Hike #12: Firelane 1

Trailhead: Firelane 1. The parking for this hike is street parking along St. Helens road.

What I listened to in the car: Bruce Springsteen Rocky Ground

Companions: Tumalo

Trails hiked on: Firelane 1

Miles hiked: 1.2 miles (1 hr)

Unique miles hiked: 0.6 miles

Total challenge miles: 23.3 miles

Weather: It was close to sunset, but the sky was clear and gorgeous

Amenities: None


Notes:

This  is a bit of a hidden trail and not one I frequent. I noticed the sign for the trailhead one day when driving home from Lower Saltzman Road and have only hiked on it maybe two times since then. The path is the cleared right of way under a power line and it is steep and muddy in many parts. It also has some spectacular views of the mountains and Willamette River. 

Today I headed up the trail just a little bit before sunset. I only went a little ways up this time, but the views were spectacular. It was worth the slog in the mud - there were nettles! Spring has sprung!





 

Hike #11: Upper McLeay Park

Trailhead: Upper Macleay


Companions: Tumalo

Trails hiked on: Upper McLeay Trail, McLeay Trail and Wildwood Trail

Miles hiked: 1.6 miles (50 minutes)

Unique miles hiked: 1.6 miles

Total challenge miles: 22.7 miles

Weather: Sun and giant puffy clouds

Amenities: There is a parking area quite off the road across Cornell and a crosswalk. No other amenities but it's less than a mile uphill to the Pittock Mansion!

Notes:

I absolutely love this trail. Above Cornell Road there are is a warren of trails on the hill below Pittock Mansion. You get some beautiful vistas between the trees and there are always interesting tidbits in the forest floor. There are a couple loops or spurs you can take off the Wildwood to change up the hike from the same trail head.

Today, I took the first trail to the right after the crosswalk, the Upper McLeay Trail. It is early spring so the first green forbes are poking out of the forest duff.  At the major intersection after half a mile I continued on the same trail until it met the neighborhood street. I took the McLeay trail back to the Wildwood Trail, enjoying the beautiful downed logs and red currant blossoms! As I headed back down the Wildwood trail to my car I saw this crazy mushroom. What tha fungus?? What a beautiful forest to visit  :)

                            

Hike #10: Springville Road to Fire Lane 7

Trailhead: Springville Road off Skyline

What I listened to in the car: Singing along to Axis of Awesome's 4 Chord Song. Things white people like include novelty bands, fo sho.

Companions: Tumalo!

Trails hiked on: Fire lane 7, the Oil Line Road, Wildwood Trail and the Ridge Trail.

Miles hiked: 3.2 miles (1 hour and 25 minutes)

Unique miles hiked: 2.8 miles

Total challenge miles: 21.2 miles

Weather: Sunny and warm! Spring is in the air!

Amenities: Sometimes there are doggy bags, but I don't even think there is a trash can.

Notes:

It was a gorgeous day for a hike today! The weather has been unseasonably warm and sunny and spring is definitely springing. This is a nice trail head because there are so many options. A network of trails and access roads fan out from the parking lot on Springville Road and they all intersect with the Wildwood Trail, making getting lost pretty hard to do. I chose to go down the Oil Line Road and up the Ridge Trail.

Much of the ridge that Firelane 7 goes along is covered in deciduous trees that are still bare. There were some pretty views of the industrial area. After getting down to the Wildwood trail there were some darker patches of cedar and fir trees. Spring is springing like crazy and in addition to new leaves of Indian Plum there was new growth of bedstraw and other forbes and even some leaves on the thimble berries! There were lots of birds out, too. In addition to some crows and a raven I heard a number of little winter wrens singing like crazy and a couple flocks of chickadees still in winter formation.

I'll be heading back to this trailhead a number of times because there are many other loops to be done here. Some of the trails even go down all the way to Leif Erikson for more loop options. Happy spring time!

Hike #9: Upper Saltzman

Trailhead: Upper Saltzman Road (NW Saltzman and NW Skyline Blvd)

What I listened to in the car: Radiolab Things. One of my favorites.

Companions: Just Tummy. I didn't even take my camera.

Trails hiked on: Firelane 5, Wildwood Trail, Saltzman Road

Miles hiked: 3.4 miles (1 hr 30 minutes)

Unique miles hiked: 3.1 miles

Total challenge miles: 18.3 miles

Weather: Not too rainy - what a winter!

Amenities: There are poop bags and a garbage can at the parking area there on NW Saltzman Road. The couple hundred yards of Saltzman between NW Skyline and the gate is graveled and potholed. There is not a "parking lot", but plenty of parking along the road.

Notes:

This is another of my favorite hikes. It's close enough to town that it doesn't feel onerous to drive out, but it's far enough out that you might have the hike mostly to yourself. Saltzman Road is a graveled and graded road that runs uphill/downhill through the park (I did a hike from the Lower Saltzman trailhead earlier in the year already) and Firelane 5 is also an uphill/downhill path. The upper part of Firelane 5 is maintained as a two track fire road, but the portion just above the Wildwood Trail is very muddy and overgrown.

The hike I did today was straight down Firelane 5 to the Wildwood trail and then about 1/3 of a mile to the left on the Wildwood. There are a couple side trails off Firelane 5 that take you to place where there's a bit of a view of Mt. Hood, or just a flat place where kids makes fires and party. The Wildwood Trail is beautiful in this stretch, going through an old burn to the left of Firelane 5 and across a lovely bridge on the way to Saltzman Road. I generally like to choose hikes that go uphill first, but having the uphill be on the wide, graveled road of Saltzman Road makes it seem less onerous. This is a popular hike for a reason.