November 14, 2015 Simon says Hike Sheep Lake 2 miles 1,000 feet gained
This was the first hike with B-Dog in the snow. He taught me how to self arrest and glissade amongst many other things. I think it rained on us pretty much the whole time, with a slight mist at the top, but still very enjoyable.
November 13, 2015 Mileage Mike Cedar Island 4.1 miles 500 feet gained
I saw this park on google maps and looked up the hike on the Oregon Hikers Field Guide. I was quite surprised how nice the trail system is here and found myself exploring the region near the Willamette River. The river was very low and I was able to go in areas that aren't accessible now, after the heavy rain! The trail system has major issue, an over abunda...
November 13, 2015 Mountainkat Tanner Creek Falls 5.33 miles 1,500 feet gained
I wasn't feeling that great, so we went to see Tanner Creek and Wahclella Falls. We had not been on that trail in a very long time. The creek was full of water, and water was falling everywhere from the canyon walls. Quite a sight. It's pretty amazing what we have here in the Gorge! To our surprise, we saw only one other person. After finishing up, we went o...
November 11, 2015 Mileage Mike 8.2 miles 1,250 feet gained
We haven't been able to get out for a long hike as my son is recovering from surgery and needs us to help with exercises, which breaks up the day, for a two week period. We were able to get in a longer hike by hiking the Wildwood trail since it's so close to home. Very few people on the trail and no mud to speak of either! Had a great day and really enjoy th...
November 11, 2015 Karl Table Mountain 10.5 miles 4,250 feet gained
Got a really late start, not arriving at the Aldrich Butte trailhead until after 11am. The skies were broken, and it wasn't raining here. (Poured buckets as I was driving through Camas!) Seemed like it just might turn out to be a good sky-watching day. :-) Headed up the old access road, turning towards Aldrich Butte, before coming across a fresh landslide. N...
November 10, 2015 Mountainkat Boulder Lake 9.53 miles 2,000 feet gained
November 10, 2015 Woodswalker Larch Mountain 9 miles 1,750 feet gained
Great day with a friend taking the back way into Bell creek from Larch mountain. Slow pace due to excessive mushroom gawking. Some truly astounding old growth. Great day but dense fog at the beginning and end of the hike, so no views, but there was a light dusting of frost/snow on the trees just before the top of Larch. Wonderful trip.
November 9, 2015 Mileage Mike Cedar Mill Creek 5.1 miles 250 feet gained
I decided to try out this park as I've heard good things about it! My start on a paved trail made me think that the whole park would be like this, but it wasn't! There are a large number of short trails and most of them are a dirt surface! There were some nice views of birds on some of the ponds and I didn't see too many people given the parking lot had quit...
November 8, 2015 BeaverDawg Round Lake 6 miles 0 feet gained
We didn't have much time but wanted to get out and stretch our legs. The Lacamas trail fit the bill.
November 8, 2015 Mileage Mike Kiggins Bowl 2.4 miles 250 feet gained
We were getting close to sunset and didn't have much time to walk this trail. We parked near Leverich Park and headed east. It's a nice greenway and was enjoyable for what it is, close to home and out in the fresh air!
November 8, 2015 Mileage Mike Rocky Butte 0.9 miles 0 feet gained
We wanted to hike the Rocky Butte trail as described by the Oregon Hiker Field Guide but never found the trail! We asked a person in the gift shop but ended up driving to the wrong place, but went down quite a few roads. :) We didn't have much time so abandoned this hike and went to the Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway trail in Vancouver!
November 8, 2015 Mountainkat Sherrard Point 14.38 miles 4,000 feet gained
A very rainy and cold hike from Multnomah Falls to Larch Mountain. No views at Sherrard Point, but Multnomah Creek was full of water again and the forest was foggy and lovely as ever.
November 8, 2015 Simon says Hike Mill Creek 4 miles 750 feet gained
2015.11.09 - 1lap - I decided to use a hill near my house for training during weekdays and crappy weather days. It's 384ft gain and 1mi one direction. Yesterday was my first time up it with 20lbs pack and I got up in about 20mins. It felt good to get out and be active, and there was a decent view of the valley below from the top. I plan to keep doing this an...
November 7, 2015 Mileage Mike 1000 Acres Road 5.1 miles 250 feet gained
My wife wanted to see this area and the heavy rain kept most people away. The Sandy River was quite high compared to the last visit and was quite eerie. We had a great hike!
November 7, 2015 JM 15.5 miles 1,750 feet gained
November 6, 2015 Mountainkat McNeil Point 13.51 miles 3,000 feet gained
This was a late decision to hike up to McNeil Point before the snow starts to add up. We wanted something a little different, so we hiked the PCT from Lolo Pass instead of going up to Top Spur. This added 5 miles round trip and ate up a bit of time, but, it was a very pleasant forest hike, with a section that had a view of Mt. Hood. Once we were on the Timbe...
November 6, 2015 Mileage Mike Packard Creek 4.2 miles 750 feet gained
My son's surgery went very well earlier this week, and I took him to physical therapy this morning. I needed a hike close to home, and this is only 15 minutes away! Perfect afternoon for a hike!
November 5, 2015 Mileage Mike Latourell Falls 3 miles 1,000 feet gained
Beautiful loop hike that I haven't been on for over five years! Crowded at the TH but almost nobody on the trail!
November 4, 2015 Roman Angels Rest 4.5 miles 1,500 feet gained
Quiet hike, was cool to watch the bats swoop straight at me, then turning away just inches from my headlamp. Was surprised to come to 2 police cruisers at trailhead, and a young woman who was still waiting for her friend to come down... Met her 15 minutes into the hike asking if I saw a tall guy in white hat (?), didn't take it too seriously at first.
November 4, 2015 Mountainkat Cape Horn 6.87 miles 1,750 feet gained
It had been a while since I hiked the loop. A beautiful sunny fall day with lots of maple leaf color.
November 3, 2015 Mountainkat Smith Creek 9.99 miles 1,500 feet gained
A day with waterfalls, fog, fall color, a little rain, and eventually, some sun. After taking the rim trail from Upper North Falls, I decided to go back into the canyon instead of continuing on the rim trail next to the road. I'm glad I made that decision, because as I approached South Falls, misty fog was forming around the falls just as the sun was nearing...
November 2, 2015 Mileage Mike 4.3 miles 500 feet gained
November 1, 2015 Mileage Mike Dead Lake 6.1 miles 250 feet gained
My wife woke up with vertigo, so my son and I went for a short hike at Lacamas Lake. Thankfully, she's fine now and just needed some rest after going to urgency care! This was a pleasant hike and wasn't very crowded. This is the last hike for my son before his hip surgery, and was well worth getting out!
November 1, 2015 Roman Green Canyon Way 5.5 miles 2,000 feet gained
Hiked to watch cloud action from the rocks @3700'. The trail seems even more narrow and less-traveled right now. Salmon River ran fast and swift, just short of flooding the forest at Green Canyon Campground.
November 1, 2015 Karl Loowit Falls 15.5 miles 1,750 feet gained
The previous day's deluge set up the perfect conditions for a classic "waterfalls hike." And it probably rained another 2-4" just while I was hiking! Eagle Creek was raging like I'd never seen it before. Keeping my gear dry was an exercise in futility, quickly abandoned. Just an awesome day on one of the most awesome forest trails in the country.
November 1, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci Point Defiance 6.54 miles 1,250 feet gained
October 31, 2015 Mileage Mike Catherine Creek Shortcut 5.6 miles 1,250 feet gained
We decided to drive out to Catherine Creek to avoid the storm in the Portland-Vancouver area. What we didn't realize it was still hunting season, and this is evidently a very popular area. We arrived to see a group of hunters dragging out a buck to the TH. We were wearing blaze orange and thought maybe this was the only group of hunters. However, we ran into...
October 31, 2015 Mountainkat Huckleberry Mountain 7.08 miles 2,250 feet gained
We were not intending to hike this day, but, a friend called, saying she needed to get out. So, we headed over to Wildwood and the Boulder Ridge Trail, intending to reach Huckleberry Mountain. The trail was cleared of all of the huge downed trees that we came across last winter. However, once we got about 3.5 miles in, and crested the ridge, the winds picked...
October 30, 2015 Mileage Mike Vancouver Lake 4.3 miles 0 feet gained
Nice area, especially when it's not summer and not crowded. I found a great trail located on the North side of the park, and a gentlemen I bumped into told me they just created this trail last year! Very cloudy day with rain occurring for about 10 minutes!
October 29, 2015 Mileage Mike Coweeman River 8.2 miles 250 feet gained
I wanted to stay close to home so decided to try out the Coweeman Dike Hike in Kelso WA. There are some very nice views of the Coweeman River, and many birds, but unfortunately most of this trail is way to close to I5. The first mile of this trail is fairly pleasant in that it passes a small park, but there is also an RV park and school along this stretch. T...
October 29, 2015 Mountainkat Little Beacon Rock 7.3 miles 2,000 feet gained
It rained the whole time, we were soaked, we saw no views, but, it was a great time in the forest, catching up with a friend!
October 27, 2015 Woodswalker Herman Bridge 11.6 miles 2,250 feet gained
The parking lot was full when I pulled in but I only saw a few people on the trail. At 9 am on a Tuesday no less. Conferring with a women who pulled in right after me she diagnosed it as: OMG, last sunny day fever. I'm currently obsessed with the small pool filled remains of what I usually experience as rushing creeklets. The vine maple understory really sto...
October 25, 2015 Mileage Mike Hospital Hill 7.3 miles 1,250 feet gained
We got up in the morning and were met with a full blown Oregon Coast storm! The almost horizontal rain would have been brutal to hike in, so we opted for a hike much further inland. I saw this trail on Alltrails.com and observed that this OSU owned forest was riddled with trails, and thought lets give it a try. We really enjoyed this hike though we were stil...
October 25, 2015 Melissa Kopidlansky 4.8 miles 1,000 feet gained
Started hike early at the south end of the Merrimac Ferry Wayside. Hiked entire first segment as well as the .9 mile connecting route to the end of the 2nd segment. Beautiful fall hike with lots of views of Lake Wisconsin and overlooking farm land. We used a bike shuttle by dropping of a bike at the end of the route to get back to our car at the beginning.
October 24, 2015 Mileage Mike Strawberry Hill 10.6 miles 1,750 feet gained
My wife and I love this wilderness as it's devoid of people and a great forest hike! We didn't quite make it to the other end of the wilderness (another 1.5 miles in addition to what we hiked) as I was having stomach issues. We met a single backpacker on the way out, and found out he was preparing to hike the PCT next summer!
October 24, 2015 Stacey Little Crater Lake 12 miles 500 feet gained
Clockwise loop around Timothy Lake starting and ending at Little Crater Lake.
October 24, 2015 BeaverDawg White Salmon Glacier 12 miles 0 feet gained
Although we'd been to Horseshoe Meadow before (via the Stagman Ridge TH), this trail was new for us.This section of the PCT runs through the Cascade Creek burn of 2012. Conditions were dry and cool, the clouds high enough that we had views of the Mountains including Hood & St. Helens and of course, Adams. The only water was a creek maybe 1/4 mile from the tr...
October 24, 2015 acorn woodpecker Gifford Peak 13 miles 3,000 feet gained
The last high-ish country trip of the season without snow. Unforgettable.
October 24, 2015 The Angry Hiker Granite Mountain 8.5 miles 3,750 feet gained
Kind of dead and dreary up here this time of year.
October 24, 2015 JM Sister Rocks 7 miles 1,750 feet gained
October 24, 2015 Mountainkat Lamberson Butte 11.51 miles 3,000 feet gained
We really wanted to visit a higher elevation before snow starts falling. We decided on Gnarl Ridge and got a pretty late start - around 11:00 am. We stopped at the meadow briefly, then reached the Timberline trail and Gnarl Ridge. We just saw a couple other people, who were on their way out. We continued up the ridge and a bit further - to about 7000 ft elev...
October 24, 2015 Melissa Kopidlansky 15.2 miles 2,500 feet gained
We just received in the mail our giant Ice Age Trail map and decided to start from scratch segment hiking the entire trail. Decided to start big by knocking out 2 segments on a rainy morning. Parked at Parfreys Glen State Nature Area, hiked through the whole Sauke Point Segment, connected to the Devil's Lake Segment. Despite the rain, the temperature was in ...
October 24, 2015 Rhonda Eagle Creek Trail 15 miles 1,750 feet gained
Took a Saturday jaunt up to Twister Falls. Wasn't too crowded going up, but coming down it was packed. I think we had to have passed well over 50 people going in on our way out.
October 23, 2015 Mileage Mike Heceta Lighthouse 9.8 miles 1,500 feet gained
Today was more typical weather for the Oregon Coast and was cloudy with a bit of wind. This area is quite beautiful, like all of the Oregon Coast, but a bit different than the typical coast hike. Once we got past the Heceta Lighthouse there were very few people on the trail. We were going to make a loop out of the China Creek Trail & Oregon Coast Trail and H...
October 23 to October 25, 2015 Roman Gray Butte 12.75 miles 3,500 feet gained 2 nights
Went Friday after work and car-camped 2 nights near Skull Hollow campground. Explored less used trails on Sat, found some cool little arches in the crags. Planned a big loop for Sunday but got 1pm start because of rain, went up-and-back Gray Butte - windy and cold, but mostly sunny afternoon. Great views from the top.
October 23, 2015 acorn woodpecker Hogan Butte 3 miles 750 feet gained
The son and I went and explored this unexpected nice little loop on Gabbert Butte.
October 23, 2015 Mountainkat Burnt Lake 10.32 miles 2,500 feet gained
A great day enjoying Mt. Hood views on a trail we hadn't visited for a couple of years. On the way out, we ran into Karl and Harleigh! So awesome!
October 23 to October 24, 2015 B-Dog Mount Daniel 14 miles 4,750 feet gained 1 night
I was trying to make late October an annual trip up to the Enchantments, but plans fell through and I still had the time off from work. After looking at many places, I landed on Mount Daniel. It is one of those mountains that I see from Snoqualmie Pass all the time, but often wonder....... What is that large peak covered in snow off to the east. I always che...
October 23, 2015 Karl Burnt Lake 10 miles 2,500 feet gained
Lovely day in the woods, with some really nice views. The soft lighting offered by a very thinly overcast sky really brought out some incredible colors in our now nearly-naked mountain. Ran into extremely few folks, maybe six groups altogether, but the highlight was crossing trails with Mountainkat on the way up! While we were chatting, two groups of six oth...
October 22, 2015 Mileage Mike Big Creek Log Pond 7.7 miles 500 feet gained
This is the first of a four day vacation to the Oregon Coast. We stayed at Deanes Resort, which has been our destination on the coast, in the fall, for a few years. Since this was a driving day, we just hiked the beach from the resort all the way in to Yachats. It was a beautiful sunny day and very relaxing!
