Kayaking and Hiking Adventures

  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...

  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...

S5 Hike #11 Munson Creek Falls Starting Location:  parking lot at end of gravel road off of Hwy 101 near Tillamook. Point of Interest :  waterfall (tallest in coast range) Distance : 1/4 mile each way Difficulty : Easy, a bit steep in places. Not sure what trail looks like when wet. Bathrooms:  port a potty Parking : yes, small gravel lot EV Chargers :  No I've seen the signs for this State Natural Site every time we've gone to Tillamook, but never stopped until now. I was driving alone, so that helped. I turned off Hwy 101 just south of Tillamook, in Pleasant Valley. The hike is very short, only 1/4 mile. The whole time there's a small creek babbling alongside the trail, and the forest vegetation was very lush and green, which made it a bit difficult to see the waterfall. It's a tall one, over 300 feet, and apparently the tallest in the Coast Range.  There are 2 vantage points you can stop at for a view. The last one on the trail isn't that much clos...

  Season 5 . Hike # - Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Starting Location:  parking lot near entrance Point of Interest :  Wildlife (birds, rabbits) native plants Distance : Variable (trail map ) Difficulty : Easy. Level packed trails that are maintained Bathrooms:  Yes, at visitor center Parking : yes (under construction while we were there.) EV Chargers :  No We actually walked here twice, on the way to and from Yosemite. We stayed in Willows, CA, and this is only about 6 miles from our hotel. The Refuge has walking trails that are well marked, and also a self guided Auto Tour, which was closed while we were there, due to construction on the parking lot and access road. The trails were still open, so we headed out early in the morning to beat the heat. The trails are well marked, and maintained. There were many rabbits running around, and a wide variety of birds. We saw bees and dragonflies as well. We did not take the auto tour, since it was close...

 S5. Hike #7 - Upper Table Rock Starting Location: Upper Rock Trailhead Point of Interest :  Great views of the valley and surrounding mountains, geology,  Distance : about 3 miles, depending on path at the top. Difficulty : Easy to moderate. Some rocky areas on the trail Bathrooms:  Yes Parking :  paved lot with decent amount of parking EV Chargers :  No I I've driven by Table Rock a lot of times in my life, always wondering what the view from the top would be like. We were in town for a wedding nearby, and had the time for a hike, so we headed up. We were staying in Eagle Point, and it was only a 15 minute drive to the Upper Table Rock Trailhead. Did you know that there are 2 Table Rocks? I did not know this until today. There is Upper and Lower Table Rock. Upper is to the East and is a bit taller. The views as you climb are amazing. We got there around 9am, and there were not many hikers, plenty of parking. The weather was perfect for hiking. The path i...

  Ellendale Creek Loop Starting Location:  Yellow Gate, park on side of road about 2 miles up Reuben Boise Road Point of Interest  :   views Length of hike:  4.8 mile loop Level :  Moderate - well kept trails, some steep elevation Bathrooms :  No Parking :  Side of road EV Chargers:   No We hiked this last year, and really liked it, so this hike was about the same. We decided almost last minute to go, since it was close by, and the weather looked decent.  Again, we started the hike by taking the steep horse trail off to the right. It's hard to see the steepness here, but it's manageable. You can stick to the main access road, which would be easier. We also took our dog, Odo along. This is the first time we've taken him on our hikes, mostly since it was close by, and he's been needing a long walk. Our other dog is not able to walk for very long, so she got left behind. The trees are getting tall, and blocking some of the view, but th...

  Boulevard Park - Bellingham, Wa Starting Location:  parking lot Point of Interest  :   trails for hiking, biking, view of Bellingham Bay (swimming)  Length of hike:   We hiked along the bay, about 2 miles out and back Level :  Easy,. mostly paved trails, some gravel, flat Bathrooms :  Yes, flush toilets Parking :  Large paved lot, EV Chargers: I think so? Not sure We came to Bellingham to watch our daughter in the GNAC Championships. Luckily, our nephew also lives here, and brought us to visit Boulevard park, which is lovely. It has a boardwalk along the bay, which leads to a dock, with a fancy restaurant nearby. The hiking was easy, although we did go off the paved path a bit. The park has nice bathrooms, a swimming area, plenty of parking, and a coffee house on site. I think the Western Washington Campus is nearby as well.  It was a lovely day, and we just walked and talked, taking in the scenery, which included cargo ships and sailb...

  Minto Brown Park - Salem Downtown Starting Location:  parking area by the Carousel, Riverfront Park. Point of Interest  :   trails for hiking, biking, river Length of hike:   Several trails, we did just over 5 miles Level :  Easy,. mostly paved trails, some gravel, flat Bathrooms :  Yes, flush toilets Parking :  Large paved lot, EV Chargers: No Another hike through Minto Brown, coupled with a visit to the Elsinore Art Gallery and Frame shop to look at artwork. I tried to get this picture from outside the gallery of us trying to get a picture of Lisa next to her artwork, but it's a bit hard to see with reflections.  A gorgeous day, we were planning to take the longer route because we had more time. We did get a bit lost, mostly because we were talking and not paying attention to signage. I won't go into too much detail, since we've hiked this before. Baiz did bring her dog along, and we had a good time talking and hiking, as usual. After the...

  Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls Starting Location:  Parking lot,  Point of Interest  :  two waterfalls, forest trail Length of hike:   Just over 2 miles, Level :  Easy to moderate Bathrooms :  Yes, pit toilets Parking :  large gravel lot EV Chargers: No $5 Day Use Fee (BLM) with credit card machine (not working) We were fully expecting rain today, and were dressed for it. But somehow it just never showed up while we were hiking.  The drive to Alsea Falls is beautiful, if winding. We came up from Philomath, but there is also a route from the East, by Monroe. Due to recent rains, the flow was pretty high, which made for  a lot of water coming through the falls. Alsea Falls is just a few steps from the bridge over the river, and we could hear it. There is good access to the riverbank, and the trail is well maintained. Here's a video to give you an idea of how powerful it sounded. This is the view from the bridge, and you can see 3 f...