October 22, 2011 - Hike 19

Medium Geocache Ammo Box

Geocache Hike in Forest Park - Cannon Trail - Approximately 3 miles













My friend loves to hike and geocache. So after our 10 mile hike out Leif Erickson Drive in Forest Park. We decided to hike a little of the Wildwood Trail to find a couple of geocaches. If you are not familiar with Geocaching, it is a hobby born when on May 2, 2000 the government switched off the selective availability to GPS. This allowed average everyday people to be able to find very specific locations using a hand-held GPS. The first Geocache was called "Great American GPS Stash Hunt".

On May 3, Dave Ulmer, a computer consultant, wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods. He called the idea the "Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and posted it in an internet GPS users' group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would have to find the "Stash" using only a GPS unit. The rules were simple. Take something out of the box and leave something behind. Since that day, the hobby has exploded and gone world-wide. There was even a geocache on the space station. Others can be found anywhere. There is probably one within a 1 to 2  mile radius of you right now.

Ken and I first did geocaching with the kids in 2002. We loved to hike and the geocache was a way to get the kids to love it as well. They took their little hand-crafted gekkos that were made out of beads to put in the boxes. They usually got something like a fast food toy in exchange. They loved the hunt for the boxes.

If you are interested in geocaching, check out geocaching.com. It is a nice addition to hiking and a good reason to get out into the woods.

October 22, 2011 - Hike 18

Leif Erickson Trail off Germantown Rd in Forest Park - Approximately 10 miles

I went hiking with a new friend in Forest Park. We started at Germantown Road on Leif Erickson Trail. It is a very nice hike. Leif Erickson Drive is a well maintained road/trail (closed to motor vehicles now) that winds through Forest Park. There are very steep hills that boarder the road. They are all covered with mossy trees and lots of beautiful ferns.

My friend likes to geocache as told me that there are a couple of vehicles that drove off Leif Erickson Drive back in the 70s that are still there. One day she wants to go back to get the geocache that is in one of the cars. We were able to see one of the cars from the trail. It looks like it would be quite an adventure to hike down to get it. "I'm game".

It was a beautiful day with gorgeous fall colors to look at. This hike would be good for bikes, strollers or even a tough wheel chair. We went out about 5 miles when the road runs into the Saltzman Road trail before returning back to Germantown road. Good hike with good company!

October 17, 2011 - Hike 17

Photo taken from Freeway Overpass

Urban Hike around Gilbert and Higley, Arizona - Approximately 5-6 miles.
















Decided to do an urban hike around my sister's home town of Gilbert and ended up walking through Higley as well.  I started the hike from my sisters house. She lives is an very beautiful neighborhood with well kept yards and the streets are clean and well maintained. I had my phone GPS with me and decided to walk from local park to local park to local park. In my mind it would be an urban park hike. The area was beautiful. There were many samples of nice trees and pretty, fragrant flowers.

Tree about 1/2 mile from sister's house

Fragrant Flowers

As I was about to leave my sister's neighborhood, I came upon the wall that separates the neighborhood from the freeway. Here is where it really began to feel like a true "Urban hike". I love this picture below. I went from well maintained homes with swimming pools to this in a matter of one block.

After crossing the highway, I stopped into the local Walmart to get a bottle of water and ended up getting my hair cut. Go figure, but I had some time and was looking a little scraggly. After the hair cut, I decided to find the park that had that appeared on my phone GPS to have a large lake right in the center. It was only about 3/4 of a mile from Walmart. Below is what I found once I got there. It really was just a large cement pond with a little gazebo and a few ducks.

 After visiting the park, I ended up in a city called Higley. It was not nearly as nice as Gilbert but it had several farms with horses. I found it quite surprising that within one urban hike you can go from such an affluent neighborhood that is well maintained to a small community with not so well maintained farms. Higley was much more interesting though. It had pomegranate trees, big dogs, horses, old barnes, dirt roads and lots of cute kids running around. All in all, this was a very interesting hike.

October 15, 2011 - Hike 16

My sister

Hike with my sister in Phoenix at South Mountain. Approximately -
7-8 miles. Temperature High 80s











I had a wonderful time visiting my sister in Phoenix last weekend. It was nice to get away from the rain in Portland and head to such a warm area. It got up to the high 90's most of the days that I was there. The swimming pool was quite a treat. It was interesting that my sister, neice and nephew felt it was too cold to swim. I felt the water was refreshing and it felt wonderful to warm up on the pool deck after swimming. Also had the best barbeque chicken, made by my sister and her husband. I need to look for Snider's Barbeque spice here in Portland. Also enjoyed spending time with the youngsters (really teenagers).

Anyway, the hiking at South Mountain was fun, mostly because I was able to spend time chatting with my sister. The whole hike looked pretty much the same. I guess that's what you expect in the Sonoran Desert. I am sure that people who live in Phoenix recognize and appreciate the beauty and diversity of the park. I think it is just different than what I am used to here in the Pacific Northwest. I did get a few good pictures.

Cactus

Brown desert rocks with city in background

October 9, 2011 - Hike 15

Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail, Columbia River Gorge - Approximately 2-3 miles roundtrip.


To get to this trail from Portland, take I-84 east to exit 69 Mosier. Turn right; the road curves left toward the town of Mosier. At the base of the bridge, turn left and circle under the bridge. Drive ~1 mile to the trailhead parking lot on the left. This trail would be fantastic on a bike! It extends much further than what we hiked.



This beautiful hike used to be Highway 30 (the original Columbia River Highway) high along the cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge. The two tunnels on this part of the old highway was a trouble spot where rock falls were common. The new highway opened in 1954.

I really enjoyed hiking on this trail. There were great views of the river. The trail is also fairly flat and would be easily enjoyed by bikes, wheelchairs, or strollers. The people I was hiking with were also doing a little geocaching. It made the hike all the more interesting with a little treasure hunting thrown in. One of the geocaches was hidden on the top of the first tunnel. I got to do a mini rock climb to find it. It was really fun!

At about the time we were ready to turn around, we looked out over the Columbia River to find a double rainbow. What a treat! The first rainbow looked like it ended right at the small island in the Columbia River. If you have a boat, you might want to look for a pot of gold next time you are out that way. This was a great hike to add to my building collection of memories.



October 9, 2011 - Hike 14

Mitchell Point, Columbia Gorge - 2.6 miles round trip.

The trailhead is located at exit 58 on I-84 eastbound. There is parking good parking for quite a few cars. Not many other people out on the trail this day. We only passed a couple of other people.








Mitchell Point is an absolutely gorgeous hike with wonderful views of the gorge and Columbia River. Although the trail is only 2.6 miles round trip it feels like more because it is very steep and sometimes rugged. You gain 1300 feet in about a mile. Once at the top, you can climb on the rocks to get the amazing view. Those who are afraid of heights can enjoy the view from the lower rocks.


This first photo was taken about half way up the trail.

It was a cloudy day but I had a wonderful time. I did the hike with a wonderful group of ladies. We had a great time and really enjoyed each others companies. The conversations on the trail were both entertaining and informative. I look forward to hiking with them again. We took a couple of group photos which are posted below.

Below are the amazing views from the top of Mitchell Point. Isn't it just spectacular living in Oregon. We have some of the most beautiful places within a few hours drive. I just wish it would be a little more sunny in the winter.



October 8, 2011 - Hike 13

Stub Stewart State Park - Hike to Boomscooter Pond
Approximately 3 miles including a round of disc golf


Stub Stewart State Park is 31 miles west of Portland. Take Highway 26 almost to Vernonia. Turn North on Highway 47 about 5-7 miles. The park is named after Loran "Stub" Stewart who served for nearly 40 years on the State Parks and Recreation Advisory. He was a timber and lumber company owner. At one time he employed more than 2,000 people.

The park has many trails for both humans and horses. It also has a couple of campgrounds. It has a cute Mountain Dale Cabin Village with approximately cute little cabins with electricity.

This was my first hike this year where I could smell fall. I love the smell of the cottonwoods in the fall. The odor is very unique and calming...very earthy. The day was a little cloudy but the leaves had not begun to turn color.

While hiking we came across the little guy below. I believe he was a garter snake but not really sure. He was a little cold and therefore slow moving so we were able to get his picture. He was a long snake about 2 feet in length. A little longer than I am used to seeing.
After hiking we decided to play a little disc golf. The course is very challenging. It is in amongst the trees and often you can not see the basket from the tee area. It was quite amusing because I felt like I was playing pin ball. The disk would hit one tree and bounce to the next. Amazingly I was getting par about every other basket.

It was a good day for a hike and golf and that makes 13/50.

October 1, 2011 - Hike 12

Gorge Trail #400 Hike - 10 miles east of Cascade Locks on I-84  - Approximately 3 miles.

We started out our day at Hood River Oregon. I had purchased a gift certificate for Ken to go on a sail plane (Glider) ride. He flew with NW Sky Sports (Gary Boggs). Gary was a wonderful pilot and Ken's ride ended up being about 45 minutes long. There were evidently large up currents that allow the plane to soar much longer. The pilot of the engine plane was Ben Davidson who also works for the air and auto museum in Hood River. Below are photos before take off and during their flight right before they cut the rope loose. Ken had a great time and would recommend Gary to anyone wishing for an adventure.

On our way back to Portland I decided to do a Gorge hike. We pulled off I-84 at the exit for the Wyeth Campground. We decided to do the Gorge #400 trail. You can access this trail from the backside of the Wyeth Campground. Take the trail about 1/4 mile till you reach a foot bridge on your right. We went to the right over the foot bridge. If you go to the left there is a 11 mile round trip hike to North Lake. We plan to do that trail at a later time.

The campground had closed for the season the day before, so we were all alone on the trail. You can park outside the campground and walk in. The trail was quite pleasant and looked like it is not traveled very much. There were many landslides of rock that are now covered in several inches of moss. The landscape seemed surreal. See the picture below.

We hiked about a mile and a half in for a 3 mile round trip hike. The beginning of the hike was beautiful but you could hear a lot of the I-84 noise as with many of the trails in the Gorge. But after about a mile, it became very quiet. Before turning around, we stopped and took time to lay down on the trail to listen to the rail in the trees. It was very meditative (quiet and peaceful). It was not raining hard enough for us to get too wet. Most of the rain was stopped by the leaves. Overall, this was a very peaceful, nice hike on a early fall day.