Escaping the cabin breaks the fever.

Byline: THE OUTSIDER By John Rezell The Register-Guard

Our weekend break from rainy weather couldn't have come at a better time. Every breathing creature in the house needed to get out and clean out the carburetor.

Across the board, cabin fever had risen to a toasty pitch. My daughter Taylor was coming off an ear infection. Daughter Sierra was coming off a foot injury suffered during gymnastics. Wife Debbie had a long week at work.

And I've still got turkey and stuffing hanging around my handlebars longer than I can remember.

Well, OK, maybe the turkey and stuffing got replaced by Christmas cookies, which gave way to Super Bowl chips and snacks, which surrendered to Valentine's Day chocolate, which, if I don't do something soon, might get firmed up by St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage to give me a solid foundation for treats left by big floppy ears.

Any way you look at it, it's time to get the engine revving again.

Of course, when I talk about the family now, that includes our black lab puppy Ridgely, nearly 9 months old. She's been bouncing off the walls for a week now. (Dang, there I go again, forgetting my landlord is an avid reader.)

I got a book for Christmas, "Best hikes with dogs Oregon" by Ellen Morris Bishop. I hadn't checked it out much yet, waiting instead for the trails to dry out a bit.

But with everyone champing at the bit, it was time for action. I flipped it open, and much to my amazement, there is one lone dot anywhere near Eugene. It pinpoints Howard Buford County Recreational Area, aka Mount Pisgah.

Now, one can only imagine what has kept Bishop and her pooches from the Eugene area. I mean, seriously, 75 hikes in Oregon and only one in these parts?

We hit Mount Pisgah just before mid-afternoon. The parking lot was jammed. We weren't the only souls in need of fresh air.

We've been to Mount Pisgah before but had yet to hike to the summit. So we hit the West Trailhead and headed up the 1.8-mile trek to the summit.

As usual with the first warm hike of the year, we were over-dressed. It's just difficult to convince yourself that such a wonderful day will stay that way. We didn't dress in layers. So it was hot. But we did have water.

Of course, you take the good with the bad. Without a warm sun baking us, we wouldn't have been afforded such an incredible view. On the way up you can look back at Eugene and out west, and marvel at how beautiful it is here.

Every time I get up a mountain around here, I'm moved to move-less-ness. I simply stand in awe. With the ridge of Mount Pisgah shielding the views to the east, the hike keeps your attention on the view of the Willamette River and the valley. With my eyes always searching eastward, it's a nice change of pace.

The trail gets steep about midway up, making us thankful we didn't attack the 1.3-mile trail. That might have been a little too much for early season fitness. At least right out of the car.

It didn't take long to realize why this trail made the list.

We lost count of the number of dogs we passed, although Sierra did keep count of the number ignoring the leash law. Unfortunately that was six. Sure, they were well-behaved dogs. But small kids don't know that. And when an unrestrained dog can sneak up on a kid on a hilly trail, well, that's a bad combination.

It didn't take long for us to reach the summit. The 360-degree view surprised us, since no one had yet told us that Mount Pisgah is a must-see. The view filled us up, enough to make the 1.3-mile return to the bottom not too much.

After a rough start, Ridgely settled in just fine. She ignored the strays and kept at my side without pulling too much. All in all, a great day.

John Rezell, aka Raz, wants to compile a list of great dog hikes in our area. E-mail him at [e-mail] with your suggestions, or to invite him on an adventure.