Mileage Mike

October 17, 2015 8.5 miles 750 feet gained

October 16, 2015 4.2 miles 750 feet gained

October 14, 2015 8.9 miles 2,250 feet gained

October 13, 2015 5.5 miles 750 feet gained

October 11, 2015 9 miles 2,500 feet gained

We love this hike but got to the TH rather late so knew we wouldn't go too far. The bridge over Lost Creek has collapsed in the middle, but was still very cross-able since the water was low! When the creek rises this bridge will either be washed away or the structure destabilized further. I left a message for the forest service about the current status in ho...

October 10, 2015 10.5 miles 500 feet gained

Always a great hike with plenty of views! There were quite a few campers and boaters on the river and it appeared that at least one group must have been chartered. Very nice weather on the hike out but it turned windy on the way back with a bit of rain when we got close to the car.

October 8, 2015 5.6 miles 250 feet gained

Let me start out by saying I'm a dog person and have a fine older one at home. This is a very nice park but there are way too many dogs off leash that shouldn't be. I have nothing against dogs off leash that stay with their owners, but I didn't appreciate the dog that jumped up and nailed me in the groin, or the dog that was barking loudly and moving toward ...

October 6, 2015 5.2 miles 750 feet gained

Very nice park and fun to wander around!

October 4, 2015 7 miles 1,000 feet gained

We figured it would be safe hiking around the Government Camp trail system so we just wandered around the area. We parked near the Rest Area and just headed up to the Crosstown Trail and many others that are here. It's a very nice, and safe, area to explore and only mountain bikers and hikers were seen.

October 3, 2015 12.2 miles 2,000 feet gained

Well, October is the portion of the hunting season where rifles are used, and my wife and I plan our hikes with safety in mind. We always wear blaze orange backpack covers but tend to spend more time in State Parks or where there are plenty of people. Silver Falls is always a great place to visit at this time of year and so we went on a loop that consists of...

October 1, 2015 8.4 miles 1,750 feet gained

Today was my birthday and my wife and I took off from work! It was a sunny beautiful day and we decided to head out to Wahtum Lake. First we took the PCT out to Chinidere Mt and found ourselves all alone with a most spectacular view of five volcanoes! Bees drove us off this summit but not until we had our fill of the amazing beauty of this place! We then hea...

September 27, 2015 10.6 miles 1,500 feet gained

It was quite crowded in the parking lot and so we decided to avoid the main trail to the Falls and loop around on the bike trail. We then visited the falls overlook, where a large group of hikers were admiring the view. We then continued on up the trail to the small Falls near a campsite. We met some hikers and took group pictures for them. We continue NE to...

September 26, 2015 8 miles 1,750 feet gained

It was my wife's birthday and she got to choose the hike for today, and you can't go wrong with the Herman Creek trail. Surprisingly, the parking area wasn't filled up but we saw plenty of hikers on the way back to the car. Herman Creek was quite low but it's always a perfect view from the bridge! A beautiful day for a birthday hike with my wife and son!

September 20, 2015 9.4 miles 2,000 feet gained

It was a gorgeous cool and breezy day on the Umbrella Falls trail! We didn't spend much time on the Timberline trail as we had to get back home on the earlier side. The parking lot for Elk Meadows was filled but they were spread out on the trail very well. We had Umbrella Falls to ourselves both going out and coming back! Some nice views of Mt. Hood and it w...

September 19, 2015 10.1 miles 1,250 feet gained

We were just looking for an easy trail so we could get outdoors and get some fresh air. We haven't been on this trail in many years and really enjoyed this forest walk in solitude! We met a bow hunter at NF65 and had a very nice talk with him. Apparently, he hasn't seen a deer or elk in the 6 days he has been out! On the way back to our car we saw four mount...

September 13, 2015 11 miles 1,500 feet gained

It's obvious that hunting season has started and it's not my favorite season to hike, although the cool weather is definitely a bonus! I also make sure to don the orange high visibility pack covers so we aren't mistaken as food! The temperature stayed in the 50's the entire day and it was refreshing and rejuvenating! Yes, we we're on the PCT again but had hi...

September 12, 2015 11.2 miles 2,000 feet gained

I guess we couldn't stay away from the PCT and thought that reaching the PCT via the Huckleberry Mtn. Trail from Lost Lake would be fun! Lost Lake was absolutely packed with people and the campground was full. We stopped at the general store to find directions to the Huckleberry Mtn trail and the older gentleman was full of interesting PCT info! On the outbo...

September 7, 2015 9.4 miles 1,750 feet gained

This was our last hike to try and meetup with PCT through hikers and handout Oreo Cookies. Indian Heaven Wilderness is always an excellent choice for hiking the PCT so we started at the Crest Camp access area. We saw quite a few day hikers and backpackers on the way out, but no PCT through hikers. Fortunately, we hit pay dirt on the way back, after we turned...

September 6, 2015 11.1 miles 2,000 feet gained

Hiked solo today so wanted to stay fairly close to home. Thought I'd just hike the PCT south from Bridge of the Gods and stop off at Dry Creek Falls and The Pinnacles. I'll admit I was somewhat inspired by having watched the movie "Wild" last night on HBO. It was.....interesting, but not quite what I expected. I did enjoy the ending where she walked out on t...

September 5, 2015 11.8 miles 3,500 feet gained

It was a nice cool day to hike up some elevation to Huckleberry Mt. The Wildwood area was alive with families and noise but the Boulder Ridge Trail was quiet and serene. We must have seen a dozen or more hikers at about 4 miles out but those were the only people seen the entire day! We had Huckleberry Mt. all to ourselves and thankfully the cloud ceiling was...

August 30, 2015 10 miles 2,000 feet gained

Last day of weekend and of my two week vacation, so we decided to head out on the PCT south to Sedum Ridge from NF-417. The rain was incessant and drenched us for most of the day. The rain coupled with hiking up a couple thousand feet (easy elevation though) left no piece of clothing untouched from moisture, including my new boots! We were well prepared but ...

August 28, 2015 5 miles 1,750 feet gained

My wife and son were done hiking on this last driving home day of the trip, so they dropped me off for a very short hike at the northern trail of the Colonel Bob Wilderness. There was only one other couple seen during the entire hike. The first half of my 2.5 mile out portion of the hike is a nicely graded forest trail (with old growth). At about 1.25 miles ...

August 27, 2015 8.2 miles 2,000 feet gained

We decided to hike this trail after finding out that the Elwha River trail didn't have easy access due to a road closure. It turns out the Elwha River is causing a lot of erosion after the dam was removed and the National Park Service was trying to stabilize things before the winter comes upon them! We could have hiked a road (believe it was the Whiskey Bend...

August 26, 2015 9.3 miles 750 feet gained

This trail is being improved on the east side of the access point, and is closed, but can be gotten to from the west side of the lake. There was a misleading sign that made it seem that the trail was closed 3 miles ahead, from where we parked, but it was really three miles from the start of the trail (and ended at the bridge at the pool). I thought my son wo...

August 25, 2015 10.1 miles 250 feet gained

We hiked the Ozette loop trail several years ago and just had to visit it again. The Olympic Coast is just so amazing I can only take a deep breath and sigh when I think about it! The parking lot was almost full but the trail and coast dispersed the people fairly well. We took the SW trail and headed out to Sandpoint. We then just lazily walked south on the ...

August 24, 2015 10.1 miles 750 feet gained

My son requested we visit the Hoh River Trail, but I would have hiked this trail even if he didn't ask! Not much to say here except a perfect trail just can't be avoided! Some day I hope to backpack this and make it to Glacier Meadows Campsite!

August 23, 2015 1.3 miles 0 feet gained

A short stop to take in the clean fresh coastal air at Ruby Beach. Not terribly crowded and just a pleasure to clear your head and watch the waves and gaze at the rocks!

August 23, 2015 3.8 miles 250 feet gained

At the last moment we cancelled our family vacation to North Cascades National Park and Leavenworth due to all the fires and closure of Hwy 20. This was quite disappointing as we planned this vacation nine months back. We were actually able to get reservations in Forks, WA with only those two days notice, and visited Olympic National Park instead. This turne...

August 22, 2015 8.2 miles 1,750 feet gained

Very hazy on this day with poor visibility. We headed out here to try out the Elk Creek to Idiot Road trail since the low water afforded a very easy crossing of Elk Creek! I've never seen Elk Creek this low, and the crossing was extremely easy. The water was flowing more like in a bathtub than from a creek! After crossing the creek the trail climbs the entir...

August 20, 2015 10.2 miles 1,750 feet gained

We got out somewhat late so we wanted to stay close to home. Larch Mt. is a great hiking area and so we headed out to the Oneonta trail. The temperature at the start of the hike was in the mid 50's and cloudy. It felt great to hike in the cool air on a cloudy day. We headed out on the Oneonta trail and then cut into the Bell Creek trail. We'd only made it to...

August 19, 2015 9.8 miles 250 feet gained

The last day of our short trip to the coast and we decided to go to Nehalem State Park. When we arrived there were only a few cars parked in the large lot. However, there was a horse rental area just before entering the trail going south to the jetty. The main trail is a gravel road that is well traveled by people and horses. All the side trails appeared to ...

August 18, 2015 10.1 miles 250 feet gained

We decided on a whim to get away from the heat expected in the Portland area. We were lucky to get the kennel for our dog and my wife found a very inexpensive, but very clean, place to stay in Rockaway Beach! We've never been there before but were pleasantly surprised by the lack of crowds. That being said, there were still plenty of people, but we found our...

August 16, 2015 11 miles 2,000 feet gained

Plenty of smoke in the area but it wasn't bad on this trail! This is an awesome hike in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness but not many views for those that need open expanses. The Salmon River seemed cloudy and we were wondering if there was some ash from the fires that made its way from some tributary streams in the fire region? This is typically pristine c...

August 15, 2015 10.2 miles 2,250 feet gained

Another PCT adventure! We parked on NF-68, about 3 miles NE on the PCT from Panther Creek. We immediately met the PCT hiker ICYHOT at our car and gave him a couple packs of Oreo's. It seems his name was from almost freezing in the California Mt.'s and then needed to be re-hydrated in a hospital after being dehydrated in a desert! We only saw two other PCT se...

August 14, 2015 8 miles 1,500 feet gained

We started out this hike in thunderstorms, which lasted about an hour, which was followed by about two hours of hard rain! The thunder was quite loud at times and it was a surreal environment! It was so nice to be out in the rain and we were prepared for this cool, windy and wet weather. Nobody on the trail system which really made this a nice hike with plen...

August 9, 2015 9.2 miles 1,750 feet gained

We had the opportunity to drive a bit further than normal, as the dog was being watched for part of the day. We haven't been to the Mt. Adams area this year so we decided to try a new trail. The Gotchen Creek trail is a 3 mile long trail to spans between NF-8020 and NF-8040. There also appeared to be other trails we could investigate that could add to the di...

August 8, 2015 8.4 miles 1,000 feet gained

My daughter-in-law had just read the book "Wild" and wanted to hike on the PCT. Her and my son don't go hiking very often so we took them on this very tame section of the PCT. There are some great views of Mt. Hood along this stretch. In addition, we met another bunch of through hikers and handed out Oreo cookies! A great time was had by all!

August 7, 2015 7.6 miles 1,250 feet gained

We got out late and had to find a close-in hike. This area of Mt. St. Helens is fairly close and has some excellent views! We had never completed this trail before so we decided to hike up the Kalama Ski Trail and head out to Blue Lake. There were quite a few campers at the lake but we quickly crossed the stream and headed north. The trail north of Blue Lake...

August 2, 2015 8.3 miles 2,000 feet gained

It was a last minute decision to head out to the Lemei trail as it is quite a long drive. That said, this is an awesome hike in Indian Heaven and I'm very happy we decided to go here! There were NO hikers on the trail during the entire hike! The Huckleberries were somewhat past peak but there were tons of them and they were so tasty, and we spent much time p...

August 1, 2015 10.4 miles 2,000 feet gained

Wanting to get away from the heat, as much as possible, we headed out towards Mt. Hood and the higher elevations. I also wanted to see if we could meet some PCT through hikers (and hand out some Oreo cookies). So we headed out to the parking lot at Barlow Pass, where the PCT passes through. There weren't many cars parked at the Th, and there weren't a huge n...

July 31, 2015 8.7 miles 1,250 feet gained

It was a very warm day today but we needed to stay close to home since we started out so late. This area of Mt. St. Helens is only about 1 hour from home so it fit the time requirement. The Kalama Horse Camp had very few people in it, so it looked like we wouldn't be seeing many people. In fact, we only saw people within a few 1/10ths of a mile of the horse ...

July 26, 2015 10.2 miles 1,250 feet gained

We had intended on going to a different TH but it turns out that road had been reclaimed! This is a wonderful loop trail and we explored a bit near the Fall Creek TH and found another TH. We had originally wanted to park at the Fall Creek TH but the road south of there no longer exists. You mus reach this Large parking lot from the north by way of Capitol Pe...

July 25, 2015 8.4 miles 2,250 feet gained

This was looking to be at at least a cool cloudy day, but turned out much worse. We had left behind our rain pants, but always have rain jackets. It was raining fairly hard for the first half of the hike, and the feeling of being back in a normal Pacific Northwest felt good. It seemed warm enough at the TH but got more windy and colder at the top of this rid...

July 24, 2015 12.2 miles 2,500 feet gained

Took this Friday off and was hiking solo. Just felt like hiking the PCT and perhaps meeting up with some through hikers! Didn't see any hikers until the last hour of the hike. Then I met the following PCT through hikers: Hooker, Non-zero, Half-Fast and Turtle! I gave them each a pack of Oreo Cookies and had some great conversations. A beautiful day that ende...

July 19, 2015 9.3 miles 2,500 feet gained

It was the last day my vacation week and I wanted a higher elevation hike to stay cool! We were so lucky to find a parking space right in front of the TH! The parking area was overflowed! The Top Spur trail up to the PCT is so root bound and rocky that it shows how much it's being used. Flies (not the black biting ones) annoyed us until we hit the treeline!!...

July 18, 2015 10.4 miles 1,750 feet gained

We were lucky to find a parking space given the number of cars there! We hiked the PCT south and then headed up to the Indian Mt. summit. We just love this amazing hike with some spectacular views! We love when the PCT breaks out into the open near the Indian Mt. Trail cutoff, where the view of the Eagle Creek drainage is breathtaking! The trail up to Indian...

July 17, 2015 9.9 miles 1,750 feet gained

My wife was helping teach in summer school so I hiked solo today. I was just hoping to meet any PCT hikers and again handout Oreo Cookies. I only met one couple (Southbounders with no trail name) at the intersection of the PCT and the Tamanous trail. The Greenleaf Creek water flow was weak, at best, into Gillette Lake. The clearcut past Gillette is quite a s...

July 15, 2015 10.3 miles 1,500 feet gained

We love this area, and it didn't disappoint! I wanted to see if we could meet some PCT through hikers. We always carry small packs of Oreo Cookies to hand out on the PCT, and it was a good decision to take the whole box! We met about 7 Oregon only hikers and 2 full PCT through hikers. I would have loved to keep hiking but the drive here is close to 2.5 hours...

July 14, 2015 9.5 miles 500 feet gained

A hot day in Portland, but not on the coast. We decided to hike the Oregon Coast trail at Fort Stevens State Park! The parking lot was almost empty, which suited us just fine! We initially headed south to the Peter Iredale. We have lived here 35 years and never seen it! Very nice wreckage, but also very crowded. We headed back north toward the northern termi...

July 13, 2015 9.3 miles 1,750 feet gained

We hiked this trail several years ago and somehow remembered it as being fairly level, but it's not completely the case! The first half of the trail is quite gnarly with plenty of roots and rocks and scree. It also climbs up and then drops back down before hitting the more level area we remembered. There are a couple of great views from rock outcroppings, an...