Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  Season 6 . Hike # 13 - D og Mountain Starting Location:  Parking Lot off Hwy 14 Point of Interest :  Views of Gorge, wildflowers Distance : about 6 miles (3 up and down) Difficulty : difficult due to steepness Bathrooms:  Yes. 2 pit toilets at start of trail Parking : about 70 spots in gravel lot, permit required EV Chargers :  no Dogs OK? yes, on leash -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This hike was to celebrate my daughter's 30th birthday. Lots of friends and family came camping, and also on this hike.  We camped at Big Cedars Campground in nearby Willard, Washington. It had a large group camping area that came in handy for our large group. It was close enough to get to Dog Mountain, and far enough to be secluded. We had been practicing for this hike, which we heard is difficult and steep.  It is. I think I heard someone say, right as we passed the restrooms onto the trail itself, "Is the whole t...

  Season 6 . Hike # 12 - Diamond Creek Loop and Salt Creek Falls Starting Location:  Parking lot for Salt Creek Falls, just past tunnel on Hwy 58 past Oakridge Point of Interest :  Waterfalls, forest, creek Distance : about 4 mile loop (lollipop) Difficulty : easy to moderate (mud, slope) Bathrooms:  Yes. Bathrooms at Salt Creek were under construction as of 5/26, but there are bathrooms at nearby snow park (1/2 mile) Parking : plenty of parking, paved EV Chargers :  no Dogs OK? yes, on leash Trail Map Our original plan for hiking today was Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood. Then we saw the weather advisory for the Northern Cascades for snow. So we went to the middle Cascades instead, and guess what? Snow. Not a ton, but we were above 4000 feet elevation, and although it wasn't sticking much, we were hiking through snowflakes.  The views, however, were still amazing.  The construction at the trailhead took some of the prime viewing areas out of boun...

  Season 6 . Hike #11 - Dimple Hill via Patterson Road (McDonald Research Forest) Starting Location:  parking lot off Sulpher Spring Road Point of Interest :  views of Corvallis, forest Distance : 5 miles out and back Difficulty : easy, some steepness Bathrooms:  yes, at parking lot (and PP at top) Parking : paved lot off road EV Chargers :  no Dogs OK? yes On our way to this hike, coming from Dallas, we passed a lot of trailheads that looked interesting. I didn't realize how many hiking trails there are in this area between Dallas and Corvallis. We got to the parking lot around 3pm, to find that a 50k Ultramarathon hike had started around 7am. Luckily, most of the crowd had finished, so we almost had the trail to ourselves. This hike is a part of the McDonald Douglas Research forest, which I also did not realize extended out this far. Patterson Road actually begins at the Peavy Arboretum off of Hwy 99, and goes all the way to Dimple Hill. We hiked alo...

  Season 6 Hike #10 - Cascade Head Starting Location: K night Park , north of Lincoln City Point of Interest :  views of the Pacific and Salmon River Distance : about 6 miles up and back, depending how far up the trail you go. Difficulty : moderate to difficult Bathrooms:  yes, at Knight Park Parking : paved, and Knight Park. EV Chargers :  no Dogs? : No Dogs This is a well marked trail. The first part goes through private land and along a private road, where there are signs asking you to stay off the road. The trail is also well maintained, with several small bridges, boardwalks, and crafted staits. Parts of the trail are very steep, there are tree roots, and I can imagine how difficult it would be when muddy. we were lucky there, with a dry trail and great weather. Our first glimpse of the ocean, but we are still on private land. The public part of the trail starts here, along the private road. It's about 1/2 mile or so from Knight Park. This is where it...