Category: Willamette Valley

Talking Water Gardens – 12/17/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date December 19, 2022
1 Comment on Talking Water Gardens – 12/17/2022

After a couple of months of being on my own while Heather recovered from a bad knee she had been released to take short hikes with minimal elevation changes. With Heather cleared for action we just needed a favorable forecast for our December hike. When a day off coincided with a rain-free forecast we set off for the Talking Water Gardens in Albany. The site of two former mills Talking Water Gardens is a series of wastewater ponds created to assist with water treatment for the cities of Albany and Millersburg. While it may not sound like a typical place for a hike a series of paths and maintenance roads provide for a nice stroll with plenty chances to spot wildlife.

There are a couple of possible starting points for a visit to the gardens and we chose to begin at Waverly Lake and follow a route suggested in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide.

Waverly Lake at sunrise.

We headed left (clockwise) around Waverly Lake where a number of ducks were paddling around.

Mallards

Buffleheads

I think this is a ruddy duck.

American coots

Guessing these are some sort of domestic/mallard? crossbreeds. Very interesting looking.

More mallards near Cox Creek

Cox Creek flowing toward Waverly Lake.

Nearing the outlet of Cox Creek.

When we arrived at Cox Creek flowing out of the lake we crossed Salem Avenue then crossed Cox Creek on a footbridge.

We turned left on far side of the creek and followed a paved path 0.3 miles to Waverly Dr. NE and the other possible starting point, Simpson Park.

We almost got off-track here. This path on the right (just after passing under some railroad tracks) does lead into the wetlands but it wasn’t part of the Oregon Hikers described hike.

One of several interpretive signs along the trails.

Frosty leaves, it had been a chilly 28 degrees when we started out.

Simpson Park

We walked over to the park to take a look but didn’t check out the Simpson Park Trail this trip.
The Simpson Park Trail is a 1 mile out and back along the Willamette River. It also offers access to the Riverfront Trail which one could follow SW almost 3.5 miles to Monteith Riverpark at the mouth of the Calapooia River. With Heather being limited to shorter hikes for now that wasn’t an option today but will be something we look forward to trying in the future.

After the brief detour we recrossed Waverly Road and entered the gardens through a black gate.

We headed left past a mostly frozen pond.

Map on a welcome sign.

Frozen leaves

There are numerous different loops and routes available through the gardens. We followed the Oregon Hikers description linked above. We had to stop numerous times to consult the track map from that description to stay on the right path due to the trails not being marked/signed and the only maps having been located near the entrance. The paths themselves were in good shape and we saw a lot of ducks and other birds as we wound through the wetlands.

American wigeons

Bald eagle fly over

Flock of geese flying over

One of many unsigned intersections.

Robin

One of two memorials in the gardens.

Bufflehead

Green winged teal

Northern shoveler

Frost

Simpson Park across a pond.

After completing our loop we headed back to Waverly Lake where some fog had rolled in.

Fishermen heading into the fog at Waverly Lake.

Mallards hanging out in the fog.

Dark eyed junco

The GPS had us at a 3.5-mile hike, a little more than what Oregon Hikers showed but we did double-back a handful of times for one reason or another.

This was surprisingly nice hike and we’re anxious to visit again when the plants are green and water is flowing through the ponds. This was perfect though for a first outing to test Heather’s progress. Merry Christmas and Happy Trails!

Flirck: Talking Water Gardens

Tags Albany, Bald Eagle, Cox Creek, Ducks, hiking, Oregon, SImpson Park, Talking Water Gardens, Waverly Lake, Waverly Lake Trailhead

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Silver Falls Perimeter Loop – 10/29/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date November 2, 2022
5 Comments on Silver Falls Perimeter Loop – 10/29/2022

With October and our official hiking season coming to an end I was hoping to go out with a bang by doing a long loop around Silver Falls State Park. I had gotten the idea during our 2021 hike in the backcountry of the park (post). While looking at the map for that hike I had started doing the math for the loop and it appeared to be a little over 20 miles which would be a long day but doable. Heather was not as enthused as I was about the possibility, so I had originally planned on attempting the loop on a day off while she was working. With her knee ending her season early it seemed like a good way to put an exclamation on the end of mine.

As the day neared I started second guessing myself. Some much need wet weather had moved in, and Friday was the wettest day we’ve had in months. The forecast for Saturday was for more rain in the morning, a 70% chance, followed by several hours of patchy fog then mostly cloudy skies. Twenty plus miles with wet feet wasn’t my ideal way to spend a hike but I decided to give it a try figuring I could cut the loop short by using one of the many trails running through the park. I packed some extra pairs of socks in a dry sack and had my rain gear ready as I made the 40-minute drive to the South Falls Trailhead.

It was a dark and raining when I left home but shortly after turning onto Highway 214 I popped out of the low clouds and left the rain behind. Things were trending positive. When I got to the South Falls Day Use Area entrance I was reminded that by the gate that the Park opens at 8am and not 7am from October through March and it was only 7:30am. I needed to purchase a pass so I drove to the North Falls Trailhead where I knew there was a pay kiosk, only I had forgotten that the station there only accepts cash which I didn’t have. After using the restroom there I drove back through the park to the campground entrance remembering that there was a station along the entrance road that did take cards. I decided that I would get a pass there and then park at the 214 Trailhead like we had in 2021 since there was no gate blocking that one. At the kiosk I immediately inserted my card into the cash slot. Things were trending down. I managed to retrieve the card using a pair of travel nail clippers and finally got my pass. It was nearly 8am as I came to the turn into the trailhead at Lookout Mountain Road. Given the time I changed my mind here and decided to revert back to my original plan and drove back to the now ungated South Falls Day Use Area.
A lot more blue in the sky than I had expected to see.

The route I had penciled out was to take the paved bike path from the parking lot to the campground where I would pick up the Nature Trail. I could take that trail to the 214 Trail followed by a portion of the Newt Loop to the Catamount Trail. I hoped to take that trail up to Buck Mountain then take the Perimeter Trail down to the Trail of Ten Falls near the North Falls Trailhead. I planned on visiting all ten falls and returning to the parking area via the Canyon Trail portion of the Trail of Ten Falls. I crossed South Fork Silver Creek on a footbridge to pick up the Bike Path on the far side where I turned left.

Crossing Highway 214 to the campground.

I detoured left to check out this bridge over Howard Creek.

Howard Creek

With the Nature Trail being a loop I could have gone either direction from the campground to reach the 214 Trail. Going left was a tenth of a mile shorter but I really wanted to make the loop as wide as possible so I went right at a pointer for the trail and Ampitheater.

We had been on the Nature Trail in 2021 so it was familiar surroundings as I made my way to the 214 Trail where I turned right.

Sign at the 214 Trail junction to let people know that there are no waterfalls in the backcountry.

I followed the 214 Trail for 1.3 miles to the Newt Loop.
Just a little fog but no rain.

Passing the Smith Creek Trail (left) after 0.6 miles on the 214 Trail.

Rough skinned newt on the 214 Trail. (Probably headed for the Newt Loop too.)

Big nursery tree along the 214 Trail.

The trail post at the junction shows the Catamount Trail instead of the Newt Loop but the map at the junction labels it the Newt Loop.

Map check.

I turned right onto the Newt Loop and arrived at a junction with the Catamount Trail after 0.4 level miles.
This second post included the Newt Loop along with a pointer for the Catamount Trail.

Crossing a CAT road along the Newt Loop.

Turning onto the Catamount Trail.

The Catamount Trail was new trail for me having not used it on our loop in 2021. The park map showed this trail extending 4.6 miles to a junction with the Lost Creek Trail then continuing another 0.9 miles to Buck Mountain. As a mountain bike trail the Catamount wound steadily uphill through the forest.
Lots of nursery stumps along the trail.

Another nursery stump.

Side trails were well marked.

Did not expect to see that overhead today.

I believe this short section of fire scar was from the 2020 Beachie Fire.

After 3.8 miles on the Catamount Trail I came to a 4-way junction with a maintenance road.

The Catamount Trail continued on the far side the road only there was a “Do Not Enter One-Way” sign on the post.

This was the first I’d heard of the trail here being one-way and I haven’t had a lot of luck since my hike in finding that information online or maps, but I honored the sign and turned left on the maintenance road following a Catamount Trail pointer.
Turning onto the road.

The opposite side of the post had a pointer for the Lost Creek Trail.

I followed the road for half a mile to the Lost Creek/Buck Mountain Trail junction.

I veered uphill to the right here.

The Lost Creek/Buck Mountain junction.

On our previous visit we had arrived at this same junction having come down the Buck Mountain Trail. To make this hike as different as possible (and to remain as far to the outside of the park as possible) I turned right on the Lost Creek Trail.
The Lost Creek Trail doubles as a fire road.

I followed this trail for 0.8 miles to a junction with the Catamount Trail at the edge of a clear cut.

Here is where I would have come up had the Catamount Trail did not have the on-way section. (Note that on some mountain biking maps the one-way section is labeled “Upper Catamount Trail.)

I turned left onto the Catatmount Trail at the junction and quickly found myself walking through the clear cut.

The treeless section wasn’t long. It appeared to have been an area impacted by the 2020 Beachie Fire.

Still some bleeding heart blooming.

There wasn’t a lot of bright Fall colors in the backcountry, but this maple stood out.

Was a bit surprised to see a few violets along this section.

Nearing the end of the logged area.

At the tree line the trail split unexpectedly (another feature not shown on the park map) into two one-way trails. The right hand fork (in this direction) was one-way uphill while the left down. I was going down at this point so I stayed to the left.

It wasn’t long before the two trails rejoined. The trail continued downhill to the Buck Mountain Loop near its crossing of Howard Creek.
The rejoining of the trails.

There were several bridges along this section of the trail. I also ran into the only mountain bikers that I would encounter all day in this area, a group of five.

The Buck Mountain Loop junction.

I turned right at the junction and crossed Howard Creek then turned right again back onto the Catamount Trail.
Bridge over Howard Creek.

The continuation of the Catamount Trail on the right.

The trail now climbed uphill for 0.2 miles to the large trail junction on Buck Mountain, a total of 1.1 miles from the Lost Creek Trail junction.

The map showed the section I had just done as 0.9 miles, but my track was a bit more twisty than the map.

From the junction I took the Perimeter Trail.

The park map lists this trail as 5.9 miles in length and has a “Steep” warning not far from the Buck Mountain junction. The trail was in good shape and although it lost over 350′ of elevation in just under a mile to a crossing of South Fork Silver Creek the grade was reasonable. Compared to some of the other trails we’d been on this year it didn’t seem all that steep.

A small opening on the way down.

Footbridge over South Fork Silver Creek.

South Fork Silver Creek

If I had paid better attention to the elevation numbers shown on the park map I might not have been so surprised when the trail began to climb on the other side of the creek. Over the next 2.1 miles the trail gained over 650′ before arriving at junction with the Rackett Ridge Trail. Up until the Rackett Ridge junction I had only encountered 8 people, the group of 5 mountain bikers and three trail runners (one solo and two together). The number of people seen doubled at this junction.

I’m a hiker so I went right here.

Big fungus on the tree ahead.

Map at the Rackett Ridge junction.

I continued on the Perimeter Trail which now began a nearly 3-mile descent that was at least as steep as the section before with the warning. The use of switchbacks allowed the grade to stay reasonable though.

Another impressive nursery log.

I stopped in this area to change out of my sweaty socks and into one of the extra pairs I’d brought expecting rain.

The vegetation went through several changes as the trail lost elevation.

This was a big tree in the midst of much smaller ones.

Roemer’s Meadow Trail (left) isn’t shown on the park maps yet, but it was completed in 2021 with help from the Salem Area Trails Alliance. (They do a lot of good work in the park and the area.) The trail is approximately 1.7 miles from the Rackett Ridge junction.

The Trail of Ten Falls junction near Highway 214.

Looking back up the Perimeter Trail.

For the hike to be a true loop I would have turned left onto the Trail of Ten Falls, but in order to see Upper North Falls I needed go right for 0.3 miles so that’s what I did.

Upper North Falls

After visiting the falls I headed back and passed under the highway to a large map at a “T” junction.

A left would have taken me to the North Falls Trailhead.

I turned right at the signboard then veered right onto the Canyon Trail at a congested fork in the trail.
The Rim Trail to the left and Canyon Trail to the right, both part of the Trail of Ten Falls.

The Canyon Trail descended some stairs then wound its way behind North Falls in approximately a tenth of a mile.

The trail followed the creek arriving at Twin Falls a little over three-quarters of a mile from North Falls.

I’m always impressed by the size of this rock in the creek.

Not Twin Falls, but a nice little cascade nonetheless.

This post could be a little confusing without a map. The Twin Falls Trail climbs uphill to a group camp and does not lead to Twin Falls. The falls are the opposite side along a very short spur trail that connects at either end to the Canyon Trail.

Twin Falls isn’t very easy to see from the spur trail either even though you’re right next to it.

I was able to find a better viewpoint of Twin Falls further along the Canyon Trail.

Twin Falls

My next detour came 0.3 miles beyond Twin Falls when I turned left onto the Winter Falls Trail.

The Winter Falls Trail crosses the creek on a footbridge then climbs gradually to the base of Winter Falls before steepening to climb up to the Rim Trail. I turned around before the steep part.

North Fork Silver Creek

Winter Falls, as the name suggests it’s not much of a waterfall outside of Winter when rain and snowmelt provide more water.

With the dry Summer it isn’t a great Fall color year but there was a decent display along this trail.

After saying hi to Winter Falls I returned to the Canyon Trail and continued toward the South Falls Day Use Area. Next up was Middle North Falls and another detour to go behind this one as well.
I turned left here on the spur trail behind Middle North Falls.

I again returned to the Canyon Trail and quickly arrived at the Drake Falls viewing platform.
Middle North Falls from the Canyon Trail.

The 27′ Drake Falls.

Approximately a quarter mile beyond Drake Falls I turned right onto the Double Falls Trail.

Much like Winter Falls, Double Falls is on a side creek which has a low flow much of the year.
The hiker at the base gives a good idea of the fall’s height, you just have to use your imagination to add water.

On my way back to the Canyon Trail I ran into one of Heather’s friends which allowed me to pause for a moment to talk and update her on our new kittens. Just beyond the Double Falls Trail I passed the eighth waterfall of my hike, Lower North Falls.

It was about here that my feet started to let me know that this was a long hike. It was almost a mile from Lower North Falls to my next marker, a junction with the Maple Ridge Trail.
The Canyon Trail crosses the creek just downstream from Lower North Falls then makes a short climb to get above the canyon cliffs.

A quarter mile from the Maple Ridge junction was Lower South Falls, another that the trail passes behind.

After passing behind the falls the trail climbs a number of stairs which at this point of the hike was a mean trick.

After conquering the stairs it was another 0.6 miles level miles to a footbridge at a fork in the trial within sight of the tenth and final waterfall, South Falls.

I walked out onto the bridge for the view then returned to the junction to take the right hand fork and go behind this fall as well.

I stayed right at junctions as I climbed to the top of South Falls then followed a paved path to a footbridge where I crossed the creek.

View toward South Falls from the footbridge.

I followed the paved path to the Bike Path where I recrossed the creek then made my way along the parking lot to the car.

Not sure what this old building was, possibly restrooms by the doors.

One of several picnic shelters in the park.

Approaching the Bike Path where I recrossed the creek.

I can see the car!

The hike turned out to be close to 22 miles with somewhere around 2900′ of cumulative elevation gain. The GPS originally said 22.4 miles but that was partly due to it jumping around when I was behind the different falls and it didn’t have a good connection to the satellites. Removing some of the points put the total down to 21.5 miles but doing that lost the out-and back behind Middle North Falls and some of the switchbacks up from South Falls. Whatever the actual distance it was a lot for me but overall everything held up pretty well. A couple of small blisters on one heel were the worst consequence. The fact that it hadn’t rained surely helped with the feet.

Track prior to trying to remove some of the jumps in data points.

The lack of people in the backcountry is almost a shame as the forest is lovely and the trails well maintained. I say almost a shame because for those of us who do take the time to explore it, the solitude only adds to the beauty. The Trail of Ten Falls was busy comparatively, but it wasn’t the zoo that it would have been on a Summer weekend which was nice. Doing the loop in reverse would have resulted in less folks at the falls but we’d been to the falls in the morning on all our other visits so this gave me a chance to see them with the Sun at a different angle. The only minor bummer was not being able to hike the full Catamount Trail due to the one-way section. If I were to do it over I would probably start at the North Falls Trailhead and go clockwise so that I would have been going the right way for that section and still would have ended with most of the Trail of Ten Falls. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Silver Falls Perimeter Loop

Corvallis Hiking Oregon Willamette Valley

Peavy Arboretum to Dimple Hill – 10/22/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 26, 2022
3 Comments on Peavy Arboretum to Dimple Hill – 10/22/2022

We finally saw some much needed wet weather arrive which started to push out the smoke that had caused the air quality in NW Oregon to be some of the worst in the world for a few days. I was more than happy to alter my plans if it meant the beginning of the end of the nearby fires. With anywhere from a 40 to 90 percent chance of precipitation (and the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm or two) the most promising forecast was for the McDonald-Dunn Research Forests north of Corvallis. Heather and I had visited the McDonald Forest four time already, the most recent in 2021 when we attempted to connect the previous three hikes via a big loop from the Sulphur Springs Trailhead (post). Due to some closures for active logging operations we were only able to connect two of the three hikes, McCulloch Peak (post) and Chip Ross Park to Dimple Hill (post). My plan for this outing was to connect the other hike, Peavy Arboretum (post), as well as checking out a few trails in the forest that we hadn’t been on previously.

After checking online to make sure there were no current closures that might affect me I decided to start my day at the Peavy Arboretum’s Woodland Trailhead

I had left my route for the day fairly open as I wasn’t sure how wet I might get. I knew that I wanted to start by hiking the 0.4 mile interpretive Woodland Loop Trail which began at the far end of the Woodland Trailhead and then I’d planned on making my way to the Lewisburg Saddle Trailhead where I would follow Road 600 (Patterson Road) SW at least three quarters of a mile to a junction with the Ridge Trail where we had turned onto that trail on our 2021 hike (coming from the other direction). I didn’t get many photos on the interpretive loop since the Sun hadn’t quite risen yet and it was fairly dark under the trees.
The Woodland Loop at the end of the parking lot.

Starting to get a little lighter near the end of the loop.

After warming up on the sort loop I walked a short distance along the entrance road toward the entrance then crossed the road at a post for the Red Cedar Run Trail.

What followed was a 19.2 mile (19.6 including the Woodland Loop Trail) reverse lollipop loop utilizing parts of 29 different trails and roads in the forest, not all of them on purpose. This is a good time to mention that having maps is extremely helpful when exploring this forest, but due to the active management by the Oregon State University Forest Department new trails are occasionally constructed while others may be closed or rerouted (the same for roads). Some trails are also closed seasonally or, as we saw on our previous visit, due to active logging operations. Finally the map/brochure available online from the Forest website, at least as of this writing, does not show all of the existing roads/trails. This was an issue that I ran into late in my hike today. Other online resources such as Trailforks show some of the missing roads/trails but may also omit others. (Trailforks is a mountain biking site so some of the hiker only trails such as the Woodland Loop are not included on their map.) My recommendation is to have as many maps handy as possible and a sense of adventure if you’re going to start exploring the area. I had my Garmin and the Forest map but really wish I had had the Trailforks map with me as well.

Back to my hike though. My route went like this (TF indicates that the trail was shown on the Trailforks map but not on the Forest map.):
Woodland Trail, Red Cedar Run Trail, Peavy Arboretum Road, Maritime Meander Trail, Forest Discovery Trail, CFIRP Trail, Section 36 Loop, Road 550, Road 500 (Nettleton Road), Dave’s Trail, Road 5010, Vineyard Mountain Trail, Road 600, Road 650, Upper Dan’s Trail, Road 650, Road 600, High Horse Trail (TF), Upper Bombs Away (TF), Road 640, Road 600, Ridge Trail, Road 600, Road 580 (Davies Road), New Growth Trail, Old Growth Trail, Road 580, Dave’s Trail, Banzai Trail (TF)*, Road 543, Road 540, Section 36 Loop, Road 540, Calloway to Cronemiller Trail, Calloway Creek Trail, Intensive Management Trail, Pond Trail.

*Instead of the Banzai Trail I had intended on taking the Powder House Trail but this section of the Banzai Trail wasn’t on the Forest Map and I went left when I should have gone right at an unsigned junction.

If that sounds a little confusing it was. As you may have guessed the weather turned out much better than forecasted with only one shower that lasted less than a minute near the end of my hike. I suspected I might be in for a nicer day as I made my way up the Red Cedar and then Maritime Meander Trails.
Cedars along the Red Cedar Run Trail.

A brief stint on Peavy Arboretum Road between the Red Cedar Run and Maritime Meander (on the left ahead) Trails.

I took a quiet detour to Randall Pond before hopping onto the Maritime Meander Trail.

Sunrise from the Maritime Meander Trail.

Forest Discovery Trail junction with the Maritime Meander Trail.

I stayed left at trail junctions along the Forest Discovery Trail, crossing Road 510 along the way, then turned left onto the CFIRP.
The trails were well signed in the Arboretum.

I had been on the Forest Discovery Trail just under a mile when I reached the CFIRP Trail.

I followed the CFIRP Trail for half a mile uphill across Road 514 and ignoring a spur trail back to Road 510 to the Section 36 Loop.
Road crossing.

The Section 36 Loop junction.

I turned left onto this trail, the first section of trail that I had been on previously, and continued uphill 0.4 miles to Road 550. I left the Section 36 Loop here and took a left onto the road.
Section 36 Loop

A bench along the trail faces this tree.

Road 550 from the Section 36 Loop.

Most of the 0.3 mile road is closed to motorized traffic so Road 550 was fairly overgrown compared to the other roads/trails in the forest but there was still clear tread. I did question my choice though when my feet started to feel the moisture from the grass start reaching my socks.
Looking back down Road 550.

My feet started to dry when I reached the section open to motorized vehicles.

Road 550 ended on a saddle at Road 500 where I again turned left following this road just under half a mile to Dave’s Trail where, you guessed it, I turned left.

Lots of sparrows, towhees, and wrens were out this morning but most wouldn’t sit still at all.

Dave’s Trail

I continued to climb gradually on Dave’s Trail crossing Road 590 near the quarter mile mark then dropping slightly to Road 5010 at a 3-way road junction after 1.3 miles.

A gated road on the left led back up the hill I had just passed under some radio towers while Road 500 was to the right. Road 5010 was ahead on the left heading up Vineyard Mountain.

On our previous hike we’d taken the Vineyard Mountain Trail uphill from this junction (having come up Road 500 instead of on Dave’s Trail) so this time I followed Road 5010. When I reached the radio towers atop the mountain I discovered that we’d completely missed the remains of the 1930’s Dean George Peavy Cabin.
The Vineyard Mountain Trail at the junction.

The foundation, fireplace and chimney are all that remain of the former OSU Dean’s cabin.

After visiting the cabin remains I continued slightly downhill on Road 5010 to a post marking the Vineyard Mountain Trail.

It was approximately 1.5 downhill miles to the Lewisburg Saddle Trailhead where there were a decent number of cars.
Some twisted trees along the Vineyard Mountain Trail.

After numerous tries I finally caught a spotted towhee.

The Vineyard Mountain Trail briefly follows an old roadbed.

The section of trail between the roadbed and the Lewisburg Saddle Trailhead is one of the trails subject to seasonal closures. This section is closed when it is wet enough that you’d leave tracks in which case you could follow the roadbed to the right to Road 500.

Close up of the seasonal closure notice. It wasn’t wet so I continued on the Vineyard Mountain Trail.

At the trailhead I crossed Sulphur Springs Road and passed an orange gate on Road 600 (Patterson Road). After gradually climbing for three quarters of a mile I arrived at a junction with Road 620 on the right. The Ridge Trail started from Road 620 near the junction so I could have turned there and followed it back to the Lewisburg Saddle I would have accomplished my goal of connecting all of our hikes here. The weather was so nice though that I decided to push on and try to reach Dimple Hill.

Looking back at the towers on Vineyard Mountain from Road 600.

Road 620 on the right.

I stayed on Road 600 for another 1.4 miles (the first 0.6 being new to me) then turned left onto Road 650 at a saddle.

A tenth of a mile up Road 650 I veered onto Upper Dan’s Trail and made way to the summit of Dimple Hill.

Mary’s Peak (post) with a cloud just blocking the summit.

The view was nice but there were enough clouds and lingering haze to the SE that I was a bit disappointed. Someday I will make it a point to get to Dimple Hill on a bluebird afternoon/evening but for now I settled for the blue sky overhead and headed back to Road 600.

If I would have had the Trailforks map handy I would have seen that I could cross Road 600 at the saddle and follow it uphill to Road 662 which would have brought me to what is shown on that map as the High Horse Trail. I then could have followed that to Upper Bombs Away but those two trails weren’t on the McDonald Forest map. I hiked back down Road 600 just over three quarters of mile to a trail crossing where I turned left on the unsigned High Horse Trail. (Not sure if that is the “official” name but it is the name on the TF map.)

The High Horse Trail. Not shown to the right coming up from below is the Upper Horse Trail.

Despite the High Horse and Upper Bombs Away Trails not being shown on my map or Garmin we had taken these on our 2021 hike so I was familiar with them.
Bikers on Road 600 below.

Moss covered tree.

Lichen

Unsigned junction where the High Horse Trail continues to the left to Road 662 and Upper Bombs Away veers right.

Another connector trail on the left coming down from Road 662 to join the Upper Bombs Away Trail.

The Upper Bombs Away Trail can get a little confusing as it switchbacks downhill but the forest along the trail is some of my favorite in the McDonald Forest. There is another well established trail that basically shoots straight downhill and a couple of use trails that appeared to possibly be coming downhill from Road 600. I basically stayed left and/or downhill until I arrived at Road 640 (0.6 miles from the High Horse Trail).
Will the real trail please stand up?

Switchback near Road 640.

On our previous visit we had crossed Road 640 (it was closed between the trail and Road 600 at the time) and followed Lower Bombs Away to the Ridge Trail at Road 620. Since I’d been on that section of trail before and not Road 640 I took the road 0.3 miles back to Road 600 then turned left on Road 600 for 100 yards to Road 620.

I hopped onto the Ridge Trail and followed it up and over a knoll to Road 600 near Lewisburg Saddle.
The Alpha Trail on the left at the quarter mile mark. This is where we had turned on the 2021 hike.

Road 600 ahead.

At Lewisburg Saddle I took Road 580 for a tenth of a mile to the New Growth Trail and headed downhill.

The New Growth Trail.

A connector trail at the 0.4 mile mark led back up to Road 580 and marked the start of the Old Growth Trail.

Old growth

The end of the Old Growth Trail at Road 580.

After a mile on those two trails I was back on Road 580 which I followed for almost two miles to Dave’s Trail.

One of three spur roads to the left that I passed.

I turned left onto Dave’s Trail which paralleled Road 580 for 0.6 miles where it met the road again.

Blackberries

It was here that things got a little messy for me. I was already at approximately 15.7 miles and my plan was to head back as directly as possible. The plan was to take the Powder House Trail on the other side of Road 580 which was the only trail shown on the McDonald Forest map (no trails were on the GPS topo map). When I crossed the road though there were were two trails. One heading slightly downhill to the left and one uphill to the right and no signs on this side of the road.
The proverbial fork in the road.

I went left (I chose poorly) and followed what I thought was the Powder House Trail a third of a mile to a sign with a pointer for the Banzai Trail.

Madrone

A few clouds starting to move in.

The McDonald Forest map showed a small section old road between Roads 562 and 543 as the Banzai Trail which I was not close to according to the GPS. The Trailforks map shows the Banzai Trail starting where I had left Road 580 so my guess is that it has been somewhat recently added. I decided to forge ahead knowing that whatever I was on would eventually hit one of the forest roads that I could use to reach Cronemiller Lake and get back on course. I followed signs when available and after a mile found myself at a road with no apparent signage.

The Banzai Trail likely continued on the other side but without a pointer I wasn’t about to find out and turned right here which took me uphill for a tenth of a mile to the Road 560 and Road 562 junction.

This is the start of what is labeled the Banzai Trail on the McDonald Forest map.

Road 562 went straight downhill and steeply.
The photo doesn’t do the steepness justice but the trail lived up to its name here.

At some point the road became 543 before reaching a fork where I stayed right.

Another closed roadbed on the left. This is where I stayed right on Road 543.

In another quarter mile I found myself at a 3-way junction.
Road 540 to the left and 541 to the right.

I turned right on Road 541 which brought me to Cronemiller Lake in half a mile.

George W. Brown Sports Arena near Cronemiller Lake.

Not that kind of a lake.

I went right around the lake on the Section 36 Loop where for the first time all day a very brief shower passed overhead.

A few drops hitting the lake.

Kingfisher on the far side of the lake.

The trail hit Road 540 on the far side of the lake where I turned left and walked back along the lake on the road a short distance to the Calloway to Cronemiller Trail.

I turned right onto this trail following it downhill for 0.2 miles to a junction with the Calloway Creek Trail.

I turned right and then turned right again a short distance later onto the Intensive Management Trail.
Second right.

I crossed three roads in the next 0.3 miles before arriving at a signboard map at a split in the Intensive Management Trail.

I veered right following the Intensive Management Trail for another 0.3 miles to the Peavy Arboretum Trailhead.

A 100 yard road walk brought me to the Pond Trail at Randall Pond which I briefly followed before cutting across two roads to the Woodland Trailhead where I’d started almost 7 hours earlier.

In the end the wrong turn onto the Banzai Trail had only added a mile or so to my day and it was trail that I hadn’t been on before so that was a plus. There was enough up and down to put the cumulative elevation gain right around 3000′ feet but none of the climbs were too long or steep. The weather couldn’t have been much better and the trail/road conditions were very good which made a hike like this a bit easier. The amazing thing is that there are still roads and trails that I’ve yet to explore which makes the thought of returning that much more exciting. Happy Trails!

Blue is today’s track, red 2021, purple 2018, and yellow 2016

Flickr:Peavy Arboretum to Dimple Hill

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Spring Valley Greenway – 09/10/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 12, 2022
2 Comments on Spring Valley Greenway – 09/10/2022

September has always been a bit tricky for planning hikes. Historically it seemed there was always at least one weekend where snow returned to the mountains while other weekends might see rain or 90 degree temperatures. In recent years extreme wildfire behavior has entered into the mix resulting in some devastating fires and some very unhealthy air quality as was the case with the Labor Day fires in 2020. A rare east wind event that year caused a number of wildfires to explode.

A similar, but not nearly as strong, wind event was forecast for Friday & Saturday which coincided with our third attempt at using a Central Cascade Overnight Wilderness Permit. We had planned on trying to reach Goat Peak in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness after having failed to do so in September 2018 (post) but the combination of extreme fire danger and forecast for wide spread smoke resulted in our once again deciding not to utilize the permit we’d obtained. (An early snowstorm in 2021 and thunderstorms in July of this year were the reasons we’d changed our permit plans.)

We were still hoping to sneak some sort of hike in so I started looking for another idea. We didn’t want to go too far from home due to the potential for fast spreading fires but at the same time the Saturday forecast for Salem was a high in the mid-90’s and widespread haze/smoke. I turned to the Oregon Hikers Field Guide for inspiration and noticed the Spring Valley Loop in the Willamette Valley State Parks section. It was less than a 20 minute drive from home and at less than four miles would allow us to be done hiking by mid-morning and avoid the warmer part of the day.

Prior to leaving in the morning I checked up on a fire that had started the day before in South Salem along Vitae Springs Road and stuck my head outside to see if the air smelled of smoke. Everything seemed okay so we proceeded to get ready and headed out at about a quarter to 7am. While the air didn’t smell of smoke the sky had a familiar hauntingly orange hue to it. As we prepared to set off on the first of three short loops from the Spring Valley Trailhead we remarked at how dark it still was due to the layer of smoke overhead. (The majority of the smoke was likely from the Cedar Creek Fire near Waldo Lake (post) which had grown rapidly overnight toward Oakridge and Westfir prompting evacuations although there was also a new fire to the NE at Milo McIver State Park (post).)

For the first loop we walked back up the park entrance road approximately 400 feet to the Rook Trail on the left.

We followed this trail as it wound through the woods for nearly a mile before ending at the entrance road a short way from Highway 221 (Wallace Rd NW).
The combination of low light and orange hue made for some poor photography conditions.

Approaching the entrance road. The gate is for the road which is only open during daylight hours.

We turned right onto the road and followed it for a tenth of a mile to the unsigned Generator Trail (there was some pink flagging present) and took a left onto this one-way trail.

The Generator Trail.

The 0.4 mile Generator Trail brought us back down to the entrance road between the trailhead and where we had turned onto the Rook Trail.

As we followed the road back to the trailhead we were discussing which loop to try next. That decision was made by the couple having an intimate moment in the back of a pickup parked at the start of the Perimeter Trail. We turned right, away from the show, and cut across the mowed field surrounding the vault toilet to pick up the also unsigned Upper Spring Valley Trail.

Spring Valley Creek passing under the entrance road.

The mowed field.

Upper Spring Valley Creek Trail.

The 0.7 mile Upper Spring Valley Creek Trail simply loops back to the trailhead so we hopped that by the time we had finished the short loop the couple was finished as well.

A few Autumn colors starting to show, now we just need some Fall rain.

Brief glimpse of the Willamette River.

The tailgate was up on the pickup, a good sign for us.

Some of the various non-native wildflowers in the area.

Before setting off on the Perimeter Trail we decided to make the quick detour down to the Willamette.

Mile 74.2 of the Willamette Water Trail.

We didn’t quite make it to the river though as the couple had apparently decided to switch locations, but at least they were taking turns. We made a hasty retreat and set off on the Perimeter Trail.
The Perimeter Trail begins to the right of the gate.

The Perimeter Trail loops around another mowed field but after 0.2 miles the signed TCC Trail splits off to the right into the woods (assuming you are hiking counter-clockwise).

Invasive common tansy but the beetle was cool looking.

We were initially fooled by this side-trail at the 0.1 mile mark which was not the TCC Trail, but did provide access to the Willamette.
Willamette Mission State Park (post) is located on the opposite side down river.

There’s the TCC Trail.

After just a tenth of a mile on the TCC Trail it appeared that we were going to be led right back out to the field but the TCC Trail made a hard right and stayed in the woods for an additional four tenths of a mile.

Back to the field after half a mile.

At the field we turned right onto what in theory was the Perimeter Trail following it another 0.4 miles back to the trailhead.

Invasive Canadad thistle.

Common toadflax – non-native.

Moth mullein – you guessed it, non-native.

The Sun behind a layer of smoke.

Pigeons (or doves) in a snag.

The three loops came to a grand total of 3.5 miles with a little over 200′ of elevation gain.

While the conditions weren’t ideal there was a cool (mostly) breeze and it never smelt like smoke. Early Spring would be a much better time to visit or maybe a little later once more of the leaves have had time to change color but given the circumstances it was a suitable destination. It was nice to find another option so close to home too. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Spring Valley Greenway

Tags Generator Trail, hiking, Oregon, Oregon Hikers Field Guide, Perimeter Trail, Rook Trail, Salem, Spring Valley Greenway, Spring Valley State Park, TCC Trail, Upper Spring Valley Trail, Wildfires, willamette river, Willamette River Trail

Hiking Oregon Roseburg Area Trip report

Fall Creek and Wolf Creek Falls – 08/07/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 12, 2022
4 Comments on Fall Creek and Wolf Creek Falls – 08/07/2022

**Note the 2017 Jones Fire burned a portion of this hike.**

For the second set of hikes during our weekend near Glide, OR we had a pair of short waterfall hikes planned which we hoped would be less eventful than our hikes had been the day before. We started our morning by heading east on Highway 138 to the recently reopened (following the 2020 Archie Creek Fire) Fall Creek Falls Trailhead. This is one of three stops that make up Sullivan’s featured hike #2, Fall Creek Falls edition 4.2 “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California”. We had visited Susan Creek Falls in June this year before this trail reopened (post). The third hike to Fern Falls is still inaccessible due to still being under a closure order from the fire.

From the small parking area the trail immediately crosses the creek on a footbridge.

The trail passed between some interesting rock formation in the first third of a mile.

Scarlet monkeyflower

The terrain opened up a bit as we neared the waterfall.

The trail first passes near the splash pool of the lower tier before switchbacking uphill to a viewpoint of the upper tier.

Heading for the viewpoint.

The upper tier from the viewpoint.

Our 6am start allowed us to have the trail and falls to ourselves which was nice because it is a popular trail. (There was a couple sleeping on the pavement in the parking lot surrounded by empty Mike’s Hard Lemonade bottles. To their credit they did pack everything into their car when they left.)

After returning to the car we drove to the Wolf Creek Falls Trailhead along Little River Road. The 1.2 mile trail here is part of featured hike #3 – Little River Waterfalls in Sullivan’s book and is overseen by the BLM and begins with a crossing of the Little River on an arched footbridge.

The forest along the trail combined with Wolf Creek made this our favorite scenery of the weekend. It was a perfect mix of forest, creek, and rock formations.

Wolf Creek Falls solidified this as our favorite hike of the weekend. The trail first passes above a lower fall then leads to a viewpoint above that cascade and of the larger 70′ fall at trails end.
First good view of the lower fall from the trail. The upper fall was visible but somewhat blocked by trees.

We really liked how the water curved and narrowed as it cascaded down.

The pool appeared to be extremely deep.

After a nice break admiring the upper fall we headed back and I detoured downhill on a use trail to get a closer look at the lower falls.

Even though it was still early (we were at the falls a little after 8am) we were surprised no one had been on the trail. There hadn’t been any cars at the trailhead either time we’d driven by the day before either which we found a bit odd considering how nice the trail and waterfall were. We did finally encounter a couple of other hikers as we made our way back to the car. This had been a perfect hike to end our trip on. The two hikes combined for just 4.5 miles and 630′ of elevation gain, which was about all my feet could take, and we were able to make it home before noon giving us plenty of time to unpack and get ready for the work week ahead. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fall Creek and Wolf Creek Falls

Tags Fall Creek Falls, Glide, hiking, Idleyld Lodge, Little River Waterfalls, Oregon, Waterfall, Wolf Creek Falls, Wolf Creek Falls Trailhead

Coastal Range Corvallis Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Alsea Falls and E.E. Wilson Interpretive Trail

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 1, 2022
2 Comments on Alsea Falls and E.E. Wilson Interpretive Trail

The Central Cascade Wilderness Permit system has been in place for 2 years now and for the second year in a row we gambled early and secured permits in April for a weekend backpacking trip. For the second year in a row weather prompted us to leave the purchased permits unused. Last September it was an early snow storm and this year it was a heat wave accompanied by the threat of thunderstorms. We had planned on hiking around Three Fingered Jack but after checking the forecast the morning of our departure we went to Plan B. The combination of nearly 90 degree temperatures (with an overnight low pushing 70) on trails that are 95% exposed due to passing through the 2008 B & B fire scar and the possibility of thunderstorms throughout the entire weekend just didn’t sound appealing.

We had gotten up at 4am and most of our packing already done but we needed somewhere to go. It needed to be nearby so we could get onto the trail early and short enough that we wouldn’t be out as the day warmed up. As I was trying to come up with ideas Alsea Falls came to mind. We had hiked to the falls in December 2011 (post) and had wanted to see them again when there was less water as the volume in December had been too much to see. With 3.5 miles round trip to visit both Alsea and Green Peak Falls this fit the criteria nicely and it would give us time to make a quick stop at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area if we felt like it on the way back home.

We were the first car at the Alsea Falls Day-Use/Picnic Area and after paying the $5 fee (In 2012 we avoided this fee by parking along Miller Road which lengthened the hike.) we set off following pointers for Alsea Falls.

We stayed left here following the pointer. We later crossed the bridge on the way to Green Peak Falls.

A quarter mile from the trailhead we came to the top of Alsea Falls. The trail continued downhill providing a few different vantage points of the falls.

Heather in front of the falls.

December 2012

After checking out the falls from several spots we headed back up to the bridge and crossed the river.
Looking down river from the bridge.

On the far side of the bridge we turned left following the pointer for McBee Park and Green Peak Falls.

We followed trail pointers to stay on the correct path which brought us to a road near McBee Park (Privately owned by Hull-Oaks Lumber Company).

Fireweed

We turned off the main gravel road at another sign for Green Peak Falls. Here a spur road led through a large campsite to a trail.

Green Peak Falls

Green Peak falls in December 2012.

It was interesting to see how differently the lower water levels affected the visuals of the two falls. For Alsea Falls less water allowed us to see more of the bedrock and gave the falls a little more definition and character. Green Peak on the other hand just had less water, it was still a nice waterfall but it wasn’t the thundering cascade that we’d experienced in 2012.

On the way back we crossed the river at McBee Park and explored one of the empty sites there.

Covered picnic table.

The table is one solid plank.

Instead of back tracking through the park to the trail and returning the way we’d come we decided to road walk back to the Alsea Falls Picnic Area.
Sign for McBee Park along South Fork Road.

Trail down to the picnic area along South Fork Road.

This wound up being a 3.3 mile hike which was just what we were looking for. It had been warm when we started at 6:15am and it was already noticeably warmer when we got back to the car at 8am. It was still early enough though that we did decide to stop on our way home and finally check out the E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area.

The area, located just north of Corvallis, is one of several Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife managed areas that requires a $10/day parking perming ($30 for an annual permit). Hiking options are limited here with just a 1.5 mile Interpretive Trail to a fishing pond and a 1.7 mile out-and-back to Coffin Butte. The $10 price tag for such sort hikes had kept us away but we had come into possession of an annual permit (They come with certain hunting and/or fishing licenses.) which eliminated that obstacle.

We parked at the Camp Adair Trailhead and promptly forgot to put the permit on the dashboard. Instead we got out, threw our packs on (we looked crazy for a 1.5 interpretive loop but we wanted the water that was in them), and started checking out the pheasants being raised in nearby cages.

Silver pheasant

After looking at the birds we walked through the Camp Adair Memorial Garden. Camp Adair was established approximately 6 months after Pearl Harbor and housed up to 40,000 personnel at a time comprising four infantry divisions.

Red-breasted sapsucker

Parking for the fishing pond is located on the opposite side of the memorial and at that parking lot we turned left on a road passing through a gate to a signboard.

We followed this road 0.2 miles to a “T” where we turned left.

Less than 100 yards later we came to a sign for the Fishing Pond on our right at another road junction.

We made it about a tenth of a mile up this road before I thought to ask Heather if she had put the permit on the dashboard since I’d completely forgotten about it. She had forgotten too so I left my pack with her at a bench and jogged back to the car, put the permit in the window, and (mostly) jogged back to her. We then continued on to the Fishing Pond.
Bunnies in the grass near one of the benches.

Coffin Butte on the other side of Highway 99.

Turkey vulture

Wetlands on the other side of the pond.

Great blue heron

After walking a little way up along the western side of the pond we backtracked and started around the southern end where we picked up the continuation of the Interpretive Loop.
The loop trail to the right.

Skipper

The loop passed through some wetlands before entering a series of fields and finally arriving back at the road.

Tadpole

We stayed left at any junction like this.

Dragon fly

Bindweed

Arriving back at the road.

We took a left on the road and retraced our steps to the memorial and then back to our car. Between our wandering and my return trip to the car to put the permit out I managed to turn this into a 2.8 mile outing but it should have been closer to 1.5. We still managed to be done just after 10am which was a good thing because it was already pushing 80 degrees. These two short hikes turned out to be a great option given the circumstances. Unfortunately as I write this several fires are burning in Northern California and the Oregon Cascades with more red flag warnings for lighting through Monday. Hopefully things won’t get too bad and we pray for the firefighters as they do their best to keep things in check. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Alsea Falls and E.E. Wilson Loop

Tags alsea falls, Camp Adair, E. E. Wilson Nature Trail, E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, Fishing Pond, Green Peak Falls, hiking, McBee Park, Oregon

Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Rogue-Umpqua Divide Roseburg Area Trip report

Illahee Rock & Twin Lakes – 06/14/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 22, 2022
9 Comments on Illahee Rock & Twin Lakes – 06/14/2022

Our original plan for this vacation was to do a pair of hikes on the way down to Roseburg on Monday, Illahee Rock and Twin Lakes but the weather hadn’t cooperated with that plan. Monday was cloudy so doing two viewpoint hikes didn’t make sense. Instead, we had spent Monday visiting various waterfalls along Highway 138 (post). The plan for Tuesday had been a hike along Cow Creek on the way south to Ashland but during one of the many drives between trailheads on Monday we had decided instead to do the Illahee Rock and Twin Lakes hikes on Tuesday, weather permitting, and to save Cow Creek for another year. There were two reasons for this change. First Twin Lakes is one of Sullivan’s featured hikes while Cow Creek is not. The second reason was that we were both still dealing with blisters from our 17.5-mile outing at the Columbian White-Tailed Deer Refuge three days earlier (post) and with at least four creek crossings on the Cow Creek Trail the probability of us having to ford the creek and soaking our feet didn’t sound like the best idea. Before going to sleep Monday, we checked the forecast which was “Becoming Sunny”. I don’t think we’d ever come across that particular forecast, but it sounded hopeful so Tuesday morning we packed up the car and headed east once again on Highway 138.

Our first stop was at Illahee Rock, a former featured hike that was hit with fires in both 2017 and 2021. Two lookout towers sit atop Illahee Rock and the Umpqua National Forest website listed the Illahee Lookout Trail as open but gave no update on conditions. We wound up cutting the drive short by three quarters of a mile due to a decent amount of debris in the road due to damage caused by the fires.
We parked in a pullout just before this section.

The “becoming sunny” forecast was obviously not for the morning as we found ourselves in heavy fog as we hiked along FR 100.
The Boulder Creek Wilderness (post) under the slowly rising clouds.

After 0.75 miles on FR 100 we came to FR 104 on the left which led to the Illahee Rock Trailhead. Before heading up to the lookouts though we wanted to make an attempt to reach nearby Wild Rose Point which Sullivan described in his book.
FR 104

We passed FR 104 and continued on FR 100 for another 0.2 miles to a fork.
Rabbit on FR 100

Lots of fawn lilies along the road and trails.

Red flowering currant

Is this an apple tree? Whatever it is it seemed very out of place.

FR 105 on the left and FR 100 on the right.

We could see a post for the trail on the hillside in brush but had a bit of trouble figuring out where the trail began at the fork. We first looked for it right at the fork then a bit down FR 100 but it was actually just up FR 105 next to the post for the road.

This little path brought us to the post in the brush where it was already obvious this was going to be an adventure.

The 2021 fire had burned over this area as well and it didn’t appear that any maintenance had been done aside from some occasional flagging and cairns. We decided to give it a go though since it was under 1.5 miles to Wild Rose Point. We picked our way uphill and found some decent tread in some trees that had been spared by the fire.

Another uphill through a burned area brought us to another short section of better trail before fallen trees began to be a problem. A little over half a mile in near Illahee Spring we decided to turn back. Several larger trees blocked the trail head and looked like more trouble than it was worth to try and navigate around and even if we did manage there wasn’t going to be a view due to the fog.
A cairn on the left.

Damp trillium

Downed trees across the trail near Illahee Spring.

We returned to FR 100 and walked back to FR 104 which we now turned up.

Gooseberry

Two tenths of a mile up FR 104 we came to the Illahee Rock Trailhead.

This trail was in much better shape and we had no problem following it the three quarters of a mile up to the lookouts.

The tread was a little faint but otherwise in good shape.

Lots of cool rock outcrops along the trail.

Fawn lilies

Typical trail condition.

Ragwort and blue-eyed Mary covered hillside.

Blue-eyed Mary

Ragwort

Rocky hillside below the lookouts.

Larkspur

1925 Cupola style lookout.

1956 L-4 tower lookout

Paintbrush

We spent some time exploring the summit and checking out the lookouts while we waited for it to become sunny. We eventually gave up on that and headed back down.

Illahee Rock

A sliver of hope for blue sky at some point.

It wasn’t more than 10 minutes after we started down before the blue sky started appearing.

Back at the trailhead.

On FR 100

Wallflower

The Boulder Creek Wilderness

We’d missed out on a view from Illahee Rock but we had another opportunity coming up on our hike to Twin Lakes. We drove back down FR 100 to Highway 138 and turned left (east) for 2.25 miles to FR 4770 where we turned right at a sign for the Twin Lakes and North Umpqua Trail. We followed FR 4770 to the Twin Lakes Trailhead . (The east trailhead not the west.)

The same 2017 fire that burned Illahee Rock affected the Forest here as well although many large trees did survive. We followed the Twin Lakes Trail for 0.6 miles to a junction.

Meadow along the trail.

Trillum

Becoming sunny in action. From this viewpoint Diamond Peak, Mt. Thielsen, and Mt. Bailey are visible sans clouds.

A carpet of blue-eyed Mary at the viewpoint.

Illahee Rock was visible from the viewpoint despite the clouds.

The lookout tower on Illahee Rock.

Indian plum

Hellbore starting to sprout in a meadow.

Waterleaf

Nearing the junction.

At the first junction we stayed right then veered left at the next, avoiding the Deception Creek Trail, and descended through a meadow to the Twin Lakes Shelter.

Woodpecker

Gray jay

The second junction where we turned left.

Mushroom near the shelter.

After a short break at the shelter we started around the bigger of the two lakes going counter-clockwise. We passed a walk in campground and continued along the lake shore.

The lake was very colorful and it was easy to see into the water which allowed us to watch fish as they swam around.

No fish but it was easy to see them when they were present.

This big rock added to the scenery.

We couldn’t decide if that was an old bridge or dock in the water.

Passing behind the big rock.

The rock turned out to be split.

There was a lot of water in the section between the two lakes. Fortunately there didn’t seem to be any mosquitos which was really surprising but in a good way.

We weren’t entirely sure where the trail between the two lakes was and we started thinking that we’d missed it so when we saw an opportunity we headed cross country toward the smaller lake.
This looked like it could be a trail.

How were there not any mosquitos in here.

A local wondering what we were up to.

We spotted more large rocks with a bit of a shelter underneath and were headed for it when we spotted an actual trail running by the rocks.

We followed this trail to the second lake and made our way around it counter-clockwise as well.

The outlet creek.

Yellow-rumped warbler

Red-breasted sapsucker

Stellar’s jay

There was still snow in the basin on the south side of the lake making this side very wet.

A 1995 log shelter used to be located on this side of the lake but was lost to the 2017 fire. A small outhouse and a whole lot of garbage (people are awful sometimes) is all that was left.

After completing the loop we followed the trail back toward the larger lake passing the boulder shelter and a balancing rock.

This cracked us up, someone just nailed the planks into the tree that broke the bridge.

This trail led back to the trail around the larger lake.
A small sign at the junction.

We finished the loop around the larger lake and stopped again at the shelter.

A 1.1 mile climb from the first junction that we’d come to earlier would take us to a viewpoint above the lakes.

We had been waiting to see if it really did become sunny before deciding on this optional side trip but now that there was quite a bit of blue sky overhead we decided to head up.
Another meadow along the 1.1 mile section.

The 2017 fire hit this section pretty hard.

There was a bit more snow over 5400′ but not enough to cause any problems.

A well established use trail led out to the viewpoint where we met another pair of hikers enjoying the view.

The larger lake.

The smaller lake.

Illahee Rock from the viewpoint.

The lower flanks of Howlock Mountain, Mt. Thielsen (post), and Mt. Bailey (post).

We chatted with the other hikers long enough that we could almost see all of Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey by the time we were headed back.

Bee on an anemone.

Glacier lily

Moth and a violet.

When we passed by the lower viewpoint the views had improved even more.

Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey

Black Rock on the right.

Highrock Mountain

Howlock Mountain

Cowhorn Mountain (post)

It truly had become sunny and was supposed to stay that way at least for the next couple of days. After driving back to Highway 138 we followed it east to Diamond Lake then took Highway 230 south to Highway 62 and followed it into Medford to I-5 and took the freeway south to Ashland where we would be staying for the next four nights. We’d hoped to stop by Becky’s Cafe in Union Creek but when we drove by it was closed so instead we wound up with Wendy’s after another long day (sigh) of driving.

The hikes were 5.2 miles and 6.2 miles with 650′ and 850′ of elevation gain respectively giving us an 11.4 mile 1500′ day.

Tags Boulder Creek Wilderness, hiking, Illahee Rock, Illahee Rock Lookout, Oregon, Twin Lake Shelter, Twin Lakes, Twin Lakes Trailhead, Umpqua National Forest, Wild Rose Point

Hiking Mt. Theilsen/Mt. Bailey Area Oregon Roseburg Area Trip report

Highway 138 Waterfalls – 06/13/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 21, 2022
5 Comments on Highway 138 Waterfalls – 06/13/2022

The last two years have created a bit of urgency to our goal of completing the 100 featured hikes in all five areas covered by William L. Sullivan in his 100 hikes guidebook series (post). Between the pandemic and 2020 wildfire season it became clear that taking our time could create issues down the road so starting last year we refocused our efforts on finishing the 500 hikes as soon possible. As we started 2022 we were down to just the Eastern and Southern Oregon (and Northern CA) areas to complete (post). The majority of the remaining hikes were from the southern book where a number of planned trips had been canceled in recent years due to weather and/or the effects of wildfires. We spent a week in Medford earlier in June checking off Roxy Ann Peak (post) and the Jack-Ash Trail (post) and we headed back south a couple of weeks later to hopefully check off more.

A cool and wet Spring has left parts of Oregon, in particular the northern and central Cascade Mountains with a lot of lingering snow. Many trails and trailheads in those areas that in recent years would be open are still snowed in but Southern Oregon had been dealing with an extreme drought, so the recent weather has not had as much of an impact leaving trails accessible. While accessibility wasn’t an issue the weather forecast was a bit of one. More wet weather was forecast for the start and end of our six-day trip with the possibility of snow at higher elevations. After some substituting and rearranging of hikes we settled on a tentative plan that gave us some flexibility in case the forecast tried to pull a fast one on us. Since Monday was supposed to be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers off and on all day we decided to combine a number of stops east of Roseburg along Highway 138 to check out seven different waterfalls.

We started our morning off at Susan Creek Falls. This waterfall is one of three stops listed in featured hike #2, Fall Creek Falls (4th edition). This area was burned in the 2020 Archie Creek Fire and to date the other two stops at Fall Creek Falls and the Tioga Segment of the North Umpqua Trail remain closed. The BLM has managed to get the 0.7 mile Susan Creek Trail open although the trailhead on the north side of the highway was full of logs forcing us to park across the street at the Susan Creek Picnic Area.

After dashing across the highway we set off on the trail through the burned forest.

Checkermallow

A slug and a bug on a flower.

Pea

Approaching the falls.

Columbine

Susan Creek Falls

This short trail only gained about 150′ and was a nice leg stretcher after the drive down from Salem. After admiring the falls we returned to the car and continued east on 138 to milepost 59 and turned left onto Forest Road 34 to the Toketee Falls Trailhead. One of two stops that make up featured hike #9 (edition 4.2) a 0.4 mile trail leads to a platform above the falls which spill out of gap in basalt cliffs.

Evidence of overnight rains on the trail.

A very faint rainbow over the North Umpqua River.

Stairs down to the viewpoint platform.

Toketee Falls

We spent some time admiring this waterfall which is one of Oregon’s more recognizable falls before returning to the car and continuing on FR 34 to FR 3401 and following it to the Umpqua Hot Springs Trailhead.

The hike starting here is not the second part of featured hike #9 but rather its own entry (featured hike #8, edition 4.2). Sullivan gives two 0.6 mile round trip options starting from this trailhead. The first is a 120′ climb to Umpqua Hot Springs overlooking the North Umpqua River. To reach the hot springs we crossed the river on a footbridge and turned right to make the climb up to the springs.

Candy sticks along the trail.

Just before the hot springs I veered downhill on a side trail to visit the river.

During lower flow there is another hot spring along the river bank in the area.

I climbed back up to find Heather sitting near the springs. There were a number of people enjoying a soak and with clothing being optional pictures were very limited.

We climbed down from the hot springs and returned to the trailhead where we took a short trail up to FR 3401 and turned left following a short distance to the resumption of the North Umpqua Trail.
Heading up to the road.

The North Umpqua Trail on the left leaving the FR 3401.

Approximately a quarter mile along this segment we arrived at Surprise Falls, a cascade created by cold springs bursting from the hillside below the trail.

The mossy cascade was beautiful and we spent quite a while enjoying the lush green surroundings. A very short distance further we arrived at our turn around point at another spring fed waterfall, Columnar Falls.

This fall gets its name due to the columnar basalt that the water both cascades down and spouts right out of.

The hot springs across the river from Columnar Falls.

We returned the way we’d come and hoped back into our car and drove back to Highway 138 where we again turned east. Our next stop was the second waterfall in featured hike #9, Watson Falls. Another short (0.4 mile) trail leads from the Watson Falls Trailhead to Southern Oregon’s tallest waterfall.
The top of Watson Falls from the trailhead signboard.

This trail gains 300′ as it climbs to a viewpoint part way up the 272′ waterfall.

Watson Falls from below.

Footbridge over Watson Creek.

Heather at the viewpoint.

The splash pool.

On the way back down we took the loop back trail which splits off just before the creek crossing.

This trail follows Watson Creek down to FR 37 where a right turn and short road walk completes the loop.

Watson Creek at FR 37.

A little bit of blue sky and sunlight along FR 37.

Once again we returned to Highway 138 and continued east. Our next three stops were in the Lemolo Lake Recreation Area so we turned off of the Highway onto FR 2610 at a pointer for the Recreation Area. Our first stop was at the Warm Springs Trail.

Yet another short trail (0.3 miles) that led to a scenic waterfall.

Viewing platform above the falls.

We both really liked the angled basalt cliff on the far side of these falls.

This waterfall surprised us a bit with how much we both liked it. We headed back to the car and drove back the way we’d come until reaching a canal bridge along FR 2610 where we turned across it to the North Umpqua Trail.
The canal bridge is 5.6 miles from Highway 138 on FR 2610.

Sign near the canal bridge.

The North Umpqua Trail.

The section between Lemolo Lake and the Umpqua Hot Springs Trailhead is called the “Dread and Terror Segment” but both sections we hiked were beautiful.

This would be our longest hike of the day at 3.5 miles round trip. The trail followed the North Umpqua River providing numerous views while losing 400′ to a viewpoint above Lemolo Falls.

Numerous seasonal streams and seeps flowed across the trail.

Unnamed fall along the river.

Trillium

Ouzel

Lemolo Falls

We took a short break at the viewpoint then headed back. We had one final stop to make on the other side of the river to visit a better viewpoint below Lemolo Falls.
Red flowering currant along the trail.

Bleeding heart.

From the canal bridge we drove back toward Lemolo Lake crossing the dam then in half a mile turned right on FR 3401 for another half mile to FR 800 where we again turned right. We followed FR 800 for 1.6 miles to a spur road (FR 3401-840). The trailhead is located approximately a quarter-mile down this road but we parked as soon as we had a chance due to this road being in the worst condition we’d experienced this day.
Approaching the trailhead.

This old trail/trailhead was recently reopened and aside from the poor access road the trail was in good shape. The first 0.6 miles follows an old roadbed to a former picnic area where the Lemolo Falls Trail used to begin. Three quarters of a mile later the trail arrives at the North Umpqua River below Lemolo Falls.

The former picnic area (Note the picnic table in the trees to the right.)

Valerian along the trail.

One of many brief appearances of blue sky during the day.

This was by far the superior view and a great way to end the day. We climbed back up the 500′ that we’d descended to the falls and called it a day. Our seven stops was a new personal record (previously six on a trip down the Oregon Coast). With most of the hikes being rather short our mileage for the day was just a smidge over 11 miles with a little over 1800′ of cumulative elevation gain. It was a long day made longer by a couple of delays due to road construction so it was later than we’d planned when we pulled into our motel in Roseburg but we had managed to finish three more featured hikes (and one third of a fourth) and although it had sprinkled off and on all day we’d also had a few sun breaks which made it a perfect day for chasing waterfalls. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Highway 138 Waterfalls

Tags Archie Creek Fire, Columnar Falls, Dread and Terror Segment, Highway 138, hiking, Lemolo Falls, North Umpqua River, North Umpqua Trail, Oregon, roseburg, Surprise Falls, Susan Creek Falls, Toketee Falls, Umpqua Hot Springs, Warm Spring Falls, Waterfalls, Watson Falls

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park – 05/14/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 16, 2022
3 Comments on Chehalem Ridge Nature Park – 05/14/2022

May continues to be wet this year despite being in the midst of a drought. Hopefully these rainy days will help with that to some extent but in the meantime for the second week in a row we found ourselves looking for a “Plan B” hike that was more inclement weather friendly. We decided on the recently opened (December 2021) Chehalem Ridge Nature Park. Located in the Chehalem Mountains this 1260 acre park is managed by Metro which also manages Orenco Woods where we had started last week’s hike (post). Chehalem Ridge offers a network of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails but does not allow pets/dogs. The park website states that the park is open from sunrise to sunset which I mention because Google seemed to think it opened at 6:30am and entries in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide (Iowa Hill & Chehalem Ridge) give the hours as 8am to 7pm. With sunrise being a little before 6am this time of year we gambled on the Metro website hours and arrived at the large Chehalem Ridge Trailhead at 6am to find that the gate to the trailhead was indeed open.

We had spent most of the hour drive passing through rain showers but there was no precipitation falling as we prepared to set off. We stopped at the signboard to read up on the park and to study the map to confirm out plan for the hike.

Simply put the plan was to stay right at all junctions. This meant taking the Timber Road to the Ammefu (mountain in Atfalti (Northern Kalapuya)) Trail back to the Timber Road then to the Ayeekwa (bobcat in Atfalti) Trail to Witches Butter to the Chehalem (outside place in Atfalati) Ridge Trail. We would then follow the Chehalem Ridge Trail (detouring on a small partial loop) to the Madrona Trail and follow it to it’s end at a loop near some madrone trees. Our return would be back along the Madrona Trail to the Chehalem Ridge Trail (skipping the partial loop this time) to the Mampaꞎ (lake in Atfalati) Trail then right on the Zorzal (Spanish for thrush) Trail back to the Mampaꞎ Trail to Iowa Hill where the Mampaꞎ Trail ends in a loop around the hill. From Iowa Hill we would return to the Timber Road via the Mampaꞎ Trail and follow the road downhill to the Woodland Trail which we would follow back to the trailhead. The route could have been confusing but Metro has done an excellent job with not only placing posts identifying the trails at all of the junctions but also including maps on top of the posts.
The other nice touch is that the maps on these posts were oriented differently to align with the direction of the trail with north identified in the legend which made them quicker to read.

We set off down the Timber Road past the first of three figures located throughout the park representing the traditional storytelling of the Atfalti.

The Castor (Spanish for beaver) Trail on the left, this was the only trail in the park that we didn’t hike on during our visit. It was always a left turn.

Fawn lilies

Our first right turn (left was a short connector to the Woodland Trail).

Again the posts and accompanying maps were some of the best trail identifiers we’ve run across.

Bench at the viewpoint along the Ammefu Trail.

We had to imagine the view today.

The second figure.

Back at the Timber Road and another short connector to the Woodland Trail.

Fog on Timber Road

Passing the Woodland Trail on the left which would be our right turn on the way back.

Christensen Creek

Right turn for the Ayeekwa and Witches Butter Trails.

Witchs Butter on the left and Ayeekwa on the right.

Trillium

Some of the trails were gravel which helped keep mud from being an issue given the damp conditions. In fact there was only one spot (along the Madrona Trail) where mud was an issue at all.

Another bench, this one overlooked Christensen Creek.

Common blue violet

Pioneer violets and a strawberry blossom.

Mushrooms under a fern.

Popping out on the Witches Butter Trail.

Witches Butter Trail

Witches Butter Trail winding through Douglas firs.

Turning right onto the Chehalem Ridge Trail.

There was a little more mud on the Chehalem Ridge Trail.

Spring green carpet.

A good example of the differently oriented maps, on this one north is down.

Another fir plantation. The land had been owned by a timber company prior to being purchased by Metro in 2010.

Start of the Chehalem Ridge Loop. We went right which simply swung out along the hillside before dropping down to the Madrona Trail in 0.4 miles.

The loop continued to the left but we turned right onto the Madrona Trail.

The one thing that was hard to distinguish on the maps was the topography so we were a little surprised when the Madrona Trail continued to descend the hillside. (Had we read the Oregon Hikers Field Guide more closely we would have been prepared.) The trail switchbacked a total of 11 times before arriving at an old roadbed which it continued along to the right.
Still cloudy and gray but we’d experience very little if any precipitation yet.

Lots of tough-leaved iris along this trail.

One of several blooming dogwood trees.

View on the way down.

Madrone trees began to be a common sight as we descended.

One of the 11 switchbacks.

We hadn’t seen a lot of mushrooms recently but this hike had plenty.

Following the roadbed.

The trail left the roadbed at a post and dropped down to the 0.1 mile loop at the end of the Madrona Trail.
Aside from one other very small (3 in diameter) tree this was the only obstacle we encountered all day.

The start of the loop along with several madrones.

As we started back from the loop Heather mentioned that there should be a deer in the brush nearby and I jokingly said that there probably was and pointed out a game trail heading down to a small stream. As soon as I had finished my remark Heather spotted a doe that emerged from the bushes along the game trail. The doe made her way to the far hillside before we could get a good look at her.

After watching the deer for a while we began the climb back up to the Chehalem Ridge Loop. It had felt like we’d come a long ways down but the climb back wasn’t any where near as bad as we expected it to be (In reality we’d only lost about 400′). It was as we were hiking back up that the first vestiges of blue sky appeared.

The Tualatin Valley and Coast Range.

We stayed right at the Chehalem Ridge Loop to finish that loop and then retraced our steps on the Chehalem Ridge Trail back to Witches Butter Trail junction where we stayed right on the Chehalem Ridge Trail to its end at a three way junction. We had only seen 3 other people all morning, a trail runner on our way to the Madrona Trail and two hikers as we were coming back. We did however need to keep our eyes out for other trail users.
Either these worms were racing or it was a bird buffet. The rain had brought a lot of earthworms onto the trails.

Another trail user a rough skinned newt.

A closer look at the rough skinned newt.

We also spotted a pileated woodpecker at the top of a dead tree. Between the distance and other trees in between I couldn’t get a good picture.

It had been so foggy when we had come up the Witches Butter Trail that we hadn’t realized that there was a giant green field nearby.

The end of the Chehalem Ridge Trail with the Mampaꞎ Trail to the right and a very short connector to the Timber Road to the left.

We briefly followed the Mampaꞎ Trail then turned right onto the Zorzal Trail.
Sunlight hitting the Mampaꞎ Trail.

Fairy slippers

Squirrel

The Zorzal Trail to the right.

Toothwort along the Zorzal Trail.

Stripped coralroot

The Zorzal Trail swung out and then rejoined the Mampaꞎ Trail near the Timber Road. We yet again turned right, crossed the Timber Road near a gate and continued on the Mampaꞎ Trail.

The Mampaꞎ Trail passed along Iowa Hill before turning uphill and entering a wildflower meadow on the hilltop where a loop began.

There was a large amount of lupine in the meadow but we were several weeks early and only a few plants had any blossoms. There were a few other flowers blooming and many more to come over the next few weeks.
An assortment of smaller flowers.

One of the few lupines with blossoms.

Camas buds

Oak tree on Iowa Hill. Most of the larger green clumps are lupine.

On the western side of the loop was a horse hitch, bike rack and stone circle where we sat and took a break.

The third and final figure was also located near the stone circle.

As we sat and enjoyed the sun breaks and views we began spotting a few other wildflowers hiding in the lupine.
Yarrow

More lupine starting to blossom.

Tualatin Valley

Plectritis

Believe this is a checker mallow.

Parsley

Camas

Iris

White crowned sparrow

Buttercups in the lupine.

After a nice rest we finished the loop and headed back to the Timber Road which we followed downhill for six tenths of a mile to the Woodland Trail.
Turning down the Timber Road.

I’m not good with these little yellowish birds. It could be an orange-crowned warbler.

Black capped chickadee

Approaching the Woodland Trail on the right.

Woodland Trail

We followed this trail for 1.4 winding miles back to the trailhead.
Candyflower

Coming to a switchback.

We ignored a couple of shortcuts that would have led back to the Timber Road.

We also skipped the Castor Trail which would have slightly lengthened the hike.

Lupine along the Woodland Trail as we neared the trailhead.

Much nicer conditions than we’d had that morning and way nicer than anything we had expected.

Our hike came to 12.1 miles with approximately 1200′ of elevation gain utilizing portions of all but one of the parks trails.

Again we had been fortunate enough to avoid any significant precipitation. The weather forecast had kept the crowds away though and we only encountered about 15 other hikers all day, the majority of which had been during the final hour of our hike. We were very impressed by the park and have put it on our list of nearby go to destinations when weather or other factors keep us from going someplace new. The number of different trails provide for hikes of various lengths with none of the trails being too challenging. There was also a decent variety of scenery in the park and it looks like the wildflower display on Iowa Hill toward the end of May will be amazing. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Tags Ammefu Trail, Atfalti, Ayeekwa Trail, Chehalem Mountains, Chehalem Ridge Loop, Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, Chehalem Ridge Trail, Chehalem Ridge Trailhead, hiking, Iowa Hill, Madrona Trail, Mampaꞎ Trail, Oregon, Timber Road, wildflowers, Woodland Trail, Zorzal Trail

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Willamette Valley

Orenco, Noble & Miller Woods and Erratic Rock State Natural Site – 05/07/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 9, 2022
5 Comments on Orenco, Noble & Miller Woods and Erratic Rock State Natural Site – 05/07/2022

A wet weather system along with a small chance of thunderstorms led us to look for a plan “B” for our second outing in May. Looking ahead to the hikes on our 2023 list for April/May gave us a suitable alternative so we moved a 2022 hike to next year and moved up an outing to visit four parks, two in Hillsboro and two SE of McMinville. These hikes were all located within an hour of Salem allowing to stay relatively close to home and we figured that the less than ideal weather might make for less crowded trails. We decided to start at the northern most trailhead and work our way south.

We arrived at the Orenco Woods Trailhead (open dawn to dusk) just before 6am and headed past the restrooms to an interpretive sign in front of the McDonald House.

Beyond the house the path forked with the right hand fork leading to the Rock Creek Trail while the left fork led to the Habitat Trail which is the way we went.

Camas

Lupine

Habitat Trail

After a third of a mile we arrived at the Rock Creek Trail near NW Cornelius Pass Road where we made our first wrong turn of the morning. We initially turned right which would have led us back into Orenco Woods.
We’ll blame our inability to read this sign on it still being early in the morning. We started down the path ahead before quickly questioning the direction and correcting course.

He probably knew which way he was going.

Heading the right way now.

From Orenco Woods the Rock Creek Trail follows the sidewalk along NW Cornelius Pass Road north 150 yards to a crosswalk where it crosses the road and follows NW Wilkins Street west another third of a mile.
NW Wilkins

The trail crosses NW Wilkins St below some power lines at a crosswalk and resumes as a paved path.

While there are no more sidewalk stretches of the trail until the Rock Creek Trailhead at NE Rock Creek Boulevard there are three other road crossing; NE Walker, NE Cornell, and NE Evergreen Parkway. Fortunately all of these road crossings are at signaled crosswalks.

A little over a half mile from Wilkins Street we arrived at the start of a loop in Orchard Park

We stayed left planning on completing the loop on our return.

Another trail user

Two tenths of a mile from the start of the loop the trail split. We didn’t see a sign/map here and didn’t consult the maps we had on our phones and mistook the left hand fork as simply a spur trail to a parking lot in the park and we stayed right. This was our second wrong turn of the morning.

This path led downhill and crossed crossed Rock Creek without realizing that we had curved a full 180 degrees.

Fringecup

The trail split again two tenths of a mile later and here we veered left thinking it was the continuation of the Rock Creek Trail.

After a short distance the pavement ended at a circle of stone benches.

A well worn dirt path picked up here along a fence line behind some apartements

Spotted towhee

Stellar’s Jay

This dirt path ended after a tenth of a mile at what turned out to be NW John Olson Avenue but we didn’t figure that our right away. We didn’t see any signs for the trail here so we finally consulted the maps we had in our phones but even then didn’t realize our mistake. On the map there was a slight jog right coming out of Orchard Park before crossing NE Walker so we headed right to the next street corner where we read the street sign realized this was NE Walker. The full extent of our mistake still wasn’t clear though as we followed the dirt path back past the stone benches to the fork where we’d veered left. It was here that we made our third and final wrong turn of the morning. We were actually on the Orchard Park Loop and not on the Rock Creek Trail which had veered left up to the parking lot while we had gone downhill to the right. Not realizing this we took the right hand fork which recrossed Rock Creek and then climbed back up to the Rock Creek Trail at the start of the loop

We almost made our fourth mistake here as we didn’t initially realize that we had made the full loop. It wasn’t until we spotted some familiar looking camas nearby that the light bulb went off.
Second time staring at this sign.

Having finally figured it out we headed north through Orchard Park again but this time hiked uphill through the parking lot to NE Walker.

Not sure exactly how to interpret this scene – mourning, a murder, or breakfast?

The slight jog right along NE Walker.

We crossed NE Walker and a tenth of a mile later crossed NE Cornelius Pass.

The next three quarters of a mile proved to be the most active for wildlife even though portions of it were between the creek and residences.

Bridge of Rock Creek

Look a pointer for John Olsen Avenue (just a lot further north).

Mallards (A pair of wood ducks flew off at the same time the mallards headed downstream.)

We had stopped while I attempted to get a photo of a small yellow bird that was bouncing around in a tree when we heard a branch/tree crack nearby. While I continued to try and get a picture Heather went over to the creek to investigate. It turned out to be a beaver which had been one of the animals left on our list that we hadn’t yet seen on a hike (or drive to one). Before she could get my attention (or a photo) it disappeared underwater so I still haven’t seen one in the wild.
Here is the only photo that I could even get with the little yellow bird visible at all.

NE Evergreen Parkway

Two tenths of a mile beyond NE Evergreen the trail passed under Highway 26 and in another 400′ arrived at the Rock Creek Trailhead.

This was our turn around point so we headed back the way we’d come. We checked again for the beaver but it was no where to be found. Since we had inadvertently completed the Orchard Park Loop earlier we went straight back through the park and made our way back to Orenco Woods. At the entrance to the park we forked left staying on the Rock Creek Trail. (Retracing the short distance that we had hiked in the morning when we had made our first wrong turn.)

Two tenths of a mile into the park we came to a footbridge over Rock Creek.

After crossing the bridge we forked left and then took another left back on the Habitat Trail.

Checkermallow

The trail looped around and downhill to pass under the footbridge before arriving at small pond with a viewing platform.

Beyond the pond the trail climbed back uphill near the McDonald House. We turned left here and made our way back to the trailhead.

While it had remained cloudy all morning there had not been any noticeable precipitation during our 7.5 mile hike here.

The orange portion is the wrong turn on the Orchard Park Loop

From Orenco Woods we drove to the Baseline Road Trailhead at nearby Noble Woods.

Our plan here was to make a counterclockwise loop using the outer most trails.

From the trailhead we headed downhill to the right behind the rest rooms.

Even though we were less than a mile from Orenco Woods we spotted a few flowers that we hadn’t seen during that hike.
Trillium

Solmonseal

Fawnlilies

The trail leveled out to cross Rock Creek.

Aven

A short spur trail on the other side of the creek theoretically led to Rock Creek but the recent rains had swollen it enough that the trail ended before the actual creek.

We continued on the loop climbing toward Borwick Road Trailhead but before reaching the grassy park at that trailhead we turned right leaving the paved path for a compacted gravel/dirt trail

This trail swung to the west before making a 180 degree turn and leading to the Borwick Road Trailhead. Near a viewpoint and bench Heather spotted a barred owl being harassed by a robin.

Rock Creek from the viewpoint.

The back of the owl (middle tree 2/3 of the way up)

The viewpoint was near the turn of the trail so we got some more glimpses of the owl through the trees after the turn. A second owl began hooting and this one wound up flying off to have a conversation. We hiked past the parking area at the Borwick Road Trailhead and hopped on a the trail the map called a “wood-chip” trail. In truth it was mostly mud at this point.

Violets

We stuck to the outer trail when this trail forked.

We arrived back at the paved loop near Rock Creek. We turned right onto it, crossed Rock Creek, and then climbed back up to the Baseline Road Trailhead.
Swollen creek

Fairy bells

Cinquefoil

Nearing the trailhead.

The loop here was just over a mile.

We had once again been sparred any precipitation and as we drove to our next stop at Miller Woods found ourselves under blue skies and bright sunshine. Miller Woods however was under cloud cover but we were feeling pretty confident and put all our rain gear into our packs before setting off from the trailhead. While it had been our first visit to Orenco and Noble Woods we had hiked here in March, 2020 (post).

On our previous visit we had taken the yellow Outer Loop and had considered taking one of the other trails this time but a portion of the Discovery Loop was closed due to hazardous conditions (appeared to be a slide/washout) and the Oak Summit Trail didn’t look as interesting as the Outer Loop so we followed our route from 2020 except for a short section that had been rerouted.

From the kiosk we followed the yellow pointers downhill through the grass passing camas and birds along the way down.

A wren and a white-crowned sparrow

American goldfinches

Tree swallows

As we neared the tree line the precipitation finally arrived and a light rain began to fall.

We stopped in the trees to put our rain jackets on and then began descending through the forest to an unnamed stream.

Bleeding heart near the stream.

The trail then turned NNW leveling out a bit above Berry Creek as it traversed the hillside.
Berry Creek down to the right.

There was a lot of wild ginger on the hillside.

Not long after donning our rain jackets the rain stopped and sunlight began to break through again.

The trail climbed as it came around the hill and we spotted a deer in the distance.

It was a young one that was munching on plants along a service road. As we made our way by on the trail Heather noticed the mother bedded down on the road.

After leaving the deer the trail soon began to descend and leave the trees.

It was here that the trail had been rerouted since our 2020 visit. In 2020 the trail veered left to a service road and made a right turn along the road back to the tree line before reaching a bridge across a creek. Now the trail simply headed downhill sticking to the treeline.

Iris

Buttercups

One of the neat features at Miller Woods is the wildlife survey covers which are liftable metal covers that could house wildlife. We had yet to lift one and see anything more than ants though until the cover near the creek. Lifting this cover revealed a small snake.

Small garter snake

We gently replaced the cover and continued on the loop which reentered the trees after crossing the creek.
Approaching the bridge and creek.

Striped coralroot

It was shortly after crossing the bridge that we discovered the trail closure which ended the question of whether we would do the different, shorter loop this time or repeat our previous hike.

Doing the longer 4.5 mile loop turned out to be great as the weather stayed dry and we spotted several more deer and some birds along the way.

Sparrow

Doe just hanging out in a patch of poison oak. (It doesn’t bother deer.)

Nearing the high point of the trail at K.T. Summit

Spotted coralroot

K.T. Summit

A very cool madrone tree.

Two more deer with a third off camera.

Another neat feature that was new for us this visit were a number of signs along the trail identifying different evergreen trees in the Miller Woods Diversity Area.
There was at least one identifier for each tree listed on this sign. The signs were particularly nice because many were next to younger trees which made it easier to see the needles and bark instead of just look at a trunk and having to look up to try and see other details of the trees.

A couple of examples.
Western white pine

Western larch

Vanilla leaf

Fairy slippers

The trail passes above the entrance road and swings out before dropping down to what you expect to be the parking area (there is a signed short cut to it along the way) but the Outer Loop actually loops back behind the parking area and pops out of the trees near a the pond that the Discovery Loop goes around.

Frog near the pond.

Another new feature was a platform over the pond.

Red-winged blackbird

After taking a break on the platform we hiked uphill to the parking area and headed for our last stop.

The Erratic Rock State Natural Site is located just off Highway 18 between McMinville and Sheridan. There are no amenities at the site, just a quarter mile paved trail uphill to the rock from a small pullout along Oldsville Road. While it is less than 30 miles from our house that is a stretch of highway that we never find ourselves on. I realized when I was planning this outing that it would only add about 10 minutes to our drive home from Miller Woods to detour to the site so I added it to the plans.

We missed the little pullout but found a wide section of shoulder to pull off on and walk back to the signed trail.

The Erratic Rock is a 90 ton rock from the Northern Rocky Mountains that wound up over 500 hundred miles away on a hill in Oregon after being deposited here after one of Lake Missoula’s floods.
Interpretive sign at the start of the trail.

We were in a pocket of mostly blue sky as we headed up the trail.
Vineyard along the trail.

Although short the trail gains over 100′ in the quarter mile to the rock and we had already hiked over 13 miles, we were relieved when we saw the trail begin to crest.

Seeing the rock there and knowing how far it had to travel to wind up there made it an impressive sight. The views from the hill were also quite nice making it a worthwhile detour.

Our total for the day came to 13.8 miles with only 920′ of cumulative elevation gain. Individually each of these hikes are worth a stop and they all have things to offer young hikers. It turned out to be a fun combination with a unexpected amount of wildlife sightings and aside from the 10-15 minutes of light rain had been a surprisingly dry day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Orenco, Noble & Miller Woods and Erratic Rock State Natural Site

Tags Barred Owl, Baseline Road Trailhead, deer, Erratic Rock, Erratic Rock Nature Site, Habitat Trail, HIillsboro, hiking, McDonald House, Miller Woods, Noble Woods, Orchard Park, Orchard Park Loop, Oregon, Orenco Woods, Outer Loop, Rock Creek Trail