We kicked off our 2025 hikes with a multi stop day on the Oregon Coast. During our offseason, Nov-Apr, I spend a fair amount of time looking for hikes to add to our list of to-do hikes. The Oregon Hikers Field Guide provided me with three short hikes in and around Waldport Oregon that we had yet to check out.
We started our morning in Yachats at the Smelt Sands State Recreation Site.
We’d used this trailhead in 2020 for a hike on the 804 Trail. We set off on the 804 Trail again this time but after two tenths of a mile we turned right off the 804 Trail.
We started with this hike in part due to it being the first day of the final king tides, abnormally high tides, for the season. High tide for Smelt Sands was going to be 9:45am so we were hoping to see some of the wave action.
It was just before 8am as we hiked the 804 Trail.
We made a mistake and turned right on the paved path here, but we should have continued beyond the large signboard to a second path marked by a wooden post. You can see the small white and black to the left of the green signboard. We may have been distracted by “Free Coffee” being printed on the bottom of the green sign.
We wound up walking through the Fireside Motel’s parking lot and out to Highway 101 via its driveway instead of the Overleaf Lodge & Spa. Either way we faced a choice at the highway. We could go directly across to Diversity Drive and walk up it 125 yards to the start of the Ya’Xaik Trail. (There are a small number of parking spots available at the end of Diversity Drive but be careful not to take any of the spots reserved for the townhomes here.) Our other option was to turn north (left) along the highway for a tenth of a mile and then cross (at the Earthworks Art Gallery) where we could pick up the public footpath at the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve. Please note that dogs are not allowed on the paths at the Gerdemann Botanic Preserve. Dog owners who would like to do a loop can find a dog friendly trail to the north of the fire station between the art gallery and Diversity Drive.
We chose to walk the highway shoulder to try and minimize the amount of traffic that would be passing by.
This post is similar to the one along the 804 Trail where we should have turned right.
Information about the preserve.
The public entrance.
The path through the preserve is only about a quarter mile. The trail climbs gradually along Mitchell Creek with numerous interpretive signs. It also passes “Grandmother Spruce” a 300+ year old Sitka spruce that spans the small creek.
One of the interpretive signs on the left.
Boardwalk over Mitchell Creek.
The plaque at the base of Grandmother Spruce.
Grandmother Spruce
The upper end of the preserve trail.
Pointer for the Ya’Xiak Trail on the far side of the upper gate.
Going right on the Ya’Xiak Trail would complete the loop to Diversity Drive, but before we did that we turned left on the unmarked Starr Creek Trail. This well maintained trail led a third of a mile to Starr Creek and Starr Creek Road. (Note there is no parking available at Starr Creek Road.)
The Starr Creek Trail.
Mushrooms
Approaching Starr Creek.
Starr Creek
Starr Creek Road
After tagging the road we headed back to the Ya’Xaik Trail junction and followed it south for a third of a mile before it turned west and headed downhill to Diversity Drive.
The upper gate at the junction.
Ya’Xaik Trail
The right hand fork here is the trail leading down to the fire station that dog owners can use to make a loop. A local had warned us that this trail can be pretty slick. We went left to remain on the Ya’Xaik Trail.
There was a little climbing involved before the trail headed down to Diversity Drive.
The Ya’Xaik Trail at Diversity Drive.
We walked down Diversity Drive, recrossed Highway 101, and returned to the 804 Trail which we followed back to our car. It was a little after 9am so it was still about 45 minutes from high tide, but there were already a lot of people watching the waves come crashing in.
Our hike here clocked in just under two and a quarter mile with a little over 225′ of elevation gain.
We could have extended this hike up to 14 miles by continuing north on the 804 Trail and then walking the beach to the Alsea River as we’d done in 2020, but since we’d already hiked that section of the Oregon Coast, we opted not to extend this hike but instead check out a different section of beach later in morning. From Smelt Sands we drove north on Highway 101 to Waldport and the John Maré Woodland Trailhead.
Simply put the three-quarter mile Woodland Trail runs between this lower trailhead and the Red River Disc Golf Course at Woodland Park off South Crestline Drive. The hike however is not simple, even with the fairly detailed descriptions in the OregonHikers Field Guide and a input from a local who provided some useful information. Abandoned roadbeds, trails connecting to neighborhoods, and paths used by the disc golf course create a web of interconnected trails/paths with the only signage being for the disc golf holes. With many pauses to check our map and the descriptions I believe we only took one wrong turn which resulted in us doing a figure eight near Woodland Park instead of a loop as we’d intended.
The trail set off from the interpretive signs at the trailhead and quickly crossed the Red River (actually just a creek).
The Woodland Trail continues to the left while the right connects up to a road.
At the quarter-mile mark the trail crosses an abandoned roadbed.
It was at the end of this stretch where we ran into a local who gave us some tips on our route.
The trail climbed fairly steeply via switchbacks to another roadbed and after passing a cement barricade we veered left onto an unmarked path.
Just up this path we encountered the first signs of the disc golf course.
A footbridge over the Red River below with a disc golf hole on the opposite ridge. We were able to use the OregonHikers Field Guide map to identify this connector trail as one we did not want to take. That map had many of the connector trails identified in red which helped keep our position located as well as keep us on the correct route.
We managed to arrive at the skate park having stayed on course.
The Woodland Trail between the skate park and playground.
Our (my) mistake came at a junction near the playground. I misinterpreted the map and had us turn right on a wide path at a junction then take a quick left when we should have stayed more of less straight.
I had taken one of the red trails then regained the OregonHikers route when we turned left only we were now hiking in the opposite direction of their route.
Heather was able to get me to understand my error and we simply looped back around to the playground then once again took the connector trail to where we’d turned left and this time turned right.
The right hand fork led us to a large opening which the local we’d spoken with earlier aptly described as a landing strip.
At the northern end of the opening the trail reentered the forest.
We continued to refer to the OregonHikers track to stay on the correct path which followed a ridge to its end above the Red River.
We dropped down to the footbridge over the creek and then continued straight on an abandoned roadbed.
The gentleman we’d spoken to earlier had mentioned these three sets of stairs.
We followed this roadbed back to the switchbacks where we’d encountered the local and at the bottom of the switchbacks turned right on another roadbed that led us back to the trailhead.
The old roadbed at the bottom of the switchbacks.
Rainbow over the baseball fields at the trailhead.
This hike was just 1.6-miles with approximately 175′ of elevation gain.
Woodland Trail on the left and our next stop, the Lint Slough Trail, on the right.
Our next trailhead was just under a mile drive away (0.4 as the crow flies) at the Lint Slough Trail.
This short out-and-back begins on a wide grassy track along the Lint Slough before becoming single track. There are several benches along the trail which according to the city is approximately 0.8-miles long, but we only managed to get half a mile out before we lost the tread in the vegetation.
Memorial plaque
There was a bypass uphill for this short flooded section.
There were a number of bufflehead ducks, a pair of geese, and one noisy great blue heron at the slough. All of the wildlife seemed to be positioned as far away from the trail as possible.
The great blue heron in a tree across the slough.
This little group of buffleheads was the exception.
I turned around at this bench due to not seeing an obvious continuation of the trail here. I had also lost Heather who had stayed up to avoid the flooded section and instead of returning to the trail I was on, on the other side of the flooded bench, stayed up on the higher path. That path began leading up uphill away from the actual trail without another way to get back to the correct path. She wound up backtracking and we met shortly after I had started back.
The slough from my turn around point.
A little blue sky reflecting in the water on our hike back.
Yarrow
Bull thistle (non-native)
Rose (probably non-native)
From Lint Slough we drove back to Highway 101 and headed north toward Newport and stopped at the Driftwood Beach State Recreation Site.
The king tide was now heading out which provided us with the ability to walk the beach and enjoy the breaks in the clouds giving us some much-needed glimpses of blue sky.
Looking north along the beach.
The view south.
We headed north first in the direction of Seal Rock (post). We turned back after 0.4-miles at a creek on Holly Beach.
The wet sand and debris from the high tide was up to the vegetation along much of the beach.
We decided to turn back at the creek partly to avoid crossing it, but also because we had been walking into the wind. It wasn’t a particularly cold day, but the wind chill was almost making it uncomfortable.
Seagull with a crab.
We decided to continue south past the recreation site though to add a little time and distance to our day. (Our rule of spending as much time hiking as driving was in jeopardy of being broken.) We hiked 0.6-miles to the south turning around once we were confident our self-imposed rule wouldn’t be broken.
Cape Perpetua (post) to the south.
Buckley Creek
We had to ford Buckley Creek which was only a couple of inches deep at most.
Semipalmated plovers
Western gull
Heading back north.
The path back up to the parking area at Driftwood Beach.
This was a quiet 2.1-mile walk on the beach. We only saw a couple other people and at Noon the parking lot was nearly empty.
The weather held up great for us. I think we drove through at least one rain shower every time we were in the car except between the Woodland and Lint trails, but we never got rained on. The four hikes came to just 6.9-miles with 425′ of cumulative elevation gain making it a good early season outing. With the exception of the 804 and Ya’Xaik trails these probably aren’t destination hikes, but they were enjoyable hikes and would be worth a visit if you were staying nearby or in the area and looking for a quick outing. Happy Trails!
Flickr: Waldport Area Trails
In July we took the Wallowa Lake Tramway up Mount Howard (
In August we traveled by boat to Wizard Island in Crater Lake National Park (
The Town Gulch Fire near Carson, OR was dangerously close to blocking our access to one of the featured hikes we needed to do to finish our goal (
January – Corvallis to Sea Trail
February – Sunrise from Maple Creek Road
March – Mary’s Peak from Fitton Green
April – Bridal Veil Falls
May – Fishhawk Falls
May – Willow Creek Trail
May – Juniper Hills Preserve (The trails here were/are closed so we simply parked along the road and took pictures.)
May – Madison Butte
June – Cook Hill
June – Deception Butte Trail
June – Mt. Adams from Big Huckleberry Mountain
June – Grasshopper Meadow (Unfortunately this area burned by the Young Grasshopper Fire in September.)
July – Horsepasture Mountain
July – Nasty Rock Trail
July – Lower Bonny Lake
July – Minam Lake
July – Mount Howard
August – The Pinnacles
August – Downing Creek Falls
August – Schneider Cabin
August – Pine Lakes Trail
August – Laverty Lake
August – Aneroid Lake
September – Hidden Lake
September – Mt. Jefferson from Sprague Lake
September – Black Wolf Meadows
October – White River Canyon
October – Kinzel Lake
October – Sawtooth Trail
October – William L. Finely National Wildlife Refuge
October – Gold Lake Shelter
November – Silver Falls State Park
December – McKenzie River Trail
The trailhead.
The caution sign was related to some pile burning that the Forest Service had been doing.
McKenzie River
Mushrooms
National Recreation Trail symbol on a tree to the left.
Private Road sign on Duffy Rd.
There was quite a bit of witches’ butter fungus along the trail.
There were a lot of other mushrooms too.
Unnamed creek crossing.
Ruby-crowned kinglet. We didn’t see much wildlife on this hike but there were several kinglets flitting among the trees here. This was the only photo of one I managed to get though.
We had not expected any blue sky so this was a treat. It had rained for most of the drive and sprinkled for a minute shortly after we started hiking, but it had been dry otherwise.
The trail switching back up a small hill.
The most significant elevation change was this decent to a footbridge over Lost Creek.
Coral fungus
Lost Creek
The footbridge over Lost Creek was a little over 4.5-miles from the Lower McKenzie Trailhead.
Lost Creek
Willamette National Forest Boundary
Approximately 5.25-miles from the trailhead we crossed Belknap Hot Springs Road.
Sign for the 
Unnamed seasonal stream.
Footbridge over Scott Creek.
Scott Creek
Mushrooms
Footbridge over Boulder Creek.
Highway 126 bridge over Boulder Creek from the footbridge.
Boulder Creek flowing into the McKenzie River.
Forest Road 2650.
Boat ramp at Forest Road 2650.
The river from Forest Road 2650.
This short section along the road is just east of Belknap Springs Road.
Madrones
A little sunlight on the forest floor.
Rain shower falling over Lost Creek. It wasn’t raining hard enough to convince me to pull my rain gear back out.
I spotted Heather with a little over three and a quarter mile left back to the trailhead. (Look for a little orange in the trees ahead and to the right of the trail.)
Ours was the only car at the trailhead when we got back.
Red – Clear Lake, June 2014 (
The North Rim Trail heads left at a fork with the Twin Falls Trail a short distance from the parking lot.
I stuck to the North Rim Trail here leaving another (short) trail to do next time.
The Nature Play Area along the loop trail I didn’t take.
One of two bridges along the North Rim Trail.
Railing near the North Falls Viewpoint.
North Falls from the viewpoint.
North Falls
Map located at the North Falls Trailhead.
Upper North Falls from the Upper North Falls Trail.
Upper North Falls.
The split in the Trail of Ten Falls where the Canyon Trail heads down to North Falls.
North Falls
Trail behind North Falls.
Behind North Falls.
I will always take pictures of these large boulders in the creek.
Trail marker at the Twin Falls Trail junction.
Twin Falls
Twin Falls is a tough one to get a good clear view of the full waterfall. Recent rainfall had provided good flow for this fall which helps with the visibility.
This is Twin Falls on July 7, 2006.
All the rain had the side creeks and falls flowing as well.
Nearing the Winter Falls Trail and its bridge over the creek.
The view from the bridge.
Winter Falls from the Winter Falls Trail.
Winter Falls
The forecast had called for sunny skies, but we were also dealing with an air stagnation warning. For a brief moment I thought the fog might burn off, but that never materialized and by the time I arrived at South Falls more fog had rolled in.
There are some nice big trees scattered throughout the park.
Trail of Ten Falls/Canyon Trail above South Falls.
South Falls
Behind South Falls
For a short loop just to South Falls you can cross the bridge and return to the rim.
The trail below heading for Lower South Falls.
From behind Lower South Falls. I scared a poor woman so badly as I neared the falls. She was setting her phone up on a tripod for a selfie and didn’t see me coming nor could she hear me with the roar of the falls until I was just a couple of feet away. When I said that I was just going to sneak behind her she let out the loudest scream I’ve heard in a while.
Ankle deep pools behind the falls.
Lower South Falls
The mile long Maple Trail (right) allows for a shorter loop to both the falls on South Fork Silver Creek.
This is now the North Fork Silver Creek.
Unnamed falls on a side creek.
The footbridge over the North Fork Silver Creek.
Pool below the bridge.
Lower North Falls
Footbridge over Hult Creek and the spur trail to Double Falls.
Double Falls
Back on the Canyon Trail.
More fog.
Drake Falls
Middle North Falls
Spur trail (right) to Middle North Falls.
Behind Middle North Falls.
Splash pool
The Winter Falls Trail footbridge spanning the creek ahead on the right.
Chipmunk.
Twin Falls again which meant I was nearly to the Twin Falls Trail.
Twin Falls Trail junction.
The Twin Falls Trail leveled out near its end.
Arriving back at the junction with the North Rim Trail.
I spotted several ruffed grouse as I was driving out of the trailhead.
The pointer is for Gold Lake & Highway 58.
The pullout along FR 5897.
We were pleased to find that there was more snow left than we’d expected.
Coming up on the Gold Lake Trail.
Trail signs at this well marked junction.
Campsites on the right at the Gold Lake Campground.
Looking back up the Gold Lake Trail.
Downstream several miles Salt Creek flows over Salt Creek Falls (
Signs ahead for the Marilyn Lakes Trail.
The left-hand fork led up to FR 500. We took this fork on our way back.
Heading toward the lakes.
The right-hand fork is the start of the Lower Marilyn Lakes Trail.
Lower Marilyn Lake
A lot of downed trees had been logged out.
We lost the trail briefly in this area and simply headed for the diamond in the distance.
Upper Marilyn Lake
Canada jay
The cold air and moisture started fogging up my camera lens.
The trail got very overgrown just before reaching the road. We were pretty damp after passing through this mass of huckleberries.
Not sure what is going on with this mushroom.
A bald eagle was circling over the lake hoping to catch a fish for breakfast.
Common mergansers
Diamond Peak (
Diamond Peak and Mt. Yoran with a few of the mergansers flying overhead.
The eagle was now watching us.
We went straight here this time and followed this trail 0.4-miles to FR 500.
Gold Lake
More fogging on the lens.
The dry creek bed ahead.
Bear tracks. We weren’t the only visitors to the shoreline.
Mount Ray
Howkum Lake on our left was the first lake we passed by.
Reflection in Howkum Lake.
Nearing the second lake on the left, Horsefly Lake.
Horsefly Lake
Tiny Lake
The junction with the Jim Weaver Loop was next to a small unnamed lake.
A different bear had been wandering around this area.
We could tell it was a different bear because the prints were noticeably larger. (11 1/2 shoe size for reference.)
Signs at the junction.
View from the junction.
I dropped down to the shore on the other side of this footbridge.
The longer hump to the right in the distance is Waldo Mountain (
Fuji Mountain (
Tree reflecting in snowmelt.
Betty Lake had some nice coloration.
Mount Ray from Betty Lake again.
A look at the two hikes proximity to each other.
Featured hike starting locations. Blue = OR Coast, Red = NW, Black = Central Cascades, Purple = Southern OR, Yellow = Eastern OR
Hunting information kiosk across from the Turtle Flats parking area.
The Turtle Flats restrooms. (Photo from the afternoon.)
The entire Turtle Flats Trail in one photo.
Viewpoint at the end of the trail.
I turned right here following said map through a small section of trees.
Poison oak is hard to miss when it is sporting its Fall colors.
Emerging from the trees and staying right.
McCulloch Peak (
Mary’s Peak (
One of several raptors hunting over the fields.
Pigeon Butte to the left and Green Peak in the distance.
Fog and McFadden Marsh to the left.
Mallards
Geese flying overhead.
Egret and ducks
Egrets
More egrets
Heron with the egrets.
McFadden Marsh
Egrets and a murder of crows.
Great blue heron
Red-winged blackbird
Prairie Trail along McFadden Marsh.
I could just make out the railings along Bruce Road from here.
Nutria family near Bruce Road.
The nutria family.
The Prairie Trail at Bruce Road.
Northern flicker
Starling
Muddy Creek
Interpretive signs at the larger parking area.
California scrub-jay
Peregrine falcon?
Pigeon Butte across Cheadle Marsh.
While I was photographing this egret I glanced to my left and noticed a buck staring back at me.
Meanwhile a great blue heron decided it wanted the egret’s perch.
The heron and egret
American coot
The roof of the Cheadle Barn poking up from the hill.
California quail escaping into the blackberry bushes.
The small hill up to the junction below the barn. My legs let me know that even this small hill was more than they were interested in today.
Robin
Spur trail to the Cheadle Barn.
Spotted towhee
The pond and Cheadle Barn.
Ducks in the pond.
Pied-billed grebe. I also had a yellow-rumped warbler nearly land on me, but then it disappeared into the trees across the pond.
The gravel road that serves as the Pigeon Butte Trail ahead.
A successful egret and unfortunate rodent.
The junction is located at the crest of the trail/road.
Spur trail to the summit of Pigeon Butte.
The dry ponds hosted a good number of songbirds.
It appeared that there had been a number of controlled burns performed throughout the refuge.
The 0.9-mile section ended at a junction with the Cattail Pond Trail.
Viewpoint bench looking toward Cabell Marsh.
Woolly bear caterpillar sharing the trail.
Gray Creek
Mallards
More mallards
Maple Knoll on the far side of Cattail Pond.
I’m assuming nutria but am not 100% convinced on this one.
This section was a mixture of the edge of fields and wooded trail.
Follow the pointer.
A cedar waxing joined by a pair of finches.
I turned right at this sign onto the Beaver Pond Trail and followed it a half mile back to the gravel roadbed.
Just under 100 yards from the Cattail Pond Trail is this unsigned junction. The left is a half mile out-and-back spur on along the side of Maple Knoll. I stayed right this time having done the spur in 2020 with Heather.
The trail passes the Beaver Pond just before arriving at the roadbed.
The Beaver Pond was pretty well deserted given its lack of water.
I turned left onto the Mid-Refuge Connecting Trail.
Authorized personnel only on the right-hand fork here.
Arriving at the junction.
The right fork is the trail I came up. The center fork is the Mill Hill Trail, and the left fork is the Mill Hill Loop Trail which loops around Mill Hill in 1.7-miles and arrives back at the junction where I took this photo from.
There are several junctions along this stretch, most of which are well signed.
This junction marks the start of the Intertie Trail.
Crossing Finley Refuge Road.
Signage at the Woodpecker Hill Loop.
The Woodpecker Hill Loop is a well-developed interpretive trail.
Stellar’s jay
Each of these kiosks has an informational placard inside.
Near the crest of the trail.
The shelter on Woodpecker Hill.
Dragon fly
Signboard at the Woodpecker Hill Trailhead.
Yay, more uphill.
The back of a killdeer.
Bald Hill on the left.
Winkle Butte is the near rise on the left. On a clearer day Mt. Jefferson would be visible in the distance to the right of Winkle Butte.
Cabell Barn ahead.
Historic granary
The lodge in April, 2021.
Geese
Pigeon Butte from the marsh.
Great blue heron towering over the ducks.
An egret along the shore to the right.
The egret facing off with the heron. The mallard appeared to be ready to act as the referee.
After a brief face off the egret moved on.
Observation blind accessed via the Homer Campbell Boardwalk.
Signboard at the boardwalk trailhead.
Back on the refuge road.
Muddy Creek
The path to Turtle Flats on the left and the start of the Prairie Trail ahead on the right.
This trail would eventually end at the LoneWolf/Patterson Mountain Trail (
The small trailhead along Highway 58.
Wrong way dummy.
The South Willamette Trail to the right.
It was clear that mountain bikers use this trail regularly.
I actually waited until I was on my way down to step off trail and look at the arch.
Eula Ridge Trail sign at the Hardesty Trail junction.
The lefthand fork leads to the viewless summit while the right is the Hardesty Cutoff Trail which bypasses the summit.
Forest below the Hardesty Cutoff Trail.
The Sawtooth Trail dropping to the right.
I was not looking forward to climbing back up some of these sections later.
Another saddle.
A view through the trees.
I passed the Hardesty Way Trail 1.5-miles from the Hardesty Cutoff Trail.
Mount June from the hillside.
Wallflower
Junction with the Lost Creek Trail.
The pointer for Eagles Rest (
I called this section “rhododendron ridge”.
The Mt. June Trail coming up from the right.
If you look closely, you can see the tops of the Three Sisters poking up over the smoke in the distance. The open hillside in the foreground is the meadow below Sawtooth Rock and the hump just behind is Hardesty Mountain.
Heading down from the summit.
Climbing the hillside below Sawtooth Rock.
Sawtooth Rock
There was just a little smoke now and then in the forest.
The Eula Ridge Trail coming into view.
There wasn’t much in the way of Fall colors along the trail, but these leaves really stood out.
Lookout Point Lake (Middle Fork Willamette River) from the trail.
There was one more small uphill on the far side of South Creek before dropping to the trailhead.
South Creek
Not having light until after 7am is rough for someone who likes to get an early start.
The Salmon River Trail is located next to this interpretive sign near the trailhead.
A flash was necessary as I set off.
There was a very brief road walk along this section.
There was also plenty of time along the Salmon River.
I veered right at this picnic table to cross into the campground.
The day use area at the campground.
Water spigot at the day use area.
It was hard to read the date for this cougar sighting, it appeared to be from June, but I couldn’t make out the year.
Entering the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness
One of the downed trees, this one covered both sides of a switchback.
A rare viewpoint along the forested trail.
A level stretch along a narrow ridge.
A healthy looking paintbrush.
The Sun rising above Hunchback Ridge.
It was going to a be a bluebird day.
Sign ahead marking the Hunchback Trail junction.
One of the “downs”.
This trail was also in good shape with just a few easy obstacles.
I did not go investigate the source of the “water”, it could have been a trap (there is a spring shown on the map).
Signs at the junction below Devil’s Peak.
Mount Jefferson
Olallie Butte (
The lookout from the Mt. Jefferson viewpoint.
Mt. Hood from the lookout.
You can’t see Mt. Jefferson from the lookout due to trees.
Trail signs at the Cool Creek Trail junction.
Lookout Mountain(
Mt. Hood from the Hunchback Trail.
Arriving at the trailhead on FR 2613.
It’s hard to make out in the photo but that is a giant pothole (crater) in the middle of the road seen from the trailhead.
That is the trailhead at the end of the road on the right.
There were some nice Fall colors along the Kinzel Lake Trail.
There were also a few obstacles that were trickier than anything on the other trails involved in this loop.
Salmon Butte (
Nearing the Salmon River Trail.
Trail sign at the Salmon River Trail junction.
There wasn’t much water at all in any of the side creeks.
There are several viewpoints just over 3.5-miles from the trailhead.
The furtherst hump in the center is Huckleberry Mountain (
Wilderness kiosk along the trail. There were self-issued permits here, but none at Green Canyon Way so I stopped and filled one out even though I was almost done with my hike (and out of the wilderness).
Salmon River
There were a couple of good-sized fish in the pool here.
The trail arriving back at the trailhead.
We had also parked here in 2021 for our Barlow Butte hike (
The colors of Fall.
Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain (
Mt. Hood teased an appearance a couple of times along the lower portion of the PCT. It was enough to see that there was a dusting of fresh snow on the mountain.
The signed junction with the Yellowjacket Trail.
The wet brush had me whishing I’d worn boots.
The Yellowjacket Trail passing a small meadow.
Makeshift footbridge along the trail.
New snow on Mt. Hood.
The valley is the result of an eruption around 250 years ago.
Pacific lupine
At the end of the levee the route climbed a moraine then continued its gradual ascent to the Timberline Trail.
Dark-eyed junco. There was a good variety of birds along the moraine, but this was the only one that sat still long enough to have its picture taken.
Frost on a log. It was really nice to be hiking in the crisp cool air.
Boy Scout Ridge from the moraine.
The unsigned junction with the Timberline Trail.
Mt. Hood from the junction.
Sign for the PCT nearly absorbed by the tree.
Lupine (broadleaf?)
A few remaining blooms on the goldenrod.
Signpost at the PCT junction ahead.
The coyote with Mt. Hood looming behind.
Mt. Jefferson to the south with the Three Sisters behind to the left.
The Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson
The round peak along the far ridge is Gunsight Butte (
We’d lost sight of the coyote until it ran across the trail not too far in front of us.
More lupine
A few remaining aster blossoms in the foreground.
Timberline Lodge across the Salmon River Canyon.
Looking back down the White River Valley. Barlow Ridge is the near hump on the right.
Another look at Timberline Lodge.
Despite all the cars at the lodge we would only encounter a half dozen other trail users until we were back at the Barlow Pass Trailhead.
Small waterfall below the ridge.
I turned around here where the Timberline Trail headed across the Salmon River drainage. The Silcox Hut is straight ahead on the side of the mountain.
Looking back at the high point where Heather had stopped.
Mt. Hood’s summit.
The waterfall looking pretty small far below the mountain.
It took us a moment to decide what the dark rounded peak straight ahead in the distance was. We eventually correctly identified it as Black Butte (
Olallie Butte (
Birds on mountain ash.
The Timberline Trail junction.
Beargrass meadow, there hadn’t been any blooms this year.
Lousewort
It was nearly 2-miles between the Timberline and Yellowjacket trail junctions.
We were shocked to see a bunchberry that still had some petals, even if they were in sad shape.
Mushrooms and fungi are not surprising this time of year.
Highway 35
Arriving at the Barlow Road.
Our various hikes around the mountain. There are still a few areas where we could add a track or two. Happy Trails!
wanderingyuncks 