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.

Hike #8: Germantown Rd and Leif Erikson Rd

Trailhead: Germantown Road at Leif Erikson Rd (there are two parking areas/trail heads along Germantown Rd, this the the downhill one.)

What I listened to in the car: Episode 3 of Serial. It gives me serious anxiety so I'm going slowly through the series, but I sure am hooked.

Companions: Just Tummy!

Trails hiked on: Cannon Trail, the Wildwood Trail, the Waterline Trail and Leif Erikson Rd

Miles hiked: 2.2 miles (1 hr 10 minutes)


Unique miles hiked: 2.2 miles

Total challenge miles: 15.2

Weather: Cloudy and cool, but not raining

Amenities: There is a portapotty just up the Leif Erikson from the parking lot I parked at, but I went the other direction. The parking lot is off the road and there is a nice sign with a map and information about the park.

Notes: 

This is a nice loop that goes through a lovely, but well used part of the park. The sign in the parking lot suggests a similar loop but I always like my loops to go uphill first. I headed up hill from the parking lot along the Cannon Trail. It's a lovely short trail, but quite muddy. We've ha such an odd dry winter that the trail wasn't terribly muddy but I've had other days where both Tumalo and I are up to our elbows in mud on that trail.

Tumalo at the top of muddy Waterline Trail

This section of the Wildwood Trail is quite pretty. The trail winds in and out of the creek canyons that run down the slope. There are lots of dense stands of fir and cedars along here, too. I headed down hill on the Waterline Trail, but you could go another mile and a half further along the Wildwood to Springville Road for a longer loop. The Waterline Trail is a muddy mess but my memory is that Springville isn't terribly much better. The trails that go up and down hill in Forest Park are generally pretty muddy. The Tualatin Hills are covered in a thick clay soil that just gets swampy in our wet wet winters.

After making it down the mud pit of the Waterline Trail, Leif Erikson Road was a pleasure. It was carved into the hillside as a road for future residential development in the early 20th century, but the area just isn't suited to houses. That mud that forms on the steep trails causes many houses to slip and slide down the slopes around Forest Park and as the developer realized this, the land was left to become city property. Leif Erikson remains a wide, graded and graveled road that is easy to walk or bike on. It is popular with runners and mountain bikers, and horses are allowed on it as well. The smooth curves and almost flat elevation made a smooth walk back to the car. I do love this part of the park and look forward to coming back many times this year.

Hike #4: Forest Lane

Trailhead: The end of Forest Lane off NW 53rd. This turns into Firelane 1.

What I listened to in the car: This American Life on the radio! They were playing a story from the new podcast Invisibilia about how expectations effect outcomes in our lives.

Companions: Just Tumalo!

Trails hiked on: Firelane 1, the Wildwood Trail and the Nature Trail

Miles hiked: 2.6 miles

Unique miles hiked: 2 miles

Total challenge miles: 8.7 miles

Weather: Very foggy and wet and muddy

Notes:

This is one of my favorite parts of the park and one I only found after a few years of exploring. I found the trail heads on SW 53rd quickly, but Forest Lane looks like the kind of road you shouldn't get to drive down if you don't have business there. Turns out, though, it's a trail head that gets you to some absolutely fantastic parts of Forest Park.

The day was very foggy and the trail very muddy, but it was still beautiful. After 6/10th of a mile along Firelane 1 you find yourself in a bit of an opening in the woods. There is one of those lovely maps where the Wildwood trail crosses Firelane 1. I turned left and walked down through the forest towards the Nature Trail. The trail descends gently and then drops down some switchbacks where you see the sign for the connector to the Nature Trail. If you continue down the Wildwood Trail a little bit further you can make a loop down the Chestnut trail and back up that is absolutely beautiful. I wasn't up for the down and up that canyon today, so I just made a smaller loop with the Nature Trail. The Nature Trail was muddy but busy today. There were lots of runners and families out enjoying the park. The trail winds its way up to the hill back to Firelane 1.

I plan to come back to this part of the park a number of times this year. In addition to doing the loop down the Chestnut Tail, I've never been down Firelane 1 all the way to Leif Ericson or the Wildwood back towards 53rd Ave. It's a gorgeous part of the park.

Hike #3: Hoyt Arboretum Fir Trail

Trailhead: Hoyt Arboretum parking lot on SW Fairview Blvd

Arboretum Map

What I listened to in the car: Radiolab's Are You Sure. Stories of surety and lack there of. The last story is intense and unresolved. Radiolab at it's best.

Companions: Just Tumalo!


Trails hiked on: Hoyt Arboretum's Fir, Creek and Redwood trails plus a little bit of the Wildwood Trail

Miles hiked: 1 mile (calculated via this map, not the usual Forest Park Conservancy maps), 30 minutes.

Unique miles hiked: 1 mile

Total challenge miles:  6.13 miles

Weather: Might rain at any moment, but it didn't

Notes:

Larch, Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoias!

Hoyt Arboretum is 189 acres at the south end of Forest Park. It is managed as a living museum that includes over 2,000 species along twelve miles of trails. The trails are well maintained, well marked and well used. I generally only walk in the conifer collection on the back slope of the arboretum and even then only on wet days or week days because it just gets so crowded. If you don't have a dog or don't mind crowds, the arboretum is a lovely place to walk.

Today I walked along the Fir Trail and then down through the redwood collection and back along the Creek Trail. I've spent a lot of time in the woods of western Oregon and I generally am very familiar with the trees most common around here. One of the joys of the arboretum is that I get to see some of the less familiar trees. Today's trip took me through a forest of larch, coast redwoods, yellow cedars and white firs.

The deck and the redwoods. Ewoks!

The Redwood trail takes you down through a dark stand of coast and giant redwoods to a beautiful wooden viewing deck. I almost expected some Ewoks to come poking out from behind the big trees. From there I walked back towards the parking lot along the Creek Trail. There is a magic tree along that trail with it's roots exposed by the creek. No doubt gnomes live there  :)   Unlike the Newton Road hike the day before, this part of the park is so very touched by human hands. Less ravens, more gnomes.

There arboretum is a wonderful place to watch the seasons change. I'm excited to go back over the course of the year. You should check it out, too!

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!