Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  S5 Hike #14 - Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge Starting Location:  parking lot at Ankeny Hill Nature Center Point of Interest :  hiking, education, Distance : depends on trails. Difficulty : easy, flat Bathrooms:  nice bathrooms at Nature Center Parking : yes, paved, and other parking at trail heads EV Chargers :  No I've come across this Refuge on a "shortcut" to I-5. It's just a few miles from I-5, and the Buena Vista Ferry. There's a short hike of less than a mile at the Nature Center, and then you have to drive to a trailhead. The short trail at the Nature Center winds through some wetlands, and connects some building which are used for education purposes, like field trips. There are nice views and a variety of plants which are labeled. While this is a good place to start, if you want to hike, you'll need to drive to a trailhead. So we went to the Pintail, Egret Marsh Boardwalk trailhead. There's a nice boardwalk that winds through a pretty dense ...

  S5 Hike #13 - Big Tree Boardwalk - Rockaway Beach Starting Location:  parking lot off Hwy 101 Point of Interest :  Large Cedar Tree, boardwalk, nature Distance : 0.5 miles each way Difficulty : easy, and accessible Bathrooms:  portapotty Parking : yes, but small lot. Some parking on side of road EV Chargers :  No This is the only sign you get for this hike. It's just after Twin Rocks, before Rockaway Beach. I was lucky enough to get here when it was raining. Pretty hard. I did have my hiking gear, minus my rain pants. So I got pretty wet. However, this is a pretty hike though a dense forest. The boardwalk goes the entire distance, and was in great shape. Honestly, I was almost as interested in the craftmanship of the boardwalk as I was with the sights along the hike. There is a small offshoot of the board walk that goes to an observation platform, but all I could see was underbrush. There were picnic tables, however. When you do get to the tree,...

  S5 Hike #12 - The M Trail Starting Location:  parking lot on Campus Drive across from Aber Hall Point of Interest :  The large concrete M above the University of Montana, Missoula Distance : 3/4 mile each way Difficulty : moderate, due to steepness, decent path with rocks to watch out for. Bathrooms:  flush toilets at base of trail at parking lot Parking : yes, but pay attention to if you need a permit EV Chargers :  No, but some other places around campus. We were in Missoula, helping our daughter move into student housing, and this looked like a fun, Missoula thing to do. Apparently this is a very popular hike. The trail is in good shape. The main issue is the steepness. There are 13 switchbacks to help make the trail manageable, with plenty of places to stop and rest, including some nice benches. While we were there, we saw runners going up and down the trail, families with small kids, and one mom carrying her young son in a backpack. There w...