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December 30, 2012 8.6 miles 250 feet gained
We wanted to end the year with a longer hike, and so we stayed out of the heavily snow covered areas. There was a light dusting of snow on the trail in the areas not getting direct sun. Not many people on the trail. Definitely a nice way to end the year! I would have liked to reach 1000 miles but the knee and shoulder slowed us down quite a bit. Still, an ex...
December 29, 2012 7.7 miles 750 feet gained
We didn't have much time to go on a hike and opted for a trail that was close by. The Wildwood trail was in pretty good condition but did have some muddy areas. There were very few people in the area we went. The icing on the cake was that there were snow flurries for a very short time!
December 25, 2012 3.3 miles 750 feet gained
We finished hiking the Mima Mounds and still had some time for additional hiking. Although it looked like a winter wonderland, the snow was melting everywhere. The trail was full of standing water and slush, but we still kept our feet dry. We only saw two people during the hike.
December 25, 2012 3.7 miles 250 feet gained
Very interesting place to visit. Snow on the ground and a pleasant easy hike! No people on the trail system
December 24, 2012 7.2 miles 1,250 feet gained
Very nice day for a hike. We only saw two couples the entire day, which was a real plus! There is quite a bit of clear cut that I never saw today, which is quite depressing, but most was replanted. I think the view of Gillette Lake has been spoiled by the logging. :( We looked for a trail that was on the Garmin 24k topoquads, but it no longer exists, from wh...
December 23, 2012 6.5 miles 1,500 feet gained
This area is littered with OHV trails that can't be accessed by motorized vehicles between December 1-April30! Nobody was on the trail system, but we heard gunshots all day long. Most of what we hiked was forested with only one clearcut area, that was replanted. Definitely a nice rainy day!
December 22, 2012 7.6 miles 1,000 feet gained
Excellent rainy day at a less travelled trail. Trail was in great condition with very little debris. We stopped at the fish hatchery to feed the fish. Gnat Creek Falls is quite beautiful with a nice bench to sit and enjoy the view! We only saw some anglers on the first segment of the trail but nobody on the upper section.
December 16, 2012 5.5 miles 750 feet gained
We intended on hiking up Sedum Ridge using Lookout Mt. Road but didn't quite anticipate so much snow! The TH elevation is only at 1200ft, but there was about 5" when we started. We stopped at about 2000ft, where the snow depth was at 12"+ in the open areas. I would have to say that this will make a good snowshoe or cross country ski trailI after another stor...
December 15, 2012 5.6 miles 1,000 feet gained
I had to work this morning so we decided to stay close to home. Forest Park is a 20 minute drive and has plenty of trails. The heavy rain and holiday season was effective at keeping the crowds away from the trail system. The remnants of snow were barely obvious at the highest elevations. It was a nice short hike.
December 9, 2012 7.2 miles 1,250 feet gained
After staying late at the PH Meet n Deet we didn't want to go too far today. Also wanted to take it easy on the knee and shoulder. There were more OHV's at Roger's camp than I've ever seen! However, only saw one hiker and two bikers on the trail today. They were all mushroom hunting, and having great success. All in all, a very nice cool cloudy day with some...
December 8, 2012 8.3 miles 1,750 feet gained
We tried to make it to Bells Mt. Summit from Moulton Falls, but there doesn't seem to be any way to get there easily. There is significant new logging on the Bells Mt. Trail, which isn't very appealing. Saw a half dozen hikers trail was fairly devoid of people. Some views of the valley but none of Mt. St. Helens.
December 2, 2012 8 miles 2,250 feet gained
We felt like staying out of the heavy rain today so we headed east to the Cathering Creek area. We were greeted by a full rainbow! Temperatures were nice and cool but the best part was the amount of sunshine we saw all day! I was lucky enough to see a couple of deer head down toward Catherine Creek before disappearing. We only saw two couples the whole day. ...
December 1, 2012 7.9 miles 2,000 feet gained
I tried something very different today. I went to the Jones Creek OHV trail system. You may ask why? It turns out that the trail system closes to all motorized vehicles from Dec. 1 through Apr. 22! The trail system was empty, and it was in very good shape (for the most part) for hiking. The unfortunate part is that we took a wrong turn, several times! We sti...
November 25, 2012 8.2 miles 750 feet gained
Sunny and cool day at beautiful Silver Falls! We didn't meet anyone (only a few people on the trail near South Falls) on the trail despite there being a huge number of cars in the South Falls parking lot. It could be because we spent the majority of the time in the backcountry!
November 24, 2012 6.3 miles 1,500 feet gained
We had heard that there was a possible trail at the end of a road past the gate near Table Rock Wilderness. We set out to explore this and found there was no trail. After this short exploration we took the trail into Table Rock Wilderness. We didn't make it too far as we needed to get back to the car before dark. It was a spectacular moody day with drizzle f...
November 23, 2012 6.2 miles 1,750 feet gained
Extremely wet day but we were adequately prepared. We attempted to connect from the other side of the Cinnamom Trail (from the Kalama Horse Camp) but got too late a start. We were short by about .4 miles! The trail is in excellent shape, and we hit some snow at about 2900ft. Nobody was on the trail or parked at the horse camp; figure that? We were about 100f...
November 22, 2012 4.3 miles 500 feet gained
Took a short hike with two of my sons to show them Wahclella Falls. We also hiked a short distance on the historic hwy but turned around due to exhaust fumes from I84. Beautiful sunny day and the trail was crowded, but you still can't beat the scenery!
November 18, 2012 8.4 miles 1,000 feet gained
What an incredibly cold wet/rainy day, but we were quite prepared. We saw the Kalama Falls trail from a previous hike and decided to try it. Last time we lost the trail in the snow. I wasn't sure how far it was and thought we overshot it. We ended up stopping at a flooded area. When we got home we looked at the maps and saw we were about 6/10 mile away from ...
November 17, 2012 5.2 miles 2,000 feet gained
What a fantastic hiking day! I wasn't sure what the weather would be, and it was pouring rain during the entire hike out. There were NO hikers on the trail. This trail does nothing but go down, down and down. Most of the altitude lost is in the last 1 to 1-1/2 miles before reaching the creek. Eagle Creek was quite spectacular, but we didn't cross due to high...
November 12, 2012 6.3 miles 250 feet gained
Cloudy and drizzly day at the Klickitat Railroad Trail. Nobody on the trail and plenty of views of the Klickitat River. Saw some fisherman wading and they mentioned having caught some Steelhead. Yum, Yum! It's a bit long of a drive on such a short day. We'll probably not venture out this far until it starts getting darker later.
November 11, 2012 7.6 miles 1,500 feet gained
A very nice day for a hike at Herman Creek! We met Sean Thomas at the TH, coming back from his hike. The parking lot was full but we only saw a few groups on the trail. Nobody was seen on the way back.
November 10, 2012 6.6 miles 1,500 feet gained
Cool, cloudy with some cold wind made for an exhilarating day! There were a few groups of hikers, and some bicycle riders, but the highlight of the day was bumping into a WTA team that was building a new trail on the syncline. Evidently, the forest service has taken over management of the area and wants to make improvements. The new signage looks great, and ...
November 4, 2012 7.8 miles 1,000 feet gained
Quite a beautiful fall day spent in the Tillamook State Forest. Almost no people on the trail, but the OHV and truck/car traffic on the forest roads made for a very noisy day.
November 3, 2012 7.5 miles 1,000 feet gained
It was actually a nice cloudy and cool day with very little rain, except at the end of the hike. The trail up Tanner Creek to Wahclella Falls is excellent. There was a bit of mud in a few places, but not bad. Wahclella Falls is a spectacular punchbowl falls with a huge water flow. The parking lot was full, so we parked at Bonneville. We didn't see many peopl...
October 28, 2012 8.4 miles 1,000 feet gained
We didn't know what to expect on the Fort to Sea Trail but were very pleasantly surprised. The trail was in great shape and we made it as far as US101. It was a very rainy day but we were prepared and had a great time. There were NO people on the trail!
October 27, 2012 5.4 miles 500 feet gained
Rainy, blustery and very windy day with few people on the beach! Awesome!
October 21, 2012 5.4 miles 500 feet gained
After yesterday's hike in a light dusting of snow I craved more of the white stuff! We headed out to Government camp to hike the myriad of trails in the area. I also wanted to complete the Enid Lake loop that we never finished. The snow was a bit deeper than expected (4"-6"), which made for slower hiking. Enid Lake looks very nice with a dusting of snow arou...
October 20, 2012 8.7 miles 750 feet gained
We reached the TH and there was snow covered trees and a light dusting of snow everywhere but on the road. Hunter camps were all over but the trail was devoid of hikers or hunters. It snowed briefly which only added to the awesome mood! My knee was feeling pretty good for most of the hike, and I didn't want to end the hike so soon, but the earlier sunsets ar...
October 14, 2012 8.2 miles 1,250 feet gained
A beautiful cloudy day in the Clackamas Wilderness can't be beat! We investigated to see if there were some trails near the TH that were on the map, but they no longer exist. We only saw one group of people the entire day. We tried making it to Pup Creek Falls but had to turn around to get back home. The knee held up pretty well for the distance we hiked!
October 13, 2012 8.3 miles 500 feet gained
It was a beautiful rainy day at Silver Falls State Park. It was nice to see water puddles on the ground and rain falling from the sky. We started out at the South Falls parking lot and then visited the South Falls before heading into the backcountry. We ended up hiking the Howard Creek Loop trail and saw no people! There were plenty of people in the campgrou...
October 7, 2012 7.1 miles 1,000 feet gained
Beautiful warm day and we set off to find an easy hike that the knee wouldn't object to. The Still Creek trail is very nice and not too bad on the knees. We made a loop out of it by following back around on some of the forest roads, and stopped to take a quick jaunt on the Flag Mt. Trail. It's interesting to note that the road to the Flag Mt. Trail has been ...
October 6, 2012 7.1 miles 1,000 feet gained
Now that I've been diagnosed with a meniscal tear in my knee and a labral tear in my shoulder, my hiking days are numbered until the surgery. I'm hoping the surgery will be sometime at the end of November but still need the MRI's to validate the diagnosis. The sports medicine Orthopedist has told me the prognosis is excellent with full recovery expected. The...
September 30, 2012 8.6 miles 1,500 feet gained
Amazingly clear day with great coolish weather. Parking lot was full at the Elk Meadows TH. Many people headed out to Elk Meadows but we turned toward Umbrella Falls and averted the crowd. Umbrella Falls is quite spectacular with only a few people in the area. After the falls visit we continued on the Umbrella FallsTrail until we intersected the Timberline T...
September 29, 2012 7.5 miles 1,750 feet gained
Beautiful day that started out a bit cloudy but ended up clear. The June Lake TH had about 6 cars in in when we arrived and about 8 when we finished. June Lake is a must see and has a Fantasy Island feel about it! We traveled CCW on the Loowit toward Ape Canyon. Not many people on the Loowit trail and the views were spectacular. My wife, however, didn't like...
September 23, 2012 7.5 miles 1,500 feet gained
We started the Salmon River trail at the SE border of the Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness. We quickly intercepted the Dry Lake trail, which had been overgrown two years before We decided to check it out and found it had been cleared all the way the the stream at the wilderness boundary. We then headed back west on the Salmon River trail until we reached an old...
September 22, 2012 9 miles 1,000 feet gained
Fantastic clear and cool fall day! My knee is still giving me problems so we wanted to hike an easier trail with a bit less elevation gain. Although I prefer hiking this trail in the winter it was a great hike with only a couple of hikers. There were also two groups of people on horseback and a few bike riders, but we only saw them in the first hour or so.
September 16, 2012 8.5 miles 1,500 feet gained
We hiked the PCT at Panther Creek and headed up toward NF-68. Near the top of the switchbacks we bushwacked to an abandoned road that traced the PCt but was a 100ft or so below the trail. The road intersects the PCT in the region of the trail that looks like a boot. We then completed the loop using the PCT to head back toward the car. It was cool in the morn...
September 15, 2012 3.5 miles 1,000 feet gained
After failing to find the trail at Clackamas River we headed toward the closest trail for a known great hike. The Dry Ridge Trail in Roaring River Wilderness was a short distance away, and doesn't disappoint! The campground was closed, so we parked off of Hwy 224. It was obvious a trail maintenance crew was here as this trail was in need of some tender care....
September 15, 2012 1 miles 250 feet gained
I had to work most of the day but still needed to get out for a short hike. We were heading toward Molalla River when we came upon a big accident, and then turned around and headed to the Clackamas River area. We decided to look for trails that show up on the Accuterra maps. Unfortunately, these trails have been reclaimed. :( The good part of this is that th...
September 9, 2012 8 miles 750 feet gained
Very cool day with temps. in the high 40's. This is a nice forested portion of the PCT and the trail fairly flat with easy grading. We met 9 PCT through hikers and 1 section hiker. We talked for a bit and we wished them well. Steamboat Lake is beautiful and we met 2 fisherman that gave us info about the Mt. Adams Wilderness fire that was sparked by lightning...
September 8, 2012 6.5 miles 750 feet gained
This was a bit of a rehabilitation hike as I'm trying to get my knee back to normal. It was a beautiful day and the lakes were nice but there were plenty of people on the trail. On our way back there were many backpackers hoping to find a site at Twin Lakes. The parking lot had 21 cars in it when we finished.
September 3, 2012 7.2 miles 2,250 feet gained
We have never been to this area and found it to be a great hike. We parked at the forest road and went down to the White River. We aren't experienced at crossing this type of creek and there was no bridge, so we turned around and went up the trail from the road. This trail passes through a small portion of Badger Creek Wilderness and constantly gains elevati...
September 2, 2012 10 miles 1,750 feet gained
Beautiful cool and clear day on the PCT and hiking into the north side of Indian Heaven Wilderness. It was like Grand Central Station with many people picking the Huckleberries. There was also a PCT Trail Angel waiting for through hikers to show up! We saw at least 8 PCT through hikers and 2 men with 4 horses and 2 dogs that were heading to Snoqualomie Pass....
August 31, 2012 6 miles 500 feet gained
This was our last hike at Crater Lake. It was cool out but very hazy due to smoke! This was a somewhat bland piece of the PCT but we were under a time constraint since we needed to drive back to Vancouver, WA (~6hrs). We did meet up with more very nice PCT through hikers: Straw & Willey Spins & Baboon The through hikers are very optomistic that the weather w...
August 30, 2012 9.6 miles 1,500 feet gained
This is one beautiful wilderness. We only made it a 1/2mile past Lake Waban but would have liked to make it farther. From the pictures I've seen of Lake Harriette I need to go back there for a backpack trip! Even though it was hazy from all the forest fires, it was clear enough for great pictures. It was also cool weather with some breezes. Another great per...
August 29, 2012 9.5 miles 2,000 feet gained
Today was exceptionally clear in contrast to the previous smoke filled days. The temperature reached into the low 70s and was refreshingly cool in the shade, but we all got burned from the hot sun at the high altitude. The views on the Alternate PCT rim trail were spectacular and continuous throughout the hike. We decided on a side trip up to The Watchman wh...
August 28, 2012 11 miles 1,250 feet gained
We took the East Crater TH (not on map) and cut in to the PCT in about 1/3 mile. My. Thielsen Wilderness is spectacular! There were almost no bugs and the temperature was in the 60's with just a few clouds rolling by every once in a while. We wanted to intersect the summit trail but it was just beyond our desired stop time. A sign near the TH said the trail ...
August 27, 2012 10.5 miles 1,250 feet gained
The day started out very hazy with low visibility from fires but cleared as the day progressed. We hiked the PCT around most of Mt. McLoughlin but had no views :(. Met 2 through hikers, Dazzle and Magellan, who talked about all the wildfire issues in California. Beautiful wilderness but it's a wildfire waiting to happen with the huge (and I mean huge) amount...
August 26, 2012 3.5 miles 1,000 feet gained
I'm at Crater Lake for the week. Exceptional weather but some haze from all the wildfires. This was a driving day but wanted a short hike to loosen up. Excellent view from the top!
August 25, 2012 9 miles 1,750 feet gained
Exceptional weather and clear view of Mt. St. Helens. We took the Toutle Trail #238 to the Sheep Canyon Area. There was a beautiful ~100ft waterfall, from a rock outcropping, a short distance up the Sheep Canyon trail! After turning around we headed back to the TH via the Blue Horse trail. Not many insects except for a few biting flies! The trail was in exce...