Recent Hikes

March 26, 2015 Jim Observation Peak 14.5 miles 3,750 feet gained

Thursday I hiked to Observation Peak to enjoy some sunshine. This particular loop ran counter-clockwise up the Observation trail to the summit, returning via the Trapper Creek trail. Interesting signage pointed the way.There was about 4-5 inches of wet, slippery snow the last couple miles to and from the summit. Generally, the trails are in good shape with o...

March 25, 2015 Jim Mill Pond 6 miles 500 feet gained

The original plan was a trip to Greenleaf Falls via Two Chiefs trail but I ran out of time running errands. I ended up wandering around Lacamas Lake park, new iPhone in hand.

March 24, 2015 Woodswalker Horsethief Butte 10.86 miles 1,750 feet gained

Beautiful sunny day out to the east. Walked around and through Horsethief Butte, then ambled east on the plateau. Lots of the smaller wildflowers are full on right now. Climbed down a convenient gully directly across from the new parking lot for the Crawford Oaks trailhead, Heading up to the Dalles Mountain ranch complex we saw tons of Balsam root not quite ...

March 24, 2015 Rich Cape Creek 5.5 miles 1,250 feet gained

March 22 to March 24, 2015 Tree Spirit Smith Rock 5 miles 1,000 feet gained 2 nights

Gorgeous mixed weather...while our friends climbed we braved the steep terrain up and over Smith Rock then along the river loop. We spotted a pair of bald eagles and their nest, river otter floating, Heron fishing, hawks & turkey vultures, and one would even swear we saw a black bear across the way from a distance hanging out on a ledge-can't say for sure wi...

March 22, 2015 Jen Tongva Peak 14 miles 1,500 feet gained

Spent a few days in LA with family for spring break. Got to hike a little every day, including one big free day for me, while my husband and son went to Universal Studios. We all hiked Zuma Canyon and El Matador beach near Malibu, Griffith Park, and the Burbank foothills. On my solo day, I hiked around the old Mt Lowe railbed and summited Mt Lowe and Mt Mark...

March 22, 2015 JM Catherine Creek Shortcut 5 miles 500 feet gained

Brother in law in town, so showed him Wahclella falls on the way to Double Mountain for lunch. Then Catherine Creek area followed by winery stops at Cascade Head and Syncline on the way back. Nice day for a recliner.

March 22, 2015 Roman Kahneeta Hot Spring 4 miles 1,000 feet gained

Small but interesting hiking area above Kahneeta resort in Warm Springs reservation. There wasn't much wilderness feel, but the views of the desert were great in all directions (with some "painted hills" not far away - next time I'd check the trail that goes in that direction), and flowers are getting really good, now only 1-2 weeks before their peak. We dro...

March 22, 2015 Mileage Mike Lemon Hill 10.9 miles 250 feet gained

My knee wasn't feeling too well after yesterdays hike, so we tried out a new Rails-to-Trails hike. This trail is 14.5 miles long and is asphalted and is paralleled by a busy road (didn't know it would be). I was hoping there would be either gravel or bark chips on the side of the trail, but this wasn't the case. We tried staying off the asphalt as much as po...

March 22, 2015 Keevon Tradition Lake 6 miles 2,000 feet gained

March 22, 2015 Father Guido Sarducci Brown Creek 10.19 miles 1,750 feet gained

Nice rainy day hike in the Olympics.

March 21 to March 22, 2015 Stacey Wildcat Campground and Day Use Area 12 miles 2,500 feet gained 1 night

Overnight trip to the Mill Creek Wilderness. Out and back from the South Twin Pillars TH to Twin Pillars. Camped along Mill Creek near the last crossing.

March 21 to March 22, 2015 Kyle Meyer Eagle Benson 11 miles 1,000 feet gained 1 night

A night alone along Eagle Creek to readjust mentally. :-)

March 21, 2015 Chris Lone Tree Creek 6 miles 1,250 feet gained

March 21, 2015 Chris Gaughan Spring 4 miles 500 feet gained

March 21, 2015 acorn woodpecker Neahkahnie Mountain 4 miles 1,500 feet gained

The family went to the coast for an anniversary trip. Hauled the kid in a backpack up to Neahkahnie Mt. He slept most of the way up and woke in time to catch the summit views. Lots of trillium, a few salmonberry. Got rained on as we left the summit. Pleasant wet forest walking. Afterwards, we went to Devil's Cauldron for dramatic cliffside views of the ocean...

March 21, 2015 Roman Packard Creek 3.5 miles 250 feet gained

March 21, 2015 Karl Cougar Canyon 5 miles 250 feet gained

Another day, another "training hike" for Harleigh. The sun broke out, after morning downpours, so we got in a quick run up and down the valley below our house. He's really keeping up now. And even agreeing to "wait" while I snap photos! :-)

March 21, 2015 Pablo Tollgate Campground & Day Use Area 9.5 miles 3,500 feet gained

Parked at the Green Canyon campground off Salmon Mtn Road and took the ebike over to ZigZag Ranger station to the bike staple in front of the outhouse. Hiked up Hunchback Mtn to Green Canyon junction and down Green Canyon Trail for the return. Lots of blowdown on both trails - Green canyon has a couple of serious problems that will require professional treat...

March 21, 2015 Rhonda West Metolius River Trail 12.5 miles 750 feet gained

Took a stroll on the Metolius River today. It was our first time there. Very pretty! The water was this fabulous shade of blue. Stopped and fed the fishes at the Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. Continued on to the 99 bridge and then circled back on the eastside of the river until we got back to the hatchery, then worked our way back to the car for the ride home....

March 21, 2015 Mileage Mike Step Creek 10 miles 1,750 feet gained

We had a house warming party to attend in Gaston, so we decided to hike in the area at Reehers Camp. Very little rain and we only saw one person on the trail at the end of the hike. The Nehalem River was very low but has great scenic value. The Trillium were starting to bloom with plenty of smaller flowers all over the forest floor. A very enjoyable hike in ...

March 20, 2015 acorn woodpecker Powell Butte 3 miles 500 feet gained

Week 7 of bird survey. Another sunrise start. Saw more birds than ever before! Perfect calm cloudy weather.

March 20, 2015 Karl Cast Lake 13.5 miles 3,500 feet gained

Have Dodge Ram, will hike! Wouldn't recommend the Burnt Lake South trailhead for anything less. That thing was cratered, and flooded, and just not the kind of thing you'd ever want to try a Suburu on! Definitely called for high clearance. That said... Wonderful day! Headed up to East Zigzag Mtn, then just rambled across from the site of that old fire lookout...

March 19, 2015 Jen Tumalt Creek 4 miles 500 feet gained

Bushwacking exploration of the '96 slide area

March 19, 2015 Woodswalker Eagle Creek Campground 8 miles 750 feet gained

Just a quick trip on a sunny day to see how the flowers were progressing. The answer is quickly!

March 19, 2015 JM Powell Butte 6 miles 500 feet gained

Went up the old Holgate Rd route. Nice day, good views.

March 19, 2015 Karl Dry Creek 7.5 miles 1,250 feet gained

Spent the day just exploring around Mosier. Started with wandering all around the Mosier Plateau, where we found lots of balsamroot and parsley in bloom and an assortment of others (lupine, larkspur, grass widow, etc.) as well. Saw some monster squirrel-like things, and a little rock lizard of some sort, too. Then, we headed over to the Twin Tunnels bike pat...

March 18, 2015 Jim Angels Rest 4.8 miles 1,500 feet gained

March 17, 2015 Chris Dollar Mountain 8 miles 1,000 feet gained

March 17, 2015 Pablo Council Crest 4 miles 1,000 feet gained

Noon time exerciser from the work place -> down Conner Trail to Marquam Shelter then up to Council Crest and back.

March 16, 2015 scotty North Falls 11.5 miles 2,000 feet gained

March 16, 2015 Roman Devils Rest 5 miles 1,500 feet gained

March 15, 2015 Tree Spirit Kittredge Lake (historical) 12 miles 1,750 feet gained

A great Spanish lesson with my student as we hiked in heavy rain, with a few temporary breaks. Got lost once-oops-since bridge washed out and had to backtrack. Made for more elevation gain as we headed back the way we came and on around. Finally made it down Saltzman past the runners and walkers...encantado.

March 15, 2015 Mountainkat Elliott Creek 6.88 miles 1,000 feet gained

We had not previously hiked this trail. The information we read about the hike mentioned that it was in an area with OHV use. We figured that it wouldn't be that busy since it was a rainy day. We didn't see any hikers until the very end of our hike. However, there were quite a few people riding OHVs. Actually, we really didn't hear much noise from it on this...

March 15, 2015 Mileage Mike 4.8 miles 500 feet gained

I wasn't very pleased with the failed beach hike so we stopped of to do a bit more hiking on the Banks to Vernonia trail. The wind was still whipping the tops of the trees, which spooked us a bit, due to our near death snag falling experience, but we still managed to enjoy this short hike. We stopped early as my wife was feeling drained from the Sunset Beach...

March 15, 2015 Mileage Mike Slusher Lake 2 miles 500 feet gained

I knew there was going to be a storm on the beach, and the winds gusts of 25-35mph I had seen looked tolerable, but it didn't turn out as expected! The winds turned out to be intolerable and down right hurricane strength. We turned around after only one mile after having to duck down to lower our center of gravity due to being pushed around and beat up! On t...

March 15, 2015 Karl Cougar Canyon 6 miles 250 feet gained

First "training hike" for the new pup. Longest walk before today was about 2 miles, as it was clear he'd never been on a leash or had any training of that sort before we brought him home a few weeks ago. Thought the high wind warnings and flood advisories offered the perfect chance to "see what he had." Took him for a good, brisk 6+ miler that even included ...

March 15, 2015 Rhonda Calloway Reservoir 6 miles 1,250 feet gained

Took a trip to Peavy Arboretum for a quick hike. We have never been before today. It's a great place and will go back again. Just about 6 miles today, windy but not much rain. Perfect way to spend our Sunday!

March 14, 2015 Chris Mount Elijah 8 miles 2,250 feet gained

March 14, 2015 Mountainkat Chamberlain Lake 6.4 miles 1,250 feet gained

After seeing a few trip reports on the area, we decided to visit in the rain on Saturday to check on the flowers. We saw less people than are usually here on sunny days. We meant to make this a longer loop by going out to Catherine Creek, but, we missed the turn. So, we hiked at an easy pace, stopping to enjoy the clouds and flowers. Just a few flowers were ...

March 14, 2015 Karl Little Creek 8 miles 750 feet gained

Thought the forecast of heavy rain all weekend called for nothing less than a hike in the rain forest. First time to the Lewis River Trail for both of us. Lovely stroll through beautiful old growth Western Red cedar and Douglas fir forests. It did, though, lack a bit in variety, so we called it a (thoroughly enjoyable!) day after fewer miles than usual. As a...

March 14, 2015 Mileage Mike 8.3 miles 1,250 feet gained

We wanted to stay close to home and with easier terrain for the knee issues we're having. We just kind of wandered around on the trail system, and saw very few people on the hiking. It drizzled for the entire hike and then the rain picked up as we drove away after the hike. We did see a large group of bikers on the Banks-Vernonia trail and talked for a while...

March 13, 2015 Mike J Catherine Creek Shortcut 6 miles 1,250 feet gained

March 13, 2015 Rich Guild Lake (historical) 10 miles 1,250 feet gained

March 13, 2015 Roman Lost Lake 4.8 miles 250 feet gained

Very nice lake, even on this gray day it much exceeded my expectations. The trail goes mostly close to the water, views are good and old-growth forest is very nice (plus, the longest boardwalks I ever walked on). I am still not sure I'd come there in summer with the crowds - but on this March weekday it was very quiet. The road over Lolo Pass was very slow &...

March 13, 2015 acorn woodpecker Powell Butte 3 miles 500 feet gained

Week 6 of the bird survey. Had to start later because of the darker mornings due to the time change. Nice sunrise at a whopping 7:25am! A bit breezy on the summit and not near as much bird activity as last week's perfect morning. Saw a red-bellied sapsucker! Also, for the first time, saw no one at all on the trails.

March 12, 2015 Kinkilla Cranberry Gulch 2.5 miles 0 feet gained

March 12, 2015 Jim Goat Mountain 12.5 miles 2,750 feet gained

My original destination was Sheep Canyon but NF-81 was gated at Kalama Horse Camp. I hadn't been to this area and even though recent trip reports mention this significant detail, it just didn't register. With no "plan B", I quickly scanned the kiosk at the campground, took a cell phone pic of the map, then set off for Goat Mtn, naively assuming the trail wen...

March 11, 2015 Kinkilla Moran Point 6 miles 2,250 feet gained

March 11, 2015 Jim Aldrich Butte 7 miles 1,500 feet gained

I had a rough plan to spend my rainy days this winter exploring the area between the Columbia and Sunset-Hemlock rd, and bounded generally by Hamilton Mtn and Bonneville dam. I figured I'd follow the snow line throughout the winter as the mountains filled up and TH access became limited. Obviously this didn't happen and I didn't spend much time in this area ...