Tag: hiking

Beacon Rock State Park – The Return to Hamilton Mountain

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 5, 2015
8 Comments on Beacon Rock State Park – The Return to Hamilton Mountain

Almost two years ago we traveled to Beacon Rock State Park to hike the Hamilton Mountain Trail. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/05/ It was and still is the worst weather that we have ever encountered during a hike. Well enough time had passed and it was time for us to give this hike a second chance. We double checked the weather forecast before heading out which showed some morning clouds clearing up by mid-morning with little to no chance of rain and calm winds. That was good enough for us to give it a go so we got in the car and headed up to the Columbia Gorge once more. For most of the drive we were under a solid mass of clouds but as we headed east along Highway 14 toward Beacon Rock State Park rays of sunlight were shining down on the Columbia River in the distance. The edge of the clouds was just a bit further east than Hamilton Mountain so we decided to warm up on another trail in park, the .8mi Beacon Rock Trail, hoping to give the clouds more time to lift.

Parking for this trail is right along the highway and requires a Discovery Pass which can be purchased at the trailhead (currently $10/a day per vehicle). The trail begins almost directly below Beacon Rock itself.

After a very short walk through woods the trail begins to switchback up Beacon Rock.

In fact the trail switchbacks 52 times on its way up to the top of the rock. (I lost count but that is the number that was on one of the signs at the trailhead.)

When we reached the summit the edge of the clouds was still to the east above Bonneville Dam.

We could also see that Hamilton Mountain still had a cloudy top making us wonder what the conditions would be by the time we got up there.

On the way back down we watched a number of Turkey Vultures circling above the river as well as a lone Bald Eagle.

After completing our warm-up we hopped back in the car and crossed the Highway following a campground sign to the trailhead parking area. The trail sets off at a signboard behind the restrooms.

After a gradual .5 mile climb through forest the trail emerges to views of Hamilton Mountain from under some power lines.

The summit was still in the clouds but they did seem to be breaking up and we still had over 2.5 more miles to climb before reaching the top. After another half-mile a sign announces a viewpoint for Hardy Falls. A narrow path leads down a ridge to a platform that has no view of Hardy Falls at all. The only views are along the ridge prior to reaching the platform, and they are not great.

The disappointing viewpoint of Hardy Falls is quickly forgotten after just another tenth of a mile on the trail. Here another sign points up to Pool of the Winds.

This short path leads to another railed viewpoint, but this time there is really something to see. The upper portion of Rodney Falls splashes into a rock enclosed splash pool. The force of the water falling into the pool combined with the narrow opening in the rocks causes wind to funnel out giving the pool its name.

The view down is also nice as the trail crosses the creek on a footbridge below Rodney Falls.

After spending some time enjoying the pool we continued on the trail passing below the falls. Rodney Falls is one of the more complicated falls we have seen. With the Pool of the Winds at the top followed by several smaller sections and then fanning out at the bottom it just has a lot going on. It also changes directions a couple of times which makes it difficult to capture it all well in a photo.

Just over a quarter mile from Rodney Falls the trail splits allowing for a loop over Hamilton Mountain.

We headed right which is the shorter but steeper way to the summit. We tend to prefer to go up rather than down steeper trails because it’s easier on our knees. Heading up the right fork the trail passes an increasing number of meadows where we were met with views and wildflowers. In 2013 the views consisted almost entirely of clouds so much of this we were seeing for the first time.

Beacon Rock from the trail.

Larkspur

Chocolate Lily

Indian Paintbrush

Phlox

A side trail to the right leads to a rocky outcrop with even more views.

Then the trail passes behind a knoll where more trees await.

After making its way around the knoll the trail crosses a ridge between the knoll and Hamilton Mountains summit which looms ahead.

The view of the Columbia River along this ridge is very nice.

The trail then begins its final ascent switchbacking up through open meadows of flowers. Larkspur and Chocolate Lilies were the predominate flowers blooming at this time of the year.

As we continued to climb the clouds continued to burn off and Mt. Hood suddenly appeared across the river.

To reach the actual summit take a side path to the right near the top of the mountain. Here the view was vastly different from our previous visit.

2013

2015

There were only a few bands of clouds left when we arrived at the summit and in addition to the view of Mt. Hood to the south Table Mountain and some of Mt. Adams were visible to the east.

We took a short break and watched the clouds as they passed by. A few hikers and some other critters kept us company.

We continued on the loop looking forward to reaching an exposed ridge that was the site of my infamous poncho battle in 2013. Wind and rain were whipping up and over the ridge on that visit but this time it was just sunshine and flowers.

At the far end of the ridge we looked back to soak in the view that we missed the first time.

2013

2015

Several paths lead off from the far end of the ridge, but we simply took a sharp left and headed down an old road toward Hardy Creek.

The road leads downhill for a mile to Hardy Creek.

Signs at Hardy Creek point to the 1.1 mile hiker-only trail that completes the loop .3 miles from Rodney Falls. By the time we arrived back at the falls a steady stream of people were coming up from the trailhead. We were once again glad we’d gotten an early start and made our way past a traffic jam at the footbridge. With the number of hikers and dogs coming up the trail we were surprised when Heather spotted a garter snake on the path. It took cover in a stump but then came out to take a closer look at us.

We were really happy with the way this hike turned out. We had gotten the views we’d missed out on during our previous visit and the Beacon Rock warm-up was entirely new. Another great day in the Pacific Northwest. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157652309236702/

Tags Bald Eagle, beacon rock, Beacon Rock State Park, Columbia River, Columbia River Gorge South, discovery pass, garter snake, Hamilton Mountain, hardy creek, hardy falls, hiking, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, pool of the winds, rodney falls, Table Mountain, Washington

Columbia River Gorge South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Tom McCall Preserve and Mosier Twin Tunnels

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 30, 2015
4 Comments on Tom McCall Preserve and Mosier Twin Tunnels

**Note the 2020 Rowena Fire burned a portion of the Rowena Plateau and the 2024 Microwave Tower burned over the Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail.**

We do our best to plan and prepare for all of our hikes, but we were reminded that now matter how much pre-trip preparation we’ve done things can still happen. For our last hike that meant an extra 4 miles of hiking.

We had headed back to the eastern end of the Columbia Gorge for a combination of several hikes near Mosier, OR. First up was the plateau trail at the Tom McCall Preserve. The trail sets off from the Rowena Crest Viewpoint located along the Historic Columbia River Highway 6.6 miles east of Mosier.

The trail heads out onto the plateau toward the Columbia River passing several viewpoints and lots of wildflowers including our first bachelor button sightings.

The trail also passes a pair of ponds where we had to be on the watch for poison oak.

After approximately one and a quarter miles the trail ends at a viewpoint on the edge of the plateau. Across the river was a train while below on our right were a pair of turkey vultures and on our left a couple of deer down in Rowena Dell.

After returning to the parking area we headed up the second trail at Tom McCall Preserve to Tom McCall Point. The summit of the point had been shrouded in clouds while we were on the plateau trail.

The clouds were breaking up as we began our climb though.

This path was wonderful. There were plenty of views as well as some wooded sections. We also saw several types of flowers that we had not seen along the plateau trail such as paintbrush, broomrape, larkspur, and chocolate lilies.

The clouds finally lifted from the summit by the time we were about halfway up the trail.

We were also high enough to see the entire plateau behind us.

The views from the summit were impressive, but alas the clouds had not broken up enough to reveal either Mt. Hood or Mt. Adams which on a clear day would have been visible.

We had planned one more hike for the day since the two trails at Tom McCall Preserve only totaled 6 miles. The Mosier Twin Tunnel trail set off on the west side of Mosier at the Senator Mark O. Hatfield Trailhead.

The trail is actually a portion of the Historic Columbia River Highway that has been converted to a hiking and biking path. Our plan was to hike out about 2.5 miles to an overlook of Koberg Beach State Wayside to add another 5 miles to the days totals. The path begins amid rock piles that reminded us of the lava flows in Central Oregon. Here the basalt cliffs that are typical of the gorge had broken up leaving the jumble of rocks. A fence separated the path from the rocks to protect pits made by Native Americans, possibly used as vision quest sites. One such pit is visible in the upper left hand side of the picture below.

About a half mile from the start of the trail is the first viewpoint.

Not long after the first viewpoint the trail comes to the first of the twin tunnels.

The first tunnel has a pair of windows carved into the rock wall offering views of the river.

Upon exiting the second tunnel the path continues under an odd concrete structure. Dominique thought it reminded him of being in a parking garage. The purpose of the structure is to act as a rockfall shield able to withstand a 5000lb. boulder falling from 200ft above.

Just under a mile from the tunnels is a second overlook at the county line between Wasco and Hood River counties.

Our planned turnaround point was to be .8 miles from this second overlook at a .2 mile side path. We continued on toward the turnaround but Dominique wasn’t feeling all that well so he eventually took one of the car keys and headed back. It turns out he was only about 100 yards from our planned turnaround point. I was waiting for Heather by a gravel path that led off through a fenced meadow.

This was in fact the path we were looking for, but it ended at the fence where there was no view to speak of and certainly no sign of a beach wayside. On top of that I had viewed the hike on Google Maps and had expected the side path to drop down a bit and this path led up. We also felt like we hadn’t gone .8 miles since the second viewpoint so I checked the Garmin which showed that Koberg State Park was still ahead. We decided this wasn’t it and continued on. We kept walking and talking thinking the viewpoint was going to be just ahead. We began seeing more and more people but it was now after noon and that made sense, but when we passed a couple with a stroller we both began to wonder what was going on. They didn’t look like they had hiked over 2 miles already. Then Heather spotted some signs ahead. There were quite a few and they were big which didn’t make sense for a small side path, then we noticed an RV parked above the trail to the left. Now we knew something was wrong for sure because there were no roads open to vehicles anywhere near our planned turnaround point. Then we saw the parking area, restrooms, and information center at the western trailhead near Hood River. We’d gone nearly 2 extra miles! The good news was they were nice bathrooms and we had spotted a snake and our first California Poppies (while on a hike) in those extra miles.

It turned out that the main portion of Koberg State Park is located across the Interstate from the western trailhead, but a portion of it is also located below the outcropping that the gravel path led onto. There just isn’t anything there to see. We hurried back as quickly as our sore feet would let us. On the way we spotted a bald eagle soaring above the trees and some wind surfers sailing above the Columbia.

At the car we found a napping kid who it turned out had stuck to our original plan better than we had. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157652170987082/

Tags Bald Eagle, balsamroot, Columbia River, deer, hiking, historic columbia river highway, hood river, lupine, mosier, mosier twin tunnels, Oregon, rowena crest, rowena crest viewpoint, tom mccall point, tom mccall preserve, turkey vulture

Columbia Gorge North Hiking Trip report Washington

Lacamas Park

We officially kicked off our hiking season this past week, a week earlier than we had originally planned. We got things started by attending a slide presentation by Adam Sawyer author of “Hiking Waterfalls in Oregon”. He covered several waterfalls some we’d been to and others that we have yet to visit. We wound up adding one of the falls to this years schedule after realizing one of our planned hikes would have us driving right past the short path to Panther Creek Falls. The presentation got us excited about getting back out on the trails, and when we saw that the weekend forecast was for sunny skies and 70 degree temperatures coupled with reports of the camas blooms hitting their peak we decided to move our Lacamas Park hike up a week.

Lacamas Park is located in Camas, WA and is a much more urban setting than we are used to on our hikes, but it offers plenty of trails with very minimal elevation gain which we were looking for due to Heather having just run a half-marathon the previous week. In addition, a series of lily fields bloom in the park in April and early May (most years) and there are several visitable waterfalls. We began our hike at the Lacamas Heritage Trail located at the north end of Lacamas Lake.

This 3.5 mile path squeezes between Lacamas Creek then Lake and a golf club and private homes. The gravel path also passed several benches and interpretive signs listing some of the plants and animals that might be spotted in the area.

The area was full of birds, some we saw and others we just heard singing away in the crisp morning air.

There were also plenty of flowers along the trail.

The lake began to widen as we traveled along and would have offered a pretty nice view of Mt. Hood but the sky was oddly hazy so we could only make out the mountains silhouette beyond the far end of the water.

It turns out the haze was likely caused by massive fires in Siberia and possibly a dust storm in China when the jet stream picked up the smoke and dust particles and delivered them across the ocean to the Pacific North West.

As the lake widened we spotted several ducks and geese.

The Lacamas Heritage Trail ends at Camas Hertiage Park at the southern end of the lake but just across Highway 500 lay Round Lake and Lacamas Park. We crossed the road at a stoplight and entered the park.

A series of signboards in the park gave all kinds of information on the area as well as a trail map of the park.

We looked over the map which agreed fairly well with the one in our guidebook and headed off on the Round Lake Loop

We crossed over the Round Lake dam and immediately realized that this was going to be a more confusing hike than what the maps had shown. There were several different trails heading off in various directions, all looking fairly well used. This wound up being the case throughout the park and even though there were a good number of signs the profusion of trails sometimes made it difficult to tell which trails the signs were referring to. We knew that we wanted to follow Lacamas Creek down to The Potholes so we picked the trail which seemed to be heading in the right direction and followed the creek. We found The Potholes easily enough and the water was really flowing.

A short distance from The Potholes we entered a field of flowers.

Mostly camas and plectritis, the meadow offered a nice view back to The Potholes.

We continued on toward Lower Falls. The trail left the creek for a bit and passed through a forested section where we were serenaded by a little wren.

At Lower Falls a footbridge crosses the creek, another possible starting point lays beyond, but to complete the loop we needed to stay on the east side of the creek. We did cross the bridge hopping for a better view of the falls but couldn’t find one.

It appears we may have found one if we had stayed on the east side and explored further downstream, but when we returned to that side we just continued the loop which now lead away from the creek. We managed to find the correct trails and passed through a forested section of the park on a .4 mile path to an old gravel road. We turned left on the road and quickly spotted a sign announcing the lily field loop on the right.

Before we took that loop we wanted to visit Woodburn Falls which was located off a left hand spur trial just a bit further up the road. This trail too was identified by a sign.

The short trail led down to a pretty 20 foot waterfall that usually dries up after June each year. For our visit the water was flowing nicely making it a scenic little spot.

After visiting the falls we returned to the gravel road and backtracked to the start of the lily field loop. The first lilies we saw were white fawn lilies along the trail.

Then we came to the first lily field. It had both fawn and camas lilies but not in the numbers I had been expecting to see.

We passed through a couple of these small meadows and I was beginning to think I had been mislead about the flowers when the path entered a larger field. Camas lilies carpeted the hillsides on either side of the path.

The trail passed through a number of these meadows each full of camas flowers.

After the final field the trail dropped back down to the Round Lake Loop Trail just a short distance from Round Lake. We completed the loop and recrossed the highway to get back to the Lacamas Heritage Trail for the final 3.5 miles of our hike. It was a little before 11am when we started back on the Heritage Trail and the day had warmed up nicely. We had given ourselves a mission on the final leg – to keep a lookout for turtles. We had yet to see a turtle on any of our hikes, or at any point in the wild for that matter, and had just read an article about their presence in the park we often take our runs in. The interpretive signs along the lake mentioned turtles so we knew we had a chance of seeing one so we set off watching for anyplace that looked like a good spot for a turtle. We were keyed in on the logs in the water which were playing host to some animals at least.

We’d gotten almost to the end of the lake where it looked more shallow and was full of lily pads when Heather spotted it – our first turtle.

We were staring at it for awhile before we realized that not far away on another log were more turtles. In fact there were turtles on a bunch of logs.

Seeing the animals is one of the things we like about hiking and the first time you see one is extra special, especially when it’s one you’ve been looking for for awhile. We pulled ourselves away from the turtle bonanza and continued on the trail. Before we were finished we saw one more animal for the first time. A greater yellowlegs searching for food in the water.

We probably saw more people on this hike than any of the others we’ve done save maybe at Multnomah Falls but we didn’t mind as it had a lot to offer. We managed to get 12.4 miles of hiking in, saw 3 waterfalls, some great wildflowers, and lots of wildlife. With all the options and access points Lacamas Park is a handy place for anyone to get outside and enjoy some scenery. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157651646192359/

Tags camas. fawn lily, duck, greater yellowleg, hiking, lacamas creek, lacamas lake, lacamas park, lacams heritage trail, Mt. Hood, round lake, the potholes. woodburn falls, turtle, Washington

Columbia Gorge North Hiking Trip report Washington

Columbia Hills State Park

Spring came early to the Pacific Northwest and many of the flowers are running a week or two ahead of schedule so I’d been keeping my eye on the wildflower situation in the Columbia Gorge. Recent trip reports from the east end of the gorge showing the flowers out in force, a promising forecast, and a free day at Washington State Parks made for a combination that I just couldn’t pass up. Due to Heather training for the upcoming Corvallis half-marathon she was unable to accompany me this time, but my parents were able to join me for three short hikes in Columbia Hills State Park.

The park is located in Washington just across the Columbia River from The Dalles, OR and encompasses 3,338 acres offering rock climbing, fishing, sailboarding, and many other activities in addition to the hiking trails. We started our day off at Horsethief Butte, a rocky outcrop left over from an ancient basalt flow popular with rock climbers.

Basalt cliffs on the opposite side of Highway 14 from the trailhead.

The trail starts off with a nice view of Mt. Hood over The Dalles.

The trail crosses a short section of flat grassland before splitting with the left fork heading up into a canyon of Horsethief Butte and the right fork leading around the mesa to rejoin the left fork on the far end of the canyon. There were a variety of flowers to be seen along this portion of the trail.

Manroot

Bugloss fiddleneck

Death camas

Prarie star

Large-flower triteleia

Western stoneseed

Larkspur

Desert parsley

When the trail split we took the left hand fork and headed for the canyon. At Horsethief Butte the dirt trail gave way to a short rock scramble up to the canyon entrance. At the top of the scramble the canyon opened up to reveal a good sized slot dotted with yellow balsamroot flowers.

Members of the Mazamas, an outdoor group based out of Portland, were busy setting up and climbing among the rocks.

At the far end of the canyon the view opened to the Columbia River and Mt. Hood.

Here the trail dropped out of the canyon (without a rock scramble) to rejoin the right-hand fork. Before heading back we turned left and continued another quarter mile behind the butte to a viewpoint where poison oak patches were growing.

Poison Oak

We headed back and completed the loop with Mt. Hood looming to our left.

Next we headed to the Dalles Mountain Ranch, a short 4.5 mile drive away. To get there we drove 1.8 miles west on Hwy 14 and turned right on Dalles Mountain Road for another 2.5 miles to a fork. The trailhead for the ranch was to the right about .2 miles. Here an abandoned farmhouse and other buildings sat amid fields of balsamroot and lupine.

We explored the area around the farmhouse first where several pieces of old equipment were on display along with the flowers and views of Mt. Hood and distant Mt. Jefferson.

There were also a couple of trail options. I wandered down to Eight Mile Creek through a spectacular field of balsamroot and lupine.

Our final stop was another short 1.4 mile drive up Dalles Mountain Road where a gate marked the end of the drive and the start of the Columbia Natural Area Preserve.

We set off on the 2.5 mile hike up the closed road that would led us to the summit of Stacker Butte. Entire hillsides were covered in yellow from the balsamroot with a smattering of other flowers thrown in.

The total climb was a little over 1100′ but it was never too steep and the sweeping views drew attention away from the climb.

It was interesting to note the change in the mix of flowers as we climbed. Along the lower portion balsamroot and lupine dominated with a few prairie stars mixed in. A little higher up we ran into paintbrush and phlox.

Next came larkspur and big-head clover.

Flowers weren’t the only things we spotted. There were numerous birds and a few deer in the area.

We had lost our views of Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood to the clouds, but when we reached the summit of Stacker Butte new views opened up. To the NW Mt. Adams was mostly obscured by a line of clouds, but Mt. Rainier and Goat Rocks were virtually cloud free.

Almost directly below us lay Stacker Canyon where the Klickitat Rail Trail follows Swale Creek toward the Klickitat River, a hike we had done last April. https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/klickitat-rail-trail-swale-canyon-from-harms-rd/

It was a little too windy (and chilly) to spend much time at the summit so after a quick snack break near an air control wigwam we headed back down the road.

On our way down I got my first butterfly pictures of the year.

Sheridan’s Hairstreak

Blue Copper

With all of the options Columbia Hills State Park has to offer it makes a great place to spend a day outdoors, especially during the spring flower bloom. There are ticks and rattlesnakes in the area in addition to the poison oak so you’ll want to pay attention if you visit, but don’t let that stop you from checking this park out. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157649434751593/

Tags balsamroot, columbia hills state park, Columbia River, dalles moutnain ranch, Goat Rocks, hiking, horsethief butte, lupine, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, poison oak, stacker butte, The Dalles, Washington

Hiking Mollala Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Butte Creek & Abiqua Falls

While much of the country is dealing with a winter that just doesn’t seem to want to end the Pacific Northwests never really started. Another beautiful weekend was being forecast and we decided we just couldn’t miss another one so we headed out to check out a couple of short waterfall hikes. The trailheads for Butte Creek Falls and Abiqua Falls are less than 5 miles apart a short distance outside of Scotts Mills, Oregon. Both trailheads are located on roads accessed by taking Crooked Finger Road from Scotts Mills.

We started at the Butte Creek Falls Trailhead in the Santiam State Forest.

The trail set off from a small parking area (with an outhouse) passing to the left of the trail sign and descending .2 miles to a signed junction.

The right hand fork would lead us past Upper Butte Creek Falls on a loop back up to the parking area so we turned left first and headed toward Lower Butte Creek Falls. In just another .2 miles we arrived at a rocky ridge and the end of the maintained trail.

A well worn trail led out onto the ridge which provided a front row view of the falls high above Butte Creek.

After enjoying the lower fall we headed back to the junction and started the return loop. Upper Butte Creek Falls had been visible through the trees from the junction and we were quickly on our way down to its base.

Shorter and wider than its counterpart Upper Butte Creek Falls offers close up views and a path behind the falls into a good sized cavern.

While we were exploring around the splash pool we noticed that the salmonberries were beginning to bloom.

From the upper falls it was a short .3 mile climb back up to the parking area. The hike to these two waterfalls had been less than 1.5 miles so why not visit another nearby waterfall – The .5mile trail to Abiqua Falls. To get to Butte Creek Falls we had traveled 11.4 miles on Crooked Finger Road to CF 400, took a left and followed signs to the trailhead. Now we returned to Crooked Finger Road and headed back toward Scotts Mills for .7 miles to CF 300 marked by signs for an ATV staging area on the left. Despite the trailheads only being about 5 miles apart the drive was not quick. The 2.5 miles on CF 300 were slow due to the presence of many good sized rocks and ruts. High clearance, good tires, and 4wd were all helpful.

The Abby Foundation of Oregon owns the land where the trailhead, trail and, Abiqua Falls are, but allow the public to use it. A yellow gate marked the end of the tedious drive and the start of the short trail where we were greeted by a lone daffodil.

To find the correct path down to the falls we needed to walk back up the road a short way passing a first clear path that leads to a grassy clearing to a second worn trail marked by a white sign.

The trail down to Abiqua Creek was fairly steep in places but there were several sections of rope secured along the trail to assist with the climb.

The trail then heads up the creek in a narrow canyon toward the unseen falls.

Just as the trail began to curve out and around a rocky outcrop we got our first views of Abiqua Falls.

The canyon walls opened up to reveal a large circular bowl lined with columnar basalt colored with mosses and lichens with the falls as its centerpiece.

We spent some time exploring the rocky beach looking at the various rock cairns stacked about.

There was also a path around to the left side of the falls which I followed to see how far I could go.

We could have stayed there for hours if it had been warmer but it wasn’t so we headed out just as sunlight began to arrive inside the canyon walls.

Other than the Ouzels and a few other birds we had had the area all to ourselves.

We made it back up to the car (with some assistance from the ropes) just as another group of hikers arrived having survived the drive down. It was their turn to visit this special place. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157651119420415/

Tags abiqua creek, abiqua falls, butte creek, butte creek falls, hiking, lower butte creek falls, Oregon, santiam state forest, scotts mills, upper butte creek falls

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report

Gales Creek and University Falls

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 18, 2015
3 Comments on Gales Creek and University Falls

We were back on the trails after a long break following our New Years Day outing. This month we were looking for a hike involving waterfalls to take advantage of the higher water flows of late winter. We wound up heading to the Tillamook State Forest to check out University Falls and the Gales Creek area. There were several options as far as trails went, a half-mile trail beginning above University Falls, a longer loop passing the falls starting at Rogers Camp on the south side of Highway 6, or starting at one of the trailheads along the Gales Creek Loop on the north side of the highway. We chose to start at a small trailhead just before reaching Gales Creek Campground. A small post and footbridge were the only markers for this starting point.

A short distance from this trailhead the path joined the main Gales Creek Loop at a well marked junction.

Our plan was to take the trail to the highway and then walk up the road a few hundred feet and cross into Rogers Camp, another possible trailhead and staging area for Off-Highway Vehicles which are allowed on the south side of the highway. At the entrance to Rogers Camp we headed for a trail sign positioned between the entrance road and a highway equipment yard. Here the Gravelle Brothers Trail began.

Following signs for University Falls we stuck to this non-motorized path reaching a footbridge and little bench at the Devils Fork Wilson River.

After crossing the river the trail turned south and began to climb through the forest toward University Falls.

A colorful sign greeted us near University Falls.

A short trail from the sign to the right led down to Elliot Creek but the falls were almost entirely obscured.

To get to the falls we returned to the sign and took the trail directly behind it a short distance to the falls. The falls were going strong making for an impressive show.

After visiting the falls we returned down the trail and recrossed the river. Not too far from the crossing we arrived at a trail junction we had passed earlier. Here we turned left on the Storey Burn Trail.

This trail lead us past a marshy area along the river where skunk cabbage was begging to bloom.

We then climbed away from the river and passed beneath a highway bridge returning to the north side of Highway 6. The Storey Burn Trail climbed steadily along hillsides up to Storey Burn Road, another possible trailhead. We crossed the road and continued on toward Gales Creek Campground. We were mostly going downhill now in a much quieter forest. While on the south side of the highway the sounds of Off-Highway Vehicles and target shooters competed with the water and the birds. Even after returning to the north side of the highway where OHV are banned there was an almost constant barrage of gunfire. Here on the final stretch birdsong and running water became the only sounds making for a pleasant final stretch. The trail also passed by small but scenic Slide Falls.

A final trail junction awaited, just .8 miles from Gales Campground.

The final portion of the trail paralleled Gales Creek before arriving at the trailhead.

We could have walked 300 yards up the road to our car and the other smaller trailhead or take a connector trail through the forest. We chose the trail which wound around and gained some unnecessary elevation before dropping us back down to our car. We both agreed that we should have taken the road 🙂 Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157650431797248/

Tags devils fork wilson river, elliot creek, gales creek, gravelle brother trail, hiking, Oregon, rogers camp, slide falls, storey burn trail, Tillamook State Forest, university falls

Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Southern Coast Trip report

Oregon & Tahkenitch Dunes

Happy New Year. It didn’t take us long to get our first hike of 2015 in. We had planned on visiting the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area later this month, but a day off from work and a forecast for clear skies on New Years Day was too tempting to pass up. The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is nearly 40 miles of dunes, creeks, lakes, and forest along the Oregon Coast between the cities of Florence and Coos Bay.

The area offers numerous hikes, most of which are fairly short. Our plan was to combine three of these shorter hikes into a longer trek. We started off from the Oregon Dunes Day Use Area 10 miles south of Florence.

The sun had just risen in the east as we set off creating a colorful scene from the dunes overlook.

A .3 mile descent brought us to the dunes where we followed footprints and posts toward the ocean.

Between the dunes and the ocean the trail passed through the deflation plain, an area created by a non-native beachgrass introduced in the early 1900s which has cut off the supply of sand to the dunes. In the deflation plain marshes and a forest have formed.

After crossing the plain we arrived at the foredune where the European beachgrass gives way to the beach.

We turned south and headed down the beach. The beach was quite except for the sound of the ocean waves. We were the only people on the beach as far as we could see. Snowy Plovers and gulls were the only company we had.

There was quite a bit of debris on this section of beach. There were plenty of the usual pieces of shell and sand dollars along with many items that may have been washed up from the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan.

Our original plan was to hike the beach to Tahkenitch Creek then cross the creek and pick up another network of trails on the other side. These other trails would take us on a loop past Threemile Lake, through the Tahkenitch Dunes and back across Tahkenitch Creek further inland where we would then finish the Oregon Dunes Loop. We abandoned that plan upon arriving at Tahkenitch Creek. It was wider and deeper than I had anticipated and neither of us were willing to wade across with the temperatures hovering around freezing.

We turned to Plan B which was to backtrack to the continuation of the Oregon Dunes Loop, return to the car and then drive to the Tahkenitch Dunes Trailhead. We turned around and made our way back up the beach to a hiker sign marking the loop.

This section of trail passed by a bend in Tahkenitch Creek before returning to the dunes and completing the loop.

We had wound up hiking a little over 8 miles by the time we reached our car (We didn’t realize we had gone that far until later when I reviewed the GPS information.) and were glad for a short rest while we drove the 3 miles to the next trailhead.

The trail here started in a nice forest leading .2 miles to the start of our next loop.

We went right at the junction and headed for the dunes.

The trail passed over the dunes and then through a more substantial forest before reaching Tahkenitch Creek near the ocean.

The trail led down to the beach where we again turned south for a mile (the final few tenths of beach are open to vehicles) to another sign marking the loop. The sign was a bit hard to spot as it was back away from the foredune a bit. The beach on this side of the creek was much less cluttered.

After heading inland for half a mile we arrived at an overlook of Threemile Lake. The lake was 200 feet below us and we decided not to head down the sandy hill to visit it because neither of us felt like climbing back up that much sand. We opted to take a short snack break above the lake before continuing on our loop.

The loop continued for 2.7 miles passing through an impressive forest before arriving back at the junction .2 miles from the car.

It had been a beautiful day on the beach despite the cold temperatures so we were surprised to have only seen a total of three other people during the day. Two were just heading down on the Oregon Dunes Trail as we finished that loop and the other had driven his pickup down onto the beach south of Tahkenitch Creek. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start our 2015 hikes. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157650068860795/

Tags beach, coos bay, florence, gull, hiking, Oregon, oregon dunes, oregon dunes national recreation area, pacific ocean, snowy plover, tahkenitch creek, tahkenitch dunes, Threemile lake

Year-end wrap up

The Hikes of 2014 – A Look Back

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date December 31, 2014
1 Comment on The Hikes of 2014 – A Look Back

It’s hard to believe that it is time for our year end entry, but the calendar doesn’t lie. It was a busy year for us in which Dominique graduated from high school, we trained for and ran several races including the Vernonia Marathon, and of course we did some hiking.

We were able to get 52 days’ worth of hiking in this year. We stared off slow while we trained for the marathon having completed only 5 hikes before the end of April. We did however take a map reading and route finding class through the Chemeketans, a local hiking/climbing club which was extremely helpful and a lot of fun. We cranked up the hiking in May and only slowed down at the end of October when the weather began to turn ugly. We managed to expand the area we’ve hiked in by taking hikes further to the North (Goat Rocks Wilderness, WA), South (Mt. Scott), and East (Lookout Mountain in the Ochoco Mountains) than we had before. Below is a map showing all the locations for the trailheads we visited as well as a link to an interactive version.

http://www.mapquest.com/embed?icid=mqdist_mb_tools&c=wfXA&maptype=hyb&zm=7&cr=44.53663017410884,-120.11096309346236&projection=sm&showScale=false

Here is a quick look at some of the statistics for the year:
Total Miles – 617.8
Shortest Hike – 2.2 miles (tie McDowell Creek Falls & Ankeny Wildlife Refuge)
Longest Hike – 21.4 miles (Fall Creek trailhead to Linton Meadows with a lot of extra exploring)
Average Moving Speed – 2.171 mph
Lowest Elevation – Sea level (Short Sand Beach, Neahkahnie Mt. Hike)

Highest Elevation – 8926′ (Mt. Scott summit)

My favorite statistic though has to be that 65% of our hikes (15 out of 23) during summer involved us either walking on or next to snow. The rest of the year only 10% (3 out of 29) of our hikes involved a close encounter with snow.

As much as I am a numbers junkie they are just quantitative data without a story, and the story is the reason we head out. We tried really hard this year to time our hikes to maximize the sights each area had to offer. Having learned from our past experiences and keeping an eye on trip reports from other hikers (A big thank you to the folks at Portlandhikers.org) we were better able to plan when to go where. We visited a wildlife refuge, 2 county parks, 3 state parks, 1 memorial forest, 1 state forest, and 11 different national forests. In the national forests were 14 different designated wilderness areas, a national volcanic monument, a national scenic area, and a national park.

We started and ended our year at the Oregon Coast as has become our tradition. Rivers, creeks, and waterfalls dominated the early part of the year followed by wildflowers and mountains and finally lakes. The variety of vegetation, terrain and natural features we were lucky enough to visit was amazing.
We passed over rock fields

pumice plains

lava flows

and snowfields

We hiked through high desert sagebrush

alpine meadows filled with wildflowers

and a variety of forest types

We visited waterfalls

caves

springs

frozen lakes

and a steaming volcano

One of the new things we did this year was backpacking. We took five overnight trips. The first few were single night excursions to get used to our packs and equipment followed by two longer trips. The first of which was a 4 day/3 night stay in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. It quickly became the favorite place that we have visited.

The second extended trip was a 3 day/2 night loop around the South Sister. We had originally planned on an extra day/night but wound up cutting it short when smoke suddenly filled the area. It turned out to be from a fire over 40 miles away but not knowing that at the time we packed up camp and experienced our first night hike.

Hands down the most exciting thing that happened this year was our first bear encounter on our way down the Zig Zag Mountain trail. It sure got the adrenaline pumping even though it didn’t threaten us at all and in fact turned and ran as fast as it could in the other direction. I failed to get a picture of it but here are some of the other critters I did manage to get photos of.

Looking ahead to next year we hope to continue to add to the areas we’ve visited. There are still a number of destinations we have yet to make it to including the Wallowas, Mt. Rainier, the Olympic Peninsula, Steens Mountain and the Indian Heaven Wilderness. Someday we’ll also get down to northern California. One thing is for sure, we won’t run out of new options any time soon. Happy Trails!

Tags backpacking, chemeketans, Goat Rocks Wilderness, hiking, mt. scott, Oregon, portlandhikers, South Sister, Washington, Waterfalls

Central Coast Hiking Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Harts Cove & Drift Creek Falls

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date December 8, 2014
3 Comments on Harts Cove & Drift Creek Falls

It has become a tradition to finish off our hiking year either on the Oregon Coast or in the coast range. This year we targeted a pair of shorter hikes to keep the tradition alive. For the first of these two hikes we traveled to Cascade Head just north of Lincoln City in order to visit Harts Cove where a waterfall spills into the Pacific Ocean. We parked at the Cascade Head Upper Trailhead along road 1861 at a sign post for the Nature Conservancy Trail. A trail here led off for a mile to Cascade Head’s upper viewpoint which we had visited before. In order to find the Harts Cove Trailhead we walked another .9miles down road 1861 where a large parking area with plenty of signs marked the start of the trail. We could have driven here but were contemplating hiking to the upper viewpoint later if the sky cleared so we decided to park at the upper trailhead.

One of the signs warned of difficult hiking conditions on the trail which piqued our interest.

The trail started out by diving fairly steeply downhill through the forest for the first half mile then descended more gradually to a bridge across Cliff Creek.

After crossing the creek the trail turned back toward the ocean along a ridge. We could hear a number of sea lions on the rocks below but could only get small glimpses of them across the water through the trees.

As the trail wound around the ridge end there was a bench that offered an obstructed view across Harts Cove to a meadow which was where the trail would end. The trail then bent back leading us around the cove. We crossed Chitwood Creek which appeared to have once had a bridge but it was now in pieces further down the creek.

We had been in clouds and fog for most of the hike but as we came out of the forest into the meadow we could see clearer skies out over the ocean. The trail was steep here also and muddy making it a bit slick.
Looking down the trail:

Looking up from below:

North toward Cape Lookout:

South toward Cascade Head:

The sea lions could still be heard across the way below Cascade Head, and now we could see them better.

We followed the trail down and around to the left toward Harts Cove so that we could get a view of Chitwood Creek’s waterfall. We were surprised to find a handful of flowers in bloom including a number of Salal bushes.

The waterfall turned out to be very picturesque as it fell down into the surging ocean.

There was a nice open spot below a tree where we stopped for a snack and to remove some of the unnecessary layers of clothes we had on. While we were resting there Heather spotted a hummingbird that was interested in my orange jacket. It was zipping about, landing occasionally and then darting back into the air. I was snapping pictures frantically trying to get some sort of picture before the hummingbird disappeared. I wasn’t sure if I’d managed to get anything until we got home, but I wound up getting lucky with a single shot.

As we headed back up the steep trail we noticed that Haystack Rock near Pacific City was shinning in full sunlight.

We returned the way we’d come and decided to skip the upper viewpoint because it still appeared to be enveloped in the clouds. This hike had been 7.6 miles which included the unnecessary 1.8 miles due to parking at the upper trailhead.

Our next stop was Drift Creek Falls which is located in the Siuslaw National Forest between Hwy 18 & Hwy 101 along Drift Creek Camp Road (Road 17). There was a good sized parking area and restrooms at the trailhead.

The trail leads down through the forest crossing two creeks on footbridges.

At the .7 mile mark the trail forks at a sign for the North Loop, a longer loop option which we planned to take on the way back from the falls. A third of a mile later we came to the other end of the North Loop.

Just a short distance later we arrived at the suspension bridge over Drift Creek.

The bridge passes over the creek very close to the falls allowing for some nice views.

The trail continues on the far side of the bridge down to Drift Creek where we could get a different perspective.

After enjoying the falls for a bit we headed back, this time taking the North Loop which would add about .7 miles to the return trip. This 1 mile section of trail climbed up and wound back through the forest. Aside from the trees and a few mushrooms there wasn’t much to see, but the trail was nice and good for a little extra exercise if wanted.

By taking the North Loop back we wound up with a total of 3.9 miles showing on the Garmin. These two trails were close enough (30 minute drive) and short enough to do in a day but they were also nice enough to stand on their own. As far as the cautions at the Harts Cove Trail we didn’t experience anything that we found too hard or scary but some of that is subjective and the trial was steep in places and the wet conditions caused a lot of mud which was slick at times. We will most likely be back to the coast sometime next month to kick off our 2015 hikes, but until then Happy Trails!

flickr:https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157649223220159/
facebook:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10205640025507123.1073741919.1448521051&type=1

Tags cascade head, chitwood creek, cliff creek, Drift Creek, Drift Creek Falls, Harts Cove, hiking, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Sea lions, siuslaw national forest, Suspension Bridge, Waterfall

Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

House Rock

We never know what kind of weather to expect in November when we are penciling out our hiking schedule so we typically play it fairly safe by picking a hike on the coast or along a lower elevation river or creek. This year we selected House Rock along the Old Santiam Wagon Road which was established in 1865 as a main route from the Willamette Valley to Central and Eastern Oregon for many years. As it turned out the weather was not a concern and it was a beautiful day for a hike.

The wagon road originally extended from Lebanon, OR all the way to Ontario, OR on the Oregon – Idaho border. For our hike we started at a trailhead just east of the former Mountain House Restaurant (a long time rest stop along the route) on Highway 20 between milepost 52 & 53. From the small parking area a footbridge led across the South Santiam River to former road.

After crossing the river we turned left onto the wide path covered in a carpet of leaves and made our way through the mossy woods toward House Rock.

Recent rains had left the creeks and runoff streams flowing nicely which added to the scenic beauty.

At the two-mile mark we arrived at the start of the House Rock loop.

We turned toward the river where another footbridge joined from the House Rock Campground.

After checking out the bridge we made our way to House Rock. There really wasn’t a good way to get a picture that adequately showed the size of House Rock and the opening beneath it. A small stream flowed through the wide cavern where there was enough room for several people.

We left House Rock and continued on the loop heading toward House Rock Falls. A tree had recently fallen creating a bit of an obstacle but we were able to make our way over it.

I emailed the Sweet Home Ranger District when we were home just in case they weren’t already aware of it.

A sign pointed the way to the falls along a .2 mile side trail.

House Rock Falls was just as difficult to get a good picture of. Boulders and logs partly obscured the view from the trail and the wet rocks made scrambling down to the base an adventure. Even then the curve of the river combined with the rocks made it impossible to get a clear view without wading out into the river. It was just cold enough that I didn’t feel like trying that so I settled for the obstructed view and called it good.

We headed back to the loop and then continued up to the wagon road where we turned left once again. Our goal was a viewpoint near the 5 mile marker. After another 1.1 miles we met FS Rd 2044 where we followed signs to the continuation of the wagon road. In the next couple of miles the trail briefly left the old road and passed through an ever-changing forest where there was a seemingly endless variety of mushrooms on display.

We arrived at the 5 mile marker and took a short trail on the right to the viewpoint.

It was a nice place to take a short break and have a snack. The view wasn’t anything spectacular but Jump Off Joe Mountain was across the a valley while Iron Mountain, which we had hiked on July 4th, rose up in the distance.

Jump Off Joe Mountain

Iron Mountain

We returned the way we had come following the wagon road back past the House Rock loop and ultimately to our waiting vehicle. It had been a wonderful November day for a hike. Happy Trails!

Tags hiking, house rock, house rock falls, house rock loop, Iron Mountain, jump off joe mountain, mountain house restaurant, mushroom, old santiam wagon road, Oregon, south santiam river