Mileage Mike

December 30, 2015 8.1 miles 500 feet gained

Last hike of the year for us, and it's been a fantastic one at that! Temperatures in the mid 30's and only random snow on the ground. Great views of the Klickitat River and only one biker seen all day. A great end of year hike!

December 28, 2015 7.4 miles 1,500 feet gained

An excellent hike to Dry Creek Falls with some trail friends! A few downed trees, that were passable, on the way to Dry Creek Falls. We met Oregon Hikers Sean Thomas, Jojo and their dogs heading back to the TH and everyone was introduced! We also found the snow person they left on the concrete gate at Dry Creek Falls. The falls was particularly beautiful wit...

December 27, 2015 7.2 miles 1,000 feet gained

A very nice cloudy day with occasional late rain and very few people in the park! The trails are in good condition. Great day but no snow during the entire hike! Nice to see snow in the Portland/Vancouver area on the drive home though.

December 26, 2015 8.5 miles 750 feet gained

A nice day cool and overcast day on a peaceful trail! There were bike riders and some people walking, but they were spaced far apart. There's also a really long and high trestle bridge with some great views that we really enjoyed, near the Buxton TH at Bacona Road!

December 25, 2015 2.6 miles 250 feet gained

A short but sweet family hike with my son's family! Not many people on the trails but it was getting busier when we returned to the car. My grandchildren really enjoyed the hike and we watched a couple MAX trains pull in to the station, and waived!

December 24, 2015 6.5 miles 1,250 feet gained

We decided to get out to see some white stuff and get a view of the gorge. We had no idea how much snow there was and at what elevation, so we decided to head from the horse camp to the saddle. As we gained elevation the snow started to appear and become constant on the trail. There was as much as 3"-6" in places before we reached Hardy Creek, which was flow...

December 23, 2015 9.2 miles 0 feet gained

This section of the Springwater Corridor Trail was much nicer than we expected. There was a nice parking area off Hogan Road, and we headed SE towards the end of the trail at Boring Station. Actually, we had intended on reaching the Cazadero Trail, but instead went to the end of the Springwater Trail at Hwy 212. We decided to hike the Cazadero Trail at anoth...

December 22, 2015 9.6 miles 0 feet gained

We knew this trail is a work in progress but decided to head out to Pe Ell Washington to see if this particular section was hikeable. The parking area for the trail was closed, so we just looked for a street intersection with the trail and parked there. First we headed south, and it wasn't long before we reached a large unimproved bridge over the Chehalis Ri...

December 20, 2015 8.8 miles 1,000 feet gained

This is a nice easy hike and fit the bill for what we wanted. At about 2400 feet, near the intersection with Hwy 26, the trail was covered with a constant few inches of snow! The first mile of the trail had a few large downed trees, that were easily bypassed, and plenty of streams and standing water (easily gone around). We only saw a couple people on the tr...

December 18, 2015 5.3 miles 1,250 feet gained

I somehow spun this into a much longer hike by first taking the loop trail counter-clockwise from Mather Rd. to Sunnyside Rd. There's a nice steel grated bridge over the raging Mt. Scott Creek. I then continued the loop and then took the summit trail to the Ridge Trail, and then counterclockwise on the loop trail again! Only a few people on the trail and ver...

December 16, 2015 6.4 miles 500 feet gained

I was late getting out the door and wanted to stay close to home to avoid traffic. It's amazing how much this trail avoids traffic on this segment of the trail! I took some wrong turns heading out to Leveritch Park, which caused me to walk busy streets; which I won't repeat. On the way back I found the real trail and it pleasantly avoided all of the busy str...

December 15, 2015 7.1 miles 1,250 feet gained

Very nice hike and not very crowded!

December 13, 2015 7.3 miles 750 feet gained

A very wet day and thankfully we were prepared. We only saw one person (and his dog) on the way back to the car. Harmony Creek was flowing well but no flooding!

December 12, 2015 6.3 miles 250 feet gained

My wife and I are feeling a bit better and so decided to go on a tame hike close to home! Because of all the rain we wanted to avoid areas with potential flooding or possible landslides, so we headed out to the Sellwood Riverfront Park near Oaks Amusement Park. We walked around the riverfront park and looked at the high water from the Willamette River and ho...

December 9, 2015 2.5 miles 0 feet gained

I needed to get out and get some fresh air, and also wanted to stay close to home as my neck wasn't feeling great. The Salmon Creek Greenway is only a mile from my home, so it fit the bill! I got there and was a bit surprised that so many people were out given the heavy rain was flooding all the creeks/rivers. My first impression was that Salmon Creek was wa...

December 6, 2015 9.4 miles 250 feet gained

We wanted to get away from the wind and ice so decided to head south to this interesting, and large (~900 acres) city park. There was no wind and it only rained lightly for the first half of the hike. We hiked the entire peripheral trail around the park and were surprised it ended up being over 9 miles! This park is nice, for what it is, but half the trail s...

December 4, 2015 7.8 miles 500 feet gained

I wanted a little bit longer hike after recovering from last Sunday's bail-out at Elk Creek. Antibiotics seem to have resolved the issue, but I'll be checked out more thoroughly with an endoscopy in a couple weeks. I felt pretty good and am hoping to ramp up on distance and elevation in the near future.

December 3, 2015 5 miles 0 feet gained

Looking for a nice short hike in the area. This is really a nice local hike if you don't have much time and want some fresh air.

December 1, 2015 3.5 miles 500 feet gained

A nice little short hike in a nice area!

November 29, 2015 2.3 miles 750 feet gained

Got out late as we were visiting my oldest son in Portland. I felt okay and thought some fresh air would do us good. It was bitterly cold at the TH due to the high winds, but we were well prepared. This was a very short but spectacular hike! We stopped before the bridge over McCord Creek due so an ice coating on the rocks and bridge. We watched two men comin...

November 28, 2015 7.4 miles 1,500 feet gained

A beaufiful day in an awesome area turned out to be a death march! A few miles into the trail I started having stomach pains, and thought it was just indigestion. We kept going but the pain was only getting worse, so we turned around and headed back to the TH. I showed my wife how to send an SOS on our Delorme In-Reach Explorer in case I couldn't go further ...

November 27, 2015 5.6 miles 1,250 feet gained

It was somewhat late until we got out of the house but our daughter-in-law had never been close up to Mt. St. Helens. In fact, we found out she had never hiked in the snow (grew up in the San Francisco Bay area)! We parked at the Kalama Horse (light dusting of snow on the ground) Camp and headed up the Cinnamon trail, where there is a nice view of Mt. St. He...

November 26, 2015 7.7 miles 1,250 feet gained

I went with my son and daughter in law for a nice hike in this area. We were the only one's parked at the TH! Great day!

November 25, 2015 3 miles 500 feet gained

My wife and I took a break from cleaning the house, for Thanksgiving, and headed out to Whipple Creek. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air!

November 24, 2015 8.4 miles 2,500 feet gained

I wanted to climb up some elevation in an effort to hike in the snow. Not many hikers on the trail, but then it was a weekday. Once I passed up Angels Rest there were NO hikers all the way to Devil's Rest! At about 2000 feet there was snow on the trail and the trees, and there were snow flurries all the way to Devil's Rest. No serious debris or landslides on...

November 22, 2015 8.1 miles 1,500 feet gained

Another great day on the trail in Trapper Creek Wilderness! We originally were going to make a loop of the Trapper Creek trail and Observation Peak trail but changed our minds. We ended up heading for Observation Peak with the knowledge we wouldn't make it since we got another late start. The winds during the drive in the Gorge were brutal, but there was min...

November 21, 2015 8.4 miles 2,000 feet gained

We arrived at the Pioneer Bridle TH a bit late and knew we would have difficulty making it to Enid Lake. My real objective, though, was to hit snow and experience some of the white stuff! It was a sunny and brisk 36 degrees when we reached the TH but we were prepared for both the cold and wind. The wind was rather calm for all but the region near the old fen...

November 20, 2015 5.4 miles 1,000 feet gained

A really nice day but strong winds on the butte made it seem much colder than the 48 deg. on my car display. I was prepared and quite comfy, though! Not too crowded and nice view of snow capped Mt. Hood and St. Helens!

November 19, 2015 8.1 miles 250 feet gained

I first started at the Steigerwald Lake parking area off hwy 84. Unfortunately, the bridge over Gibbon Creek was damaged by the storm, and a fallen tree took out some of the wood boards. I had to turn around and find a different parking area near Captain William Clark Park. Plenty of drizzle and some wind for most of the hike, but I was well prepared. Not ma...

November 15, 2015 8.6 miles 1,000 feet gained

Hopefully, this is the last weekend day we need to stay close to home. We're hoping to have some fun in the snow next weekend, if possible? This was another very nice afternoon on the Wildwood trail but it was much more crowded today, as there were a huge number of trail runners. Not much solitude but plenty of fresh air and beautiful forest scenery! It was ...

November 14, 2015 5.8 miles 500 feet gained

We only had the afternoon for the hike and decided to stay close to home. We basically hiked around the entire park and tried to reach the Columbia River by hiking up the boat channel, but it wasn't accessible for the last couple blocks. Very few people in the park, due to the weather, which made it a better experience. We just made it out before sundown, an...

November 13, 2015 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 11, 2015 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 9, 2015 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 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 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 7, 2015 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 6, 2015 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 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 2, 2015 4.3 miles 500 feet gained

November 1, 2015 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!

October 31, 2015 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 30, 2015 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 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 25, 2015 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 24, 2015 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 23, 2015 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 22, 2015 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!

October 20, 2015 8.1 miles 1,250 feet gained

October 18, 2015 8 miles 1,250 feet gained