Urban Hiking in Downtown Portland - November 23, 2014

Portland, Oregon

 8 Miles

Wow, what a rainy day this was.  We were soaked even by the time we reached the Hawthorne Bridge.  

The bridge was going up just as we reached the east side so we waited under the cover of the freeway above us until the bridge started to lower.  

We had a wonderful break near the end with hot tea at Starbucks and relaxed for a bit before heading back out into the pouring rain to finish hiking to the car.  Even a day of hiking in the rain is wonderful though.  We managed to do a little over 8 miles.

Lower Salmonberry River - November 3, 2014

Lower Salmonberry  River Hike

10 Miles

This trail is located along the Lower Nehalem River about 50 miles west of Portland off highway 26.  

Hikng along the rails does provide a challenge.  Fall hiking was beautiful in this area with all of the colors and the beautiful river alongside most of the trail.  

There are a couple of spots where erosion and storm damage has caused the rails to be unstable and so you do leave the main trail for a bit but it is easy to follow.  A couple of river crossings also provided a little challenge but others have placed logs and rocks so that you can cross without getting too wet.  I do recommend waterproof boots though.  

All in all this was a beautiful but semi satisfying hike.  I think you could probably hike further than the water tower and see more of the river but we got a late start and didn't want to run out of daylight so we turned around at the water tower after Doug's climb up into it to see what was inside - just branches and leaves.

Low Divide Creek, October 19, 2014

Low Divide Creek

4.2 Miles

This hike kicked my butt.  It is listed as a "moderate" and "family friendly" hike.  That is a lie.  This is two miles straight down and two miles straight back up.  It does a little lollipop loop at the end through Gales Creek Campground.  There were lots of mushroom hunters out and we did see a family with some small children, one whining to be carried.  They didn't make it very far on the trail.  

This is a hike that I am glad I finished and I felt great afterwards but I won't choose to do it again.

The Tillmook National Forest is beautiful though and there are many other hikes where you can experience it.

Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls - October 13, 2014

Eagle Creek To Tunnel Falls

12 Miles

I hadn't done this hike since around 1996, back when I was an athlete and had done it a couple of times.  It hasn't changed much except that they have put in more cables to hold on to when walking along the slippery cliffs.  I was happy about that because although I remembered this hike fondly, that was the thing that kept me from wanting to do it again.  

This is the hike you will hear mentioned on the news when people or dogs fall off the trail.  It is quite steep so you need to pay attention and I would not recommend it in rainy weather.

It is beautiful though.  We didn't make it all the way to Tunnel Falls this time because we were running out of time and were a little anxious about getting off the trail before dark.  We were so very close though.  Next time we will start earlier so that we can make it all the way.  Even though, there are some beautiful water falls and sights along the way and the fall colors were gorgeous.