2x don't plan on traveling the day of the eclipse, as most single lane roads can't move more than 2,000 cars per hour in one direction past a point. Travel early to your eclipse site and leave the next day afterwards or go in the direction most people aren't going. If it is cloudy west of the Cascades expect the passes and routes to eastern Oregon to be a mess.
I found a nice boondocking site in the Malhuer NF.
One thing to keep in mind is that the normally first come first served Oregon State Parks east of the mountains became reservation only and were reserved in 1.5 minutes after reservations opened.
The first come first served NF campgrounds are predicted to be full 7 days prior to the eclipse and maybe up to the 14 day stay limit prior to the eclipse.
I opted for boondocking, I investigated several sites last summer and picked up a Long creek ranger district map (renamed the Blue Mountain District) to find out what roads were gated. When I talked with the ranger he said they planned to gate a lot of additional roads that would lead to good eclipse boondocking sites because of concerns about people with inadequate skill or equipment to navigate single lane primitive roads that lead to the top of several buttes without endangering themselves or others. The
Malheur NF website has an interactive map you should check or call them to see if the roads you are planning to use are going to be closed. Their website also lists several possible eclipse view sites.
For those who are unaware The 64 mile wide total eclipse path is shown below. If you are outside that path you will only see a partial eclipse. The closer to the center line, the longer the duration of totality.
To get more information
Xavier Jubier website lists total eclipses and maps them on Google Earth. Click
here to download a *.KMZ file to open in Goggle Earth to see the path and get details of the eclipse itself for your viewing area.
Zooming in and clicking on the image shows the eclipse details.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Time is UTC; ALT is degrees above the horizon; AZI is bearing in degrees true. Aside from totality itself, equally impressive is the shadow racing across the sky and earth at 0.97 km/sec (0.6 mi/sec, or about 2,100 mph). Best to be up high and where you can see at least 30 miles to see it come and go.
*.KMZ data can be exported and then imported into Delorme as seen below:
Click For Full-Size Image.
Remaining Total Eclipses in North America through 2050
