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Be on the lookout!! Fitness and Cycling articles on the way
Well everyone, it's been way too long since I updated content beyond hikes and trail reviews, and I think the site could use some fresh content. I am going to be adding fitness articles, along with introducing my second passion which is Cycling!!!.. Stay tuned, and i hope you find the site useful. |
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Snowshoe Destination: South Cinder Cone, OR
Friday, February 15 @ 10:51:59 PST by Drew (94 reads) |  Directions:
From
Portland, take I-5 south for about 46 miles, driving through Salem.
Take
exit 253 for OR-22 E toward Detroit Lake/Bend 0.3 mile.
Turn
left onto OR-22 E/Mission St SE, crossing over I-5 and continue to follow OR-22
E for 65 miles.
Turn
left onto Marion Creek Rd. The road is just before Marion Creek and is easy to
miss. It is 4.5 miles from Hwy 22 to the trailhead. The road is not plowed.
Drive to where you will be able to get back out if it snows, and park.
A Northwest Forest Pass may be required. There is no fee during winter.
Outhouse at the trailhead.
Length and Elevation:
6.3 Miles one way, Elevation gain is 3,000 feet, and loss is 100 feet.
Trail:
Marion Lake Trail #3436, Lake of the Woods Trail #3493,with connection
to the PCT
Trail Maps:
Topo Map, Download
Garmin .gpx file- future
Review: April 13, 2013
The four of us drove up the road until the snow prevented us from going
any farther. Since it was dark, we decided to walk up to the trailhead and set
up our tents. We walked less than .25 mile and reached the trailhead. Some of
us camped on snow and some on wet forest duff.
I hadn’t brought a tent and Jerimiah offered me a spot in his tent,
which I gladly accepted. The sleet turned to snow and we were snug in our bags
until Jerimiah heard a noise and shined his flashlight onto a rat. It must
spend its nights looking for camper’s food. We didn’t have any food in the tent
or in our backpacks, but Jerimiah finally pulled his backpack into the tent to
get it away from the rat. The rat was pretty bold and hung around for about an
hour. In the morning, no one else had seen the rat.
The snow had stopped and we made breakfast and packed. Happily for me, I
used the pit toilet and was safe from using the “blue bag” for the day.
We walked up the Marion Lakes Trail because the first part of the trail
had mostly melted out. The trail is well maintained and not very muddy. The
snow on the trail got deeper as we slowly gained elevation. We reached Ann Lake
after walking 1.5 miles. Soon after the lake, we needed to put our snowshoes
on. We needed to be careful to keep to the side of the trail because water
running down the trail had thinned the snow and we stepped through a couple of
times.
The snow started blowing as we made our way up
to Marion Lake, which is about 2.2 miles from the trailhead. Cross to the far
side of the lake and follow the shore for about .3 mile to the trail junction
to Lake of the Woods Trail.Full review coming soon.
Enjoy the photos!!
Gallery Pics
Switchback Steve
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Snowshoe Destination: Barlow Butte, OR
Friday, February 15 @ 10:47:32 PST by Drew (212 reads) | Directions:
From Portland take I-84 East to the Wood Village,
exit (16A). Head south and turn left onto NE Burnside Rd. Heading East,
Burnside will merge into Highway 26. Follow Hwy 26 past Government Camp and
exit on Highway 35 to Hood River. Follow Hwy 35 for about 2.7 miles. Turn right
into the Barlow Pass Snow Park.
A Snow Park permit is required during the snow
season. No permit is needed in the summer months.
No outhouses are available at the parking lot. The
closest bathrooms are at White River West parking lot or Government Camp.
Length and
Elevation: 5.9 Miles roundtrip, Elevation gain totals 1,800 Feet. Elevation
at the trailhead is 4,150 feet. Highest point is at 5,070 feet. Lowest
elevation is 3,900 feet.
Trail:
Barlow Road, Barlow Butte Trail, Mineral Jane
Trail, with connections to the Pacific Crest Trail #2000.
Trail Maps:
Topo Map, Download Garmin .gpx
file
Review: February 1, 2013, March 3, 2013
Walk east across the parking lot and to the
Pacific Crest Trail and the Barlow Road. Walk northeast a bit until you reach
the Barlow Road, which heads downhill. Walk about 150 feet farther, looking for
the Mineral Jane Ski Trail, the Barlow Creek Trail, and the Barlow Butte Trail
#670 off to the left. Follow this trail downhill, looking for blue diamond
signs marking the trail.
Follow along this trail as it drops down to a tail
junction sign for the Mineral Jane Ski Trail and Barlow Butte Trail. Turn left
at the signpost. Continuing straight takes you the wrong way, descending towards
Devils Half Acre.
From the signpost, the trail climbs a bit, crosses
a small creek, and then steadily gains elevation for about .25 mile and reaches
a sign for the Mineral Jane Ski Trail and Barlow Butte Trail. Continue straight
ahead on the Mineral Jane Ski Trail through the moss-draped Hemlock forest. The
trail should be easy to find, though you may not always be able to see blue
diamond markers.
Now you’ve gotten far enough from Hwy 35 so that you can barely hear the
traffic. The sound of your snowshoes crunching through the snow masks out the
low-level traffic noise. The trail crosses a low saddle then drops down and
joins a Forest Service road. Walk along the sweeping turns of the Forest
Service road as it gently loses elevation. Right at a mile from the trailhead,
a nice view of Mt.Hood is off to the left.
Walk a bit farther to a T-junction at a Forest
Road There is a blue diamond with a black arrow pointing to the left. Turn
right at the junction and begin walking very gently uphill. The trail here is
mostly level for about the first.25 mile, then steepens as you climb up the
lower shoulders of Barlow Butte.
Continue steadily gaining elevation as you head
east. Walking along the road you pass many spectacular views of Mt. Hood,
looking across the White River Valley. About 1.6 miles from the
trailhead, you pass a small mountain stream tumbling down the mountainside,
going under the road, and continuing downhill to join the White River.
The trees are beginning to change from Hemlocks to Noble Fir. This section
appears to be protected from the east winds by a nearby ridge, thus allowing
moss to drape down from the tree branches.
You might think that trails lose elevation as you
walk away from Mt. Hood, but Barlow Butte Trail steadily gains elevation going
away from Mt. Hood.
The trail continues to climb for a couple of miles,
rounds a bend, and begins to descend. A few hundred feet farther and you reach
a point about 2.6 miles from the trailhead. Look for a break in the trees,
angling up and to the right. This is a tree-lined snow-covered forest road which
you walk on for a few hundred feet. Head towards a large meadow that is ahead
on your left. After reaching a big meadow, navigate along the top of the
meadow, gently turning to the left and sidehill for about .3 mile, crossing
over a very gentle saddle so that the uphill side is on your right before the
saddle, and the uphill side is on your left after the saddle.
Be sure not to lose elevation as you sidehill
towards Barlow Ridge. You will reach a pointed rock butte jutting from the
ridgetop. The easiest way to get around this first butte is to skirt it on the
left, following the snow around the rock.
Continue along the ridge to the second butte. You will
need to switchback down through the forest on the right side, losing about 50
to 100 feet in elevation. Once you’ve gotten past the butte, there is a nice
place to take a well deserved break, with a view of Mt. Hood as a reward.
Barlow Butte is not far from here.
Start climbing along the ridge, with views of Mt.
Jefferson to the south and Mt. Hood to the west. The ridge is exposed and can
have large cornices on the right side. Stay to the left side of the ridge to
avoid walking on any cornices and continue up the slope, entering the woods
just below the butte. Looking back you can see the two promontories you passed
earlier, one up high on a rocky slope, and the closer one jutting up out of the
forest.
Near the top of the
butte, look for any clearings off to the right and head in that direction. You
will find nice views of the Forest road you came up on, the route you followed
along the ridge, and the White River Valley.
You will want to
head back into the woods, looking for the highest point of the ridge. After a
bit of a walk, you should be able to find Barlow Butte, which is a snow-covered
rock dome which stands just a bit higher than the rest of the ridge.
Now that you’ve
reached the apex, the next goal is to get back to the car safely. Continue
following the ridge for about 500 feet, and it begins to drop down with
increasing steepness. Pick a good point to leave the ridge, cut left across the
face of Barlow Butte. The woods here are fairly open and you can choose where
to switchback and mostly avoid any brushy areas.
As the slope decreases, it becomes more difficult
to pick out any ridgeline to follow. A compass heading of North by Northwest (about
330°) will allow you to bushwhack through the open forest, back down to the Mineral
Jane ski Trail. Turn left here, retracing your steps past the junction with the
Barlow Butte trail and back down the bridge over the small stream.
The last quarter mile feels like a mile because
the trail climbs steadily the whole way back to the parking lot. Eventually you
reach the sign for the Mineral Ski Trail and the Barlow Butte Trail #670. From
here, snowshoe up the Barlow Road Trail for about 150 feet and take the
junction to the left. The junction is easy to spot if you keep a lookout for it
and it leads up and away from the Barlow Road. Soon you’ll reach the junction
for Barlow Road and the Pacific Crest Trail. It is just a short walk west back
to the parking lot.
This trail is moderately used, which is surprising
because of the very low avalanche danger and the great views. You can turn this
into an out-and-back trip by turning around at the alpine meadow and retracing
your steps.
Happy Trails,
Switchback Steve
Gallery Pics
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Dayhikes: Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail, WA
Monday, October 22 @ 13:50:15 PDT by Drew (714 reads) |  Vicinity
Location: The
trailhead is about 72 miles east of Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River
Gorge Scenic Area.
Directions:
From Portland, OR, take I-84 East to Hood River.
Cross over the Columbia River using the toll bridge and turn right on Hwy 14.
Drive approximately 13 miles through Lyle.
Continue east on Highway 14. Go through two short tunnels, right next together
then driver .25 mile. The trailhead is at the first gravel parking area on the
left.
There no restrooms at the trailhead. The closest
restrooms are at the Lyle trailhead about 3 miles to the west of the trailhead.
No permits are needed to park at the trailhead.
Trail:
Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail.
There is a geocache at: N 45° 41.169 W 121° 14.774 Info at Geocaching.com
Trail
Maps:
Topo Map, Download Garmin .gpx file - future
Length
and Elevation:
5.6 miles round trip. Elevation at the trailhead
is 105 feet. Elevation at the turnaround point is 1,000. Elevation gain totals 1,087
feet and loss of 245 feet one way. Total gain and loss is 2,600 feet round trip.
Highest elevation is 1,125 feet.
Review: November 25, 2012.
From the unsigned parking area, switchback
fairly steeply for less than .2 mile and come to the sign and sign-in area for
the Cherry Orchard Trail. Fill out the release for and turn slightly to the
right of the sign and travel uphill on the rocky trail through a grove of oak
trees. There is plenty of poison oak along the trail so be careful when you set
anything down.
Follow the main trail and continue up past some
interesting basalt rocks. After walking about .5 mile, the trail comes out onto
a grassy bench above the Columbia River Gorge. There are a few sparse trees
scattered around. Thorny little plants grow along the trail which are a harbor
for the ticks that wait for you to walk by.
Continue up the sweeping switchbacks underneath
basalt cliffs as you climb higher above the Gorge with every step. About .75
mile is a junction to a short way-trail that goes out to a nice overlook of the
Gorge and a trail that heads west along the flat bench along the river. From
the viewpoint you have a nice view east and west above the Columbia River. This
could also be a nice place to sit down for a break on a nice day.
After walking uphill about a mile, the trail levels off and starts following
the rolling contours of the hills above the Gorge. The trail weaves in and out
along the edge of the cliffs and through oak forests. The tread of the trail
changes from rocks to a clay soil that becomes a little slippery when wet.
Some small sections of trail are steep and the trail passes a tiny seasonal
pond or wet area next to the trail. Also, be sure to check about every 10 to 15
minutes for ticks. I found a total of 7 ticks on me and my pants in late
November.
Occasionally you can see metal diamond-shaped
metal markers nailed to trees. After about 2 miles, the forest starts to change
from the oaks to a mixture of pines and oaks and then you come to a junction
with an old rutted road. Turn right here and follow the road a couple hundred
feet to another junction.
When you come out of the woods, follow a small trail off to the left. Follow
the trail over a grassy hill and down the slope looking for cherry trees. There
is one large tree, a couple that are dying, and a couple of stumps.
Enjoy the nice views of the Gorge then walk back over the little hill to the
next junction. From here, turn left and continue towards the Gorge along a jeep
trail through the grass. Follow the trail through a dip then down a slope to
expansive views of the Gorge to the east and west.
Return back along the road, walking past the junction to the cherry orchard,
and remembering to turn left just after you re-enter the woods.
This hike is great for kids because the trail grade is moderate and there are
places to rest along the way. Precautions need to be taken to deal with the
high tick population. I even had a tick in my hair.
Enjoy the photos!!
Gallery Pics
Switchback Steve
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Dayhikes: Klickitat River Trail, WA
Monday, October 22 @ 13:49:44 PDT by Drew (826 reads) | Vicinity
Location: The
trailhead is about 68 miles east of Portland, Oregon in the Columbia River
Gorge Scenic Area.
Directions:
From Portland, OR, take I-84 East to Hood River.
Cross over the Columbia River using the toll bridge and turn right on Hwy 14.
Drive approximately 10 miles through Bingen, to Hwy 142 near Lyle. The lower
trailhead is just on the left, at the junction.
To reach the upper trailhead from Lyle, take
the Lyle-Centerville Hwy. Go north, then east for about 15 miles. Turn left on
Harms Road. Drive north one-half mile and park just north of the bridge.
There are restrooms seasonally at the Harms Road
trailhead and at various access points along the trail. There are restrooms at
the Lyle trailhead.
No permits are needed to park at trailheads.
Trail:
Klickitat Trail.
There is a geocache at: N 45° 49.292 W 121°
05.643 Info at Geocaching.com
Biking
Tips for for a safe ride:
1. Carry at least 3 liters of water on a hot day.
You can refill water bottles in Klickitat.
2. Expect to take 3 to 5 hours to bike the entire
trail.
3. Please stay on the trail. Private property is
next to the trail in most places.
4. Having front suspension on your bike is a good
idea.
5. Carry a tire pump, repair kit, and spare tube. Yellow-star
Thistle burrs, or Goat’s Head commonly puncture tires.
6. Slime in your inner tubes will help prevent
flats.
7. Carry extra food, sun screen and a first aid kit.
8. Beware of poison oak, rattlesnakes and ticks. Lyme
Disease is from ticks is possible so check for ticks at each rest stop.
9. The only access for Swale Canyon is at the
trailheads.
10. There is not good cell phone coverage on the
trail, especially in Swale Canyon.
11. Swale Canyon is closed in summer and early fall
because of fire danger, usually mid-June to mid-October. Check the KTC web site
for updates.
Shuttle Information:
I called Carl at the Canyon
Market, 100 Main Street in Klickitat. The phone number is 509-369-4400. You
should be able to make arrangement to have Carl move your car from the upper
trailhead to the lower trailhead. Be sure to call about a week in advance in
the summer. In 2012, he offered shuttles in the 30 through 35 dollar range.
Another possibility is to call Rolf at the Klickitat Trader 509-369-3179 though
I have not verified this. Plan for about 30 to 45 minutes to drive from on
trailhead to another.
Trail Maps:
Topo Map – full route, Topo Map – eastern portion of route, Topo Map – western portion of route, Download Garmin .gpx file
History:
The terrain
of Klickitat County was formed by the Columbia River basalt flows that started
about 1.8 million years ago and end ended about 16,000 years ago. The Columbia
River gorge was formed by the "Missoula Floods," the greatest series
of floods known to have occurred in North America. The floods reached depths of
900 feet in the Gorge and reached speeds of over 75 miles per hour.
The name Klickitat is usually considered to be a Chinook word meaning
"beyond," as in beyond the Cascade Mountains. Lewis and Clark called
the tribe the Wah-how-pums. The Klickitats were divided into an eastern group
occupying the Klickitat and White Salmon River areas and a western group called
the Taitnapams who lived west of the Cascades near the Cowlitz and Lewis
rivers. The Klickitats were skilled horsemen, hunters, and traders. The women
were noted for their intricately woven basketry. The Klickitats were one of 14
tribes grouped together as Yakima (or Yakama) at the June 1855 Walla Walla
Council and were signatories of the Treaty of Yakima.
In 1903 the Columbia River and Northern Railroad built a line
between Goldendale and Lyle. In 1970 the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railroad
became part of Burlington Northern.
After the completion of the Columbia River & Northern Railroad linking Lyle
with Goldendale, the vast majority of goods moving in or out of the Klickitat
Valley came through Lyle. In recent years Lyle has emerged as the nucleus for
Klickitat County's growing wine industry.
The Western Pine
Lumber Company built a mill and logging railroad at Klickitat in 1909. The mill
was destroyed by fire in October 1918 and immediately rebuilt. In 1922, the J.
Neils Lumber Company purchased the mill and property, enlarging the Klickitat
townsite. Another mill fire happened in 1927 and the mill was rebuilt. In 1957,
the St. Regis Paper Company bought the mill operations, which merged with
Champion Lumber in 1984. The Champion Mill in Klickitat closed permanently in
November 1994.
The railroad right-of-way was purchased in 1993 by the national Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy. Ownership of the rail line was transferred to Washington State
Parks in 1994. There was local opposition, including barricades across the
trail and gunshots fired to harass early users of the trail. Eventually public
support prevailed and in 2003, the Klickitat Trail Conservancy (KTC) was formed.
The Trail is managed cooperatively by Washington State, the U.S. Forest
Service, and the KTC.
The roadbed, trestles, a few spikes, pieces of rail, and the caboose in
Klickitat are all that remain of the railroad.
Lyle was once an important port after the construction of the Cascade Locks in
1896 because it was the first port upriver from Portland, Oregon that was
unimpeded by falls and rapids on the Columbia. The town was originally named
Klickitat Landing but was changed to Lyle in 1882. Source- HistoryLink.org
Length
and Elevation:
29 miles one way. Elevation at the Harms Road is
1,560 feet. Elevation at the Lyle trailhead is 120 feet. Elevation gain totals 100
feet. Total gain and loss is 1,540 feet one way. Highest elevation is 1,560
feet.
Review: November 10, 2012.
Please remember to shut any gates you open. You
may encounter cattle on the trail. Please keep your dogs leased to avoid your
dog from chasing cattle and causing injury or death to any cattle.
From the Harms Road trailhead, walk past the
gate and cross a board-covered trestle over Swale Creek. The trail is packed
down with a few bumps and divots. You soon pass through 2 more gates, which are
the last for the trip, at least during daylight hours. South of Klickitat are
some gates that are shut after daylight hours.
From here there are some nice views as the walls
of the canyon grow taller with as you bike downhill. If you look, you
can see a house on the rim of the canyon, but this is the last house for
several miles.
Continuing down the canyon, the path is mostly sandy gravel but there are a
couple of 500 foot stretches of loose ballast. One of the trestles has been
covered with rocks washed into the canyon. A short pedal over rocks gets past
the washout. Pass over 3 trestles that aren’t covered with boards. Riding
across the ties is an interesting experience as you pedal across the open ties.
It is a little frightening bumping across the trestles. There are a few spikes
along the trail but very little glass.
After about 9.5 miles, the trees start changing
from Ponderosa Pines to Douglas Firs, with a lot of oak trees on the hills. Even
this far down the canyon, the creek is pretty small in the fall.
The path passes by a couple of old homesteads with a lot of derelict items in
the yard.
At the next trailhead, you will find a KTC port-a-potty in the parking area.
From here, you have to take the road because about 2 miles downstream the
Subrubia bridge is missing.
To rejoin the trail, turn right onto Schilling Road and pedal a short distance
on the gravel, then left onto the paved Horseshoe Bend Road. Continue across
the concrete bridge over the Klickitat River and turn left onto SR 142. This
area along the river is the unincorporated community of Wahkiacus. From here, bike
3 miles downstream to the town of Klickitat.
There isn’t much of a shoulder and in some places there is no shoulder, but the
highway isn’t very busy
Just before the town of Klickitat look for the trail to leave the highway off
to the right. A good place is just before the caboose. You can stop at the
nearby Canyon Market for water or a snack. The trail goes through the town and
then crosses the road just a little bit outside of town.
The trail continues along the Klickitat River down towards the Columbia River.
You pass through a section where someone has planted hundreds of apple trees
along the trail. The trail narrows and goes over a nice little bridge with
gravel approaches.
The next short section of trail is a mountain bike trail as it twists and turns
through the woods and crosses small patches of mud. The trail goes up a small
hill and then rejoins the roadbed.
As Fish On Road, the trail crosses back over Highway 142 and continues to
parallel the river. Look down the dirt road for the continuation of the trail.
In the afternoon the sun settles behind the hills in the west, providing shade
along the trail.
This next section of the trail is across the river from Highway 142. The trail
passes several small farms along the river and passes through several gates
that can be left open during the day.
This section of the trail is in really nice shape and passes under oak trees
and cottonwood trees.
This trail is mostly easy with challenges along the way. At 8 miles from the
lower trailhead is a section that is washed out. There is a path up the hill a
bit and through the woods.
The route passes back into a forest of pine and oak as it gracefully follows
the river. Sometimes you hardly notice the gravel at all because the pedaling
is so easy and you can hear the sounds of the river whenever you stop to admire
the scenery.
Travelling down the trail is a little like travelling through time, seeing
pieces of the past poking through to the present, like parts of old railroad
ties, railroad spikes, rusty bolts, and metal plates. There are even old apple
trees that were loved in the past but are now abandoned to time.
There is a narrow section of trail around 5 miles from the lower trailhead
where the river is slowly washing away the railroad bed. It looks like each
large flood will successively wash away more of the trail until it is gone. You
will want to check trail condition to be sure this section is open. If it
washes out, the steep cliffs along the trail will prevent a detour.
At 2 miles from the lower trailhead, there is a road for the Klickitat Fish
Hatchery which you cross, then cross a small patch of loose gravel and continue
along the well-packed path.
Pass over the Fisher Hill Trestle over the Wild
& Scenic Klickitat River. The trestle has been renovated with a concrete
deck and sturdy railings. From here it is an easy ride paralleling Highway 142
down to the lower trailhead. The trail is well packed gravel all the way down
to the Lyle trailhead.
Enjoy the photos!!
Gallery Pics
Switchback Steve
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| Previous Articles | | Monday, October 22 | | · | Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail, WA |
| · | Klickitat River Trail, WA |
| · | Kynd Outdoors |
| · | Otter Bench, OR |
| Tuesday, September 18 | | · | Smith Rock State Park, OR |
| · | Horseshoe Ridge, WA |
| · | Glacier Basin, WA |
| · | Emmons Moraine Trail, WA |
| Tuesday, June 26 | | · | Plaikni Falls, OR |
| · | Garfield Peak, OR |
| · | Sun Notch, OR |
| · | Sweet Creek Falls Trail, OR |
| · | Coldwater Lake, WA |
| · | Triple C Trail, OR |
| · | Table Mountain, WA (From the north) |
| Thursday, November 03 | | · | Augspurger Mtn, WA |
| · | Dry Creek Falls, OR |
| · | Tryon Creek, OR |
| · | Mazama - Narada Loop, WA |
| · | Paradise River Snowcamp, WA |
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