Mileage Mike

March 8, 2015 8.3 miles 2,000 feet gained

With our dog at the kennel for the weekend we felt free to drive a bit further than we normally do for a day hike! We decided on the Rampart Ridge and Wonderland Trail Loop as I thought this would have some great views of Mt. Rainier, and it didn't disappoint! There are plenty of switchbacks going up Rampart Ridge and so the elevation gain was fairly easy. T...

March 7, 2015 8.9 miles 1,000 feet gained

We took our son and his wife around the Silver Falls Waterfall Loop. As you would expect on a warm sunny day, this place was a zoo, with 100's of people! We typically avoid these crowds but my it was my son's idea to spend this day here for his birthday, and who am I to argue. Very crowded but the waterfalls here are nothing short of awesome!

March 1, 2015 11.7 miles 500 feet gained

Beautiful sunny day and we decided to hike this wonderful canyon. We only saw about eight people the entire day. Swale creek was gorgeous and many photo ops were had!

February 28, 2015 10.1 miles 1,250 feet gained

Beautiful day for hiking, so we headed up to Capitol State Forest in the Porter Creek Campground area. When we arrived there was a large group of people filming a video, and they said it was for an Amazon movie. The whole thing was quite strange and one of them told me I couldn't take pictures. Everything about this spelled amateur, and we started the hike A...

February 22, 2015 9.4 miles 1,250 feet gained

Most of the time we don't see many people on these trails, but today was different. The great weather brought out some mountain bikers, hikers and a trail runner. It still only amounted to about a dozen people we saw for the entire day! We really enjoy this area and the hike around this mountain is very enjoyable. There were some muddy spots on the trail on ...

February 21, 2015 8.1 miles 1,000 feet gained

We decided to take advantage of minimal snow below 5000ft and try out the Twin Lakes Loop. There were about 8 cars in the Frog Lake parking lot. There were a few snow flakes falling when we started the hike and on the way back to the TH! Too bad this couldn't be a snowstorm dumping. This area has always been special to us and today wasn't any different. Very...

February 16, 2015 9.2 miles 1,250 feet gained

Our last hiking day of this long weekend and we wanted to finished it with another great hike! We decided to head out to the Lake Billy Chinook area and hike the Tam-A-Lau trail. It was quite cold this morning and thankfully the trail to the mesa was frozen solid, even when we returned. Climbing up the wall of the canyon leads to ever more scenic views of La...

February 15, 2015 12.6 miles 750 feet gained

We've been to this Wilderness before and love its solitude and beauty! The parking area was full (about 8 vehicles) and we saw most of the people in the first hour on the way out. We started out going north on the Ancient Juniper trail and then turned left and continued on the Flatiron Trail. At about 3 miles out from the TH there is a raised bed of lava. Th...

February 14, 2015 8.3 miles 1,500 feet gained

My wife and I decided to get away for the long weekend to the Central Cascade area since it was going to be warm and sunny! Our first stop was to Smith Rocks State Park. We had never been here before and didn't know what to expect. When we drove in from the west on Wilcox Avenue and then turned left on Crooked River Drive we were astounded. There were litera...

February 8, 2015 9.6 miles 750 feet gained

In keeping with hiking on knee friendly trails, we went to Stub Stewart State Park. We've only been there once and all I remembered was being on a paved trail. This trail was the Banks to Vernonia trail. It turns out that this trail system is quite extensive and will take many visits to complete. Plenty of hikers on the Banks to Vernonia Trail but nobody on ...

February 7, 2015 11.3 miles 250 feet gained

My wife and I are having knee issues from last weeks hike and so we decided to take it easy for a while. We really enjoy this rails to trails hike and decided to hike for a second weekend. The trail in this region is primarily surrounded by trees with many views of the Chehalis River. The river was muddy and quite high but definitely not at flood stage. We h...

February 1, 2015 9.6 miles 250 feet gained

My wife and I both had knee issues today so we decided to try something new. I looked up the rails-to-trails hikes and found the Willapa Trail hike which can be started out of Rainbow Falls State Park. Rainbow Falls is more like a rapids area, and the river crossings have both been washed out and won't be replaced. I know this because the Park Ranger mention...

January 31, 2015 8.9 miles 2,500 feet gained

I didn't believe the weather report for this area because it's almost always wrong. I made a mistake this time and left behind some of the warmer clothes, but what I had held up! It was cloudy and in the high 30's at the TH. We headed up the Monte Carlo TH and before we reached the intersection with the Buck Creek Trail the temperature dropped below freezing...

January 25, 2015 12.2 miles 1,250 feet gained

Absolutely gorgeous day and the fog stayed away from most of this area. We took longer than expected to get here and found Hwy 26 to Hwy 47 south is the fastest way to this lake. We really didn't have the time to go completely around the lake but this would have been easy if we just had the extra 1-1.25 hours. We first hiked around the lake when we started h...

January 23, 2015 5.8 miles 1,000 feet gained

We haven't been here in decades, and now I remember why. The smell at the parking lot and around the lake wasn't pleasant! It was crowded around the lake with plenty of people fishing but the trail system was devoid of hikers, and only a few groups on horseback were seen. We enjoyed the trail system but it was a bit muddy in places. There is plenty of road n...

January 18, 2015 8.8 miles 750 feet gained

Very rainy day to start off but it stopped before we left. Very few people on the trail, and most were fishing. The Clackamas River was quite high and there were plenty of views! Unfortunately, my Garmin 60CSx died today! It's served us well for many years and it will be missed. I've always enjoyed that the mileage you see on the track is what you get after ...

January 17, 2015 8.5 miles 1,500 feet gained

I thought we'd go east to avoid some of the rain, so we went to the Catherine Creek area. Unfortunately, it rained hard most of the day! Streams/creek weren't very high, but I'm sure that will change tomorrow. There were no people on the trail and we liked that very much. Saw a total of 8 deer in three separate groups and this was amazing. The last deer we s...

January 11, 2015 9.7 miles 500 feet gained

This is a really nice state park and we pretty much hiked all the trails today. There's some old growth and a nice (but slippery) boardwalk above some swampy lowlands. There's even a fitness trail with bars for doing other exercises. I wouldn't approach this park during the summer months as it would be crowded, but it's fairly empty now with only a half doze...

January 10, 2015 9.1 miles 1,750 feet gained

Beautiful day out in Tillamook State Forest on the Storey burn trail! We parked in the Rogers Camp area and it was quite loaded with ATV and dirt bike riders. The exhaust fumes and noise were quite bad but we quickly escaped both once on the trail. We headed counter clockwise past the Gales Creek Campground. Plenty of cars parked in the Gales Creek TH area b...

January 4, 2015 8.1 miles 1,250 feet gained

Very rainy day but it was a wonderful Hike. The Salmon River Trail is one of our favorites! One trail runner on the trail on the way out but two couples and a trail runner on the way back. Plenty of icy patches on the trail and we decided to wear the Kahtoola's, which worded out well, although on the way back the ice was melting out. Water levels were low an...

January 3, 2015 8.6 miles 2,250 feet gained

We rolled into the Eagle Creek parking lot and as expected there were many people arriving and hiking up the trail. We headed east on the Gorge #400 trail and then headed up the Ruckle Creek Trail. I'd never been there before and was soaking wet after only 0.6 miles. My wife and I decided to head back onto the #400 trail and perhaps save it for a nicer day. ...

January 2, 2015 9.2 miles 1,250 feet gained

Great Hike at Gnat Creek! We hiked the entire trail with some additional trails and bushwacking. Streams on the trail were flowing but very low. A section of the trail was frozen solid but didn't require any traction devices. Absolutely no people on the trail!

January 1, 2015 10 miles 1,500 feet gained

Beautiful sunny and cool day in a less used hiking area. Got out a bit late due to staying up late, but a nice hike that is also close to home.