Arrive early to snag a piece of this lakeside paradise!
Ranger Review: OOFOS OOMG Low Shoe at Owhi Campground on Cooper Lake, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Washington State
Campground Review: Owhi Campground
Review: 5 Stars «««««
Getting to Owhi Campground is a bit of an adventure in itself. Take exit 80 off I-90 and slowly meander your way through the small mining towns of Roslyn and Ronald. Once out of Ronald you'll find yourself on the 903 / Salmon La Sac Road. Follow for another 16 miles along Lake Cle Elum and the Little Salmon la Sac River . Take a left at the second bridge (NF-46) and cross, then continue on this road for 4 miles. At the end of 4 miles the paved road will end, a gravel road begins, and there will be a sign to Cooper Lake. Take a right (NF-4616) to continue onward. Another 1.5 miles down the gravel road and your destination will be tucked in the bush on the left, the beautiful Owhi Campground.
Staying to the left upon pulling into the lot, there are 3 parking lots each above a number of the 22 walk-in sites. The first parking lot has a pit toilet bathroom, self-pay station ($14 a night, $6 per extra car- one car and 6 people per site), and a main trail down to the camps and lake. The second parking lot also has a pit toilet bathroom and rubbish bin. The third lot is just parking but is bigger and I've seen larger trucks with campers or small trailers park here. Each parking lot also has "private" trails from the parking to specific camps so be warned that if you follow random trails you may end up in someone's camp.
The campground itself is made up of wooded, semi-private, to not-so-private camps set along a main trail that leads down from the parking lot towards and along the lake. The majority of the sites are mostly shaded. There are plenty of trees to hang hammocks amongst if you are a hammock camper, or if you want to hang one up to just sit in. Each site is equipped with a built-in picnic table, fire ring, and site number post with clip to attach payment stub.
There is no camp host but a ranger or volunteer will do a walk through at least once a day to check on things and collect payments from the box. There is no running water in camp, bring your own or pump from the local creeks.
The campground offers a boat launch. Please don't drag your beautiful Old Town canoe through the woods like a savage; just drive it over to the boat ramp. Cooper Lake hosts non-motorized-only boats which makes for a peaceful camping experience. The lake is absolutely beautiful, as is the surrounding Alpine Wilderness overlooking it.
We arrived on a Thursday early afternoon and there were only 4 sites left of the 22 available first-come-first-served sites. We quickly paid for sites #4 & 5 and began setting up camp. We talked to some gals up the trail in sites #9 & 10 and they arrived on Tuesday evening to claim their sites for a large group for the weekend. Duly noted; arrive early for the best spots.
When camping at site #5, you have one of the "private" trails from parking lot #1 straight into the camp. The trail was steep yet convenient to have easy car-to-camp access. Site #5 was split from site #4 by the main trail but felt more private as it was surrounded by bushes on three sides and only open facing the trail. Site #4 is closer to the lake and has a better view in general but is a more open site with much less privacy, and the ability to look straight into the next camp at site #3. Site #4, however, sort of makes up for it by having a straight path to the lake.
There are a few small pebble-strewn "beaches" along the lakeshore where you can set up a few chairs for an afternoon in the sun, or cast a line from in the early light. Rainbow trout are available to catch for the crafty fisherman. I strutted around in my super comfy OOFOS OOMG Low Shoes, with our chairs, rafts, kayaks, and SUP as we headed down to one of the beaches and set up for the weekend with other campground locals to enjoy the lake, sun, and mountain views.
If playing on the lake isn't enough activity for you, there are a few hiking trails located close by. You can hike to Pete Lake by either driving or hiking the remaining mile down the road to the trailhead from Owhi Campground. There is also the Mineral Creek trailhead a bit further up NF-4600.
Product Review: OOFOS OOMG Low Shoe
Review: 5 Stars «««««
As a Review Ranger for TheDyrt.com I was provided with a pair of women's OOMG Low Shoes in black by OOFOS to test and review.
Pros
· Closed cell foam made from non-toxic properties and painted with non-toxic paints
· Latex free for sensitive feet (like mine)
· 6 month warranty
· Lightweight - each shoe weighs 6.12 ounces
· Incredibly comfortable!
· 4-way stretch mesh upper is breathable
· Machine washable (do not put in the drier)
Cons
· Do not dry out quickly - mine took 22 hours to dry out
· Not made to go on rough adventures in - tore a chunk from my sole trying to walk to the lake from my campsite
The OOMG low shoe is sold as a recovery shoe and it totally fits the bill!
While your typical gym shoe foot-bed was designed with many layers to help move you through your workout, Oofoam was designed by former athletic shoe designers with a single, closed foam cell to absorb more shock than a traditional shoe, ease hip and back pain, put the body into a more natural stance with high arch support, and give tired feet relief and ease the road to recovery post workout.
I tested these shoes to the limit on a 4-day camp trip on Cooper Lake and daily in my garden since our return. While at the Owhi Campground we hiked, kayaked, hung in hammocks and trucked from our camp to the lake and back more times than I care to count.
Post hiking:
Post hiking these shoes are a dream! Our weekend on Cooper Lake was hot, 85-100 degrees out, and pulling off my hiking boots and thick socks in exchange for the OOMG Low Shoe and ankle socks was so refreshing. The shoes are made from a closed cell foam foot-bed which is extremely comfortable and cushy, a 4-way stretch mesh upper which allows them to be incredibly lightweight, weighing in at 12.24 ounces a pair. They are surprisingly breathable and slide off and on with ease. Not to mention crafted with non-toxic materials/paints and are latex free, allowing all wearers to enjoy sock free, if you're into that sort of thing.
I spent an entire day in them around camp and my comfort level stayed impeccable. I did, however, tear a tiny chunk out of the inside of my right sole at some point hiking from camp to our beach set-up on the lake. I noticed that OOFOS has a 6-month warranty on their products that I will have to look into for my tear.
My suggestion when camping with the OOMG would be to keep them on the groomed trails or close to camp because they otherwise make a wonderful hammock camp shoe. No fuss sliding off and on from my hammock or buddies’ tent.
Water sports:
When I read the shoe was machine washable, I chose to test them out on the water.
I wore them for a morning of light kayaking. While my foot bed was wet the shoe didn't retain tons of water inside while kayaking so it was comfortable; not too cold and I was still able to retain grip inside my shoe without rubbing or blistering. The foot bed doesn't have a lot of grip to the bottom of the shoe so I didn't give it a go on the SUP, not to mention my balance sucks so I wouldn't be an accurate judge up there anyways.
My only real gripe about wearing them in the water was the dry out time. I'm lucky I brought extra shoes on the trip as these stayed wet for 22 hours on an 85 degree day, left out to dry upside down on a picnic table in a partial sun/shaded camp.
Returning home & around the Garden:
Since returning home the OOMG Low Shoes have become my go to house and gardening shoes. While wearing them in the garden I've found that I enjoy wearing my OOFOS without socks to water my plants; my feet can breathe, I don’t mind if my shoes or feet get a little wet (as it's been so hot out) and damn are they cushy. These shoes seem to be slowly molding to my feet and are improving my balance and posture. My family has mentioned that they've noticed I'm standing up straighter and look healthier (due to decreased pain levels) to which I truly give the credit to the shoes. Not to be a whiner but I have been diagnosed with MS, psoriatic arthritis and early onset osteoarthrosis and typically deal with left leg weakness and hip pain on a daily basis. Since obtaining these shoes I would say my hip pain has decreased from a 7/10 to a 5/10 daily. That may not sound like much to you, but to me it is a serious improvement. I was so impressed with them that I suggested them to my Dad who also suffers from hip arthritis with two (2) prior hip replacements! He purchased the Men's Ooriginal sandals in black and absolutely loves them. In fact, he loves them so much that after just a week of having his, he just purchased my Mom a pair of the Women's Ooahh Lux slide in black hoping they help with her bunions. My sister dropped by today to help in my garden and noticed my "funny" shoes but after she read my review and found out my folks each own a pair too, she is interested in her own pair of OOMG Low Shoe's for her post hiking and yoga adventures. Both of my sisters will be going to Disneyland for Halloween and I’ll be recommending them to my youngest sister for her hotel and pool-side shoes! Looks like we should invite the OOFOS team to Christmas as it seems you're now a part of our family. Thanks OOFOS!
Extras:
There are a few more things I'd like to give OOFOS a shout out for that are not necessarily part of the shoe but part of the company's core values; the Pink program and OOFOS rewards.
OOFOS Rewards is your basic rewards program except you are earning points towards amazingly cushy recovery footwear! They have all kinds of extra ways to earn points; share on FB for 15 points or refer a friend for 200 points for example but the basic point system is 1 point earned per $1 spent. Redeem 100 points for $5 discount, 200 points for $10 discount, 500 points for a $25 discount and 1,000 points for a $50 discount. In case you were wondering I totally signed up for the points program as I anticipate a growing collection of OOFOS footwear in my home.
The second project I'd like to point is the Project Pink program donates $10 from any Project Pink footwear collection sold, to breast cancer treatment research at Dana- Farber. I like to spend my money at companies that give back to their communities in one way or another, so cheers to OOFOS for doing their part to help fight breast cancer!
