Hike #2: Newton Road to the Wildwood

Trailhead: Newton Road. Newton road is just north/past Germantown Road. The gravel road is about a quarter of a mile long and ends at a good sized parking lot. Be careful about both pot holes and oncoming traffic.

What I listened to in the car: Symphony of Science. Artist John Boswell has used auto-tune software to turn audio of scientists into pretty awesome songs. One of my favorites is We Are Stardust featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Feynman and Lawrence Krauss.

Companions: My friend Elise and Tumalo

Forest Park Conservancy's Trail map of this area

Trails hiked on: Newton Road and the Wildwood Trail

Miles hiked: 3.58 miles, 2 hours

Unique miles hiked: 2.43 miles (The 1.15 miles on the Wildwood between Newton Road and the BPA road were only counted once)

Total challenge miles: 5.13 miles


Weather: Cool and moist and foggy.

Notes: 

My friend Elise joined Tumalo and I for a nice walk through the foggy woods of the far end of Forest Park. I missed a turn on the way out and I ended up getting to Skyline waaaayyyyy out past Newberry Rd. We ended up driving the entire length of the park on the way home.

Newton Road is a great trail head with a couple of different loop and lolly pop hike options. Newton Road and Fireland 10 both run up/down hill (though, much of Newton Road is flat-ish) and intersect with the Wildwood Trail. The Wildwood runs the entire length of the park, a total of 30 miles! I honestly believe this stretch of the Wildwood Trail is the prettiest in the park making it worth the drive.

The Power Line and the Mist

We started out heading north along Newton Road. This is a nice wide trail, but still muddy this time of year. At the intersection with the Wildwood trail we turned left and headed down through these beautiful gullies and thick woods. The mist and fog made the forest look particularly beautiful even as we picked our way through some very muddy patches. After about a mile the trail crosses the power line and then meets with the BPA road. We went back the way we came and then continued on the Wildwood Trail all the way back to the parking lot. Between the intersection at Newton Road and the second connecting trail back to the parking lot is stunningly gorgeous. The trail winds through old fir and cedar forests and over a couple wooden bridges. I have often heard ravens and woodpeckers here though today we just heard a flock of chickadees high up in the canopy.

I was so glad to have a friend for this hike. It ended up being a long hike but we had lovely conversation and even the mud didn't distract from our good time. A great hike in the woods!