All three lakes were thoroughl...
10/07/2026

The Obsidian hiking club joined Leaders Lyndell, Heidi and Ane in cleaning Rosary Lakes. All three lakes were thoroughly checked by these motivated stewards. Shorelines were checked for fishing gear, ash removed from fire rings. A 4-ft fire ring was rebuilt to 2-ft. Six tarps, plastic, boat paddles, a walkie talkie, a camp chair, glass beverage bottles, a dog leash and trash were carried the 3 miles back to the trailhead.

Everyone felt a sense of accomplishment and the lakes remain as pristine as ever.

Love Your Lakes
U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest


10/04/2026

The stored tension in rootballs! Always an exciting moment when it’s cut and released. This was a particularly dramatic cut from the Salamander Trail Crew two weeks ago.



U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest
Salamander Trail Crew

With fire-damaged trees coming down more frequently across trails, our crosscut saws are working overtime. That means do...
10/02/2026

With fire-damaged trees coming down more frequently across trails, our crosscut saws are working overtime. That means dozens of hours spent over filing vises—jointing, shaping rakers, and setting cutter teeth by hand.

A sharp saw turns hours of backbreaking labor into smooth, rhythmic work. Here’s to the stewards who keep the steel sharp and the wilderness accessible. 🌲


U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest

09/21/2026

Every one of these burned trees is coming down eventually—and often right across the tread! Safe to say our trail crews have job security for a long time. But honestly, nobody’s complaining when you get to work with front-row views of Mount Jefferson.




U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest

09/18/2026

There is definitely plenty of trail work! Thanks for tackling that ceanothus!


Scorpions Trail Crew
U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest

Ever heard of OHLEC? 🪵🌲It’s the 5-step situational analysis used by the U.S. Forest Service and trail crews to keep sawy...
09/16/2026

Ever heard of OHLEC? 🪵🌲

It’s the 5-step situational analysis used by the U.S. Forest Service and trail crews to keep sawyers safe before a blade ever touches wood. The acronym helps you evaluate the physics and hazards of a log before making a cut:

O – Objective: Where do you want the wood pieces to go?
H – Hazards: Check for overhead dead limbs or environmental risks.
L – Leans & Binds: Calculate tree lean and internal log tension so your saw doesn't get pinched.
E – Escape Routes: Clear at least one or two unobstructed paths to retreat safely.
C – Cut Plan: Finalize your specific cutting technique and technique sequence.

Next time you head out, take a 30-second pause and walk through OHLEC. It could save your saw, your project, or your life.


U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest

There's more than one way to get to a trailhead! The Scorpions Trail Crew reported this for Thursday, August 27th - A c...
09/09/2026

There's more than one way to get to a trailhead! The Scorpions Trail Crew reported this for Thursday, August 27th - A crew of eight Scorpions in four canoes paddled across Waldo Lake from Shadow Bay to work the Black Creek trail from the east side TH. This was our 4th trip of the season to Black Creek which was severely burned in the Cedar Creek fire.

We loaded the canoes with three big crosscut saws, Pulaskis, pry bars, a few tread tools and our packs. The lake was very calm in the morning, and we made the roughly half hour, 1.7 mile crossing of Waldo in patchy fog with no problem. At about the 1-mile mark, we crossed Klovdahl Creek and started descending a section of trail on a very steep side slope with about a half dozen difficult logs across the trail. Most of us spent the rest of the day here reworking the tread and bucking up the complex logs. Two crew members forged ahead and cleared another quarter mile of trail before turning back to rejoin the rest of us to help move some big logs. By 2:30, after exhausting every other log moving technique, we finally stumbled on the right plan and managed to get the last very argumentative log off the trail and started hiking back on a high note.

Thanks to the canoe captains and enthusiastic crew we had a very successful day and made good progress on restoring Black Creek trail. We made it about 1.3 miles in from the east TH. From the west TH on our three previous trips this year we worked 1.7 miles. That leaves a very tough 0.8 miles in the center mostly in a high severity burn area.

U.S. Forest Service - Willamette National Forest
Scorpions Trail Crew

Address

3106 Pierce Parkway
Springfield, OR
97477

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

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