*** Kings Peak
(Tillamook State Forest on your way to the beach) : Its a challenging
3000 ft. climb in 3 miles but the trail is fairly reasonable except for
the last mile where it heads up sharply with relatively few switchbacks.
Coming down, the potential for a few slips and slides is quite bright so
leave the sneakers home for this one. You can see the ocean and Hood and
Adams from the top. The extra-rugged hikers can go back via Elks traverse
(I didn't because of deep snow). pic:
"summit" shot,(6 miles roundtrip, 3000 ft., done 4/17/99). * Salmonberry River
(Tillamook State Forest, OR) : This trail is quite mediocre. I got
hoodwinked into going on this hike because it was touted as a steelhead
count survey by the Sierra Club. I had visions of a river teeming with
fish and steelhead jumping up waterfalls just like they show in nature
shows. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. The road to this
trailhead branches off of highway 26 near mile marker 21. Take the scenic
Spruce County Park road 13 miles to where Nehalem and Salmonberry rivers
meet. Trail is flat and runs along a railroad track which is used to
transport logged timber from the coast to Home Depots in Portland. There
are numerous points to scramble down to the river bank. The forest is
mixed alder and fir and presents very nice contrast of bright and dark
green. We did see a couple of steelheads mating. The female just stood in
one place and fluttered, periodically it would turn on its side and use
its fin to turn over gravel/stones in the river bed in preparation for
laying eggs. The male, meanwhile, was going bonkers trying to keep other
males away and patrolling his "territory". We basically walked
along the river and marked "redds". Redds are patches of lighter
colored gravel where the fish have turned the rocks over, so that they
stand out against the algae-tinted rocks of the river bed. We marked
several of these "redds" with pink ribbons tied to stones and
thrown into the river. I guess I did learn one thing, steelhead is not
salmon but a species of trout. Also steelhead swims back to the sea after
mating whereas salmon screw themselves to death and litter the river with
their carcasses (6 mi., 0 ft., done 5/6/00). ***** Saddle Mountain
(Coast Range 10 miles from Seaside, OR) : This hike is the
prettiest one I have done in the Coast range. It begins at the parking
lot/campground of Saddle Mountain State Park. The trail starts
switchbacking pretty steadily right from the beginning and doesn't ease up
much after that until it descends to the saddle. First 1 mile has quaint
little 0.25 mile markers. Also large stumps of logged old-growth trees.
The forest is initially a mix of alder and evergreens but changes to fir
as you ascend. About midway you come out on some rocky outcrops with nice
views of Saddle mountain itself. The rock is volcanic and has some shiny
obsidian/quartz type glints in it. Now the trail climbs even more sharply
and there are segments with fence wire embedded into the trail to provide
better traction. Also you start seeing a lot of wildflowers. Its nothing
quite so profuse as Dog Mountain but there is a lot more variety. I am no
flower expert but I identified iris, daisy, succulents, phlox, and Indian
paint brush. There is also a small pink flower that I suspect was the rare
"Saddle Mountain Bittercress" that only grows in this area in
the world. Anyway, the trail goes up and around one hump of the saddle and
then descends about 200 ft to the saddle of saddle mountain on a series of
wooden ladders. Then there is a final steep climb to the summit on the
other hump of the mountain. The sweeping views from the top are
mind-blowing. The 360 deg. view of the ocean beaches, Astoria bridge,
Columbia River, River's sand bar and all the 5 big boys of the Cascades
(Rainier, Helens, Adams, Hood, Jefferson) is the best I have seen in the
NW. You also see the ugly scars of clear-cut hillsides all around. Totally
ravaged and very depressing. I had earlier doubted the advisability of my
decision to haul my heavy binoculars up there but it was well worth it. I
slipped on the trail on the way down. Scraped my hands and knees pretty
badly on the jagged rocks and gravel that they use for trail maintenance.
The gravel is OK if its spread on soil but very tricky on rocky surfaces
because it rolls on the underlying hard rock like little ball bearings.
However I made it down in one piece. Don't expect solitude on this hike.
All in all a very nice hike. (6 miles, 1900 ft, done 6/18/00, 5/03). *** University Falls Loop (Tillamook State Forest) This hike has its nice features but
is marred by the fact that the trail crosses many dirt bike and ATV
trails. It starts out on south side of highway 6 mile marker 33. The trail
is called Nel Rogers trail (some signs proclaim it as the Old Historic
Hiking trail)). It is well marked with signs warning dirt bikers to stay
off it. It initially winds among the young forest with occasional massive
stumps giving silent testimony to the rapaciousness of logging. There is
even new timber sale signs for fresh logging that will further scar the
landscape. The trail is extremely muddy during rain because of mountain
bikers who also use the trail. I suspect many dirt bikers also don't
respect the signs warning motorized vehicles to stay off this sole hiking
trail in the area. The trail parallels Wilson river for a while then
crosses over an open ridge and winds its way towards Elliot creek. This is
probably the quietest section of the trail with some nice Sitka spruce
trees and huge fallen logs. University Falls is a very pretty waterfall
with the terraced kind of look that I associate with Ramona falls. The
return is along Gravel Trail which follows Elliot creek. Towards the end
you cross over the creek and follow a slippery and muddy trail which is
shared with dirt bikes. This trail will deposit you on the Highway a
quarter of a mile below mile marker 33 so you walk back along the highway.
This trail has a lot of pretty coastal rainforest features but you do have
to deal with the angry buzzing of dirt bikes that seldom go out of
earshot. On the plus side I didn’t encounter a single hiker on the
trail.(Hmm, maybe the two things are connected) View
of Univ. falls ( 8.5 miles, 700 ft, done 1/22/2001). ***Elk Mountain (Coast
Range along Hwy 6) : A shorter cousin of King Mountain but equally
sadistic in its uphill tendencies. Did this hike mid-week on what was
supposed to be a partly sunny day. However when I crossed over the range
the weather turned completely rainy. Since I was not about to turn back
after driving 40 miles so I pressed ahead. The trailhead was a short walk
up the access road to Elk Creek campground (gated off during winter). The
sign at the trail head says 1.6 miles to summit, what it conveniently
omits to mention is the 1900 ft elevation gain. The elk mtn. trail
branched off to the right soon after the start of the hike. The next
section is quite steep. The forest floor is thickly covered with ferns and
a small evergreen broad-leafed shrub. They even crowd the trail so at
points it felt as if I was wading in a sea of greenery. The trail
continued up at a relentless pace. Every so often it would come out on a
rocky overlook with nice views of the Wilson river and the highway as well
as cloud-shrouded coast range. Rest of the way was in a young forest with
dead trees left standing here and there from forest fires of 60 years ago.
The trail does a few ups and downs towards the end as it angles up to the
summit. However it is no doubt one of the steepest trails I have hiked. I
turned back a short way before the summit since it was getting dark early.
The nonstop rain and clouds had obscured the view anyway. Had to hike out
the last part of the rail with a flash light. It seems to have become a
regular pattern over the last few weeks. It took me about the same time to
go down as it took me to go up since the steepness of the trail and muddy
conditions required some careful stepping on descent ( 3 miles, 1900 ft,
done 1/4/2002) A tired Diamir contemplates the trail.
***** Harris Ranch (10
miles inland from Waldport) : A great winter backpack. I was
hankering for the outdoors after avoiding hiking during Ramadan. It had
been a very wet December with Portland tying its all-time record of 34
consecutive days of rain. As usual it took me much longer than anticipated
to get to the trailhead. There were a couple of hippies camped out at the
trailhead in the obligatory VW van. They did not seem too happy to see me
and I speculated if they were tending to their secret marijuana plantation
in the forest. Brushing these idle musings aside, I quickly packed up and
started out at 4:30 p.m.. It soon got dark but I decided to continue in the
twilight without breaking out the flashlight. The trail kept heading
downhill at a steady angle. Soon the first obstacle presented itself. A
huge cedar tree had fallen across a switchback in the trail. Climbing over
the trunk and negotiating the obstacle course of radiating limbs with a
heavy pack was quite a feat for me since it was getting pretty dark. The
trail had abundant windfall and was even washed out in one place. It did
not look as if anybody had hiked it recently. After steady hiking for
about a couple of hours I noticed that the trail leveled off and the trees
changed to alder. The noisy sounds of Drift creek soon became audible and
the trail faded off into multiple branches in a meadow choked with
blackberry bushes. I made an uncannily accurate beeline for a nice camp
spot by the river. After congratulating myself on this accomplishment , I
pitched the tent and cooked up a cup of noodles. The night was clear after
32 days of continuous rain. The river waters looked ethereally beautiful
in the light of an almost full moon. It was too wet to even consider a
camp fire so I hit the sack early. The pooch also seemed tired and slept
at night. Apart from him growling at some animal around 1 am, the night
was uneventful.
Next morning was bright, cold and clear. The weather finally seemed to be cooperating after a long time. I stood by the stream and warmed myself in the light of the weak winter sun. A walk along the banks revealed many other nice camp sites. It was nice to have the entire place to myself. The stream was quite swollen from recent rains and there was no question of fording it for the loop hike mentioned in the hiking book. I lost my coffee mug lid in the fast flowing current and it vanished so quickly that I could not even wade in and grab it. After coffee and a lunch of tuna helper, I packed up and headed out. The hike up was surprisingly easy since the trail was very well graded with no serious steep sections. Negotiating the tree fall and washout also proved much easier in the daylight. The forest floor is thickly covered with ferns and there were some thorny deciduous bushes along the way as well. Some of these had fallen across the trail as well and I again patted myself on the back for having negotiated all this mess in the dark of the night. The forest is prime old-growth with massive trees dotted throughout the length of the trail. There are occasional openings that provide nice views of the Drift Creek valley. I made it out in a couple of hours. The truck seemed unviolated and the hippies were gone. I had gotten my camping fix even in the dead of winter. ( 5.6 miles, 1200 ft, done 12/23-24/01)
View of Campsite by Drift Creek .
***** Cascade Head (Coast near Neskowin, OR) :
This was a group hike sponsored by the Sierra Club. The trailhead
parking is about 0.25 miles away from trailhead and no dogs are allowed
on trail. The inital part is quite steep but mercifully it was in shade
in a mature Sitka spruce forest. This part is on national forest land
but the scenic latter half of the trail is Nature Conservancy land. .
Then it entered a brushy section where somebody had done an excellent
job of clearing the thorny brushes away from the trail. The brush was
thick enough that it formed a canopy overhead and made me feel like I
was going through a tunnel. Finally the trail broke out onto a
grass-covered headland with excellent views of the ocean and the sandy
beach below stretching away to the horizon. The trail continues to
switchback up the grassy meadow which was punctuated by pink foxgloves
(source of the heart disease medicine Digitalis). I developed painful
heel blisters here since this was the first real hike with my new
boots. I hope this situation will resolve itslef after a few hike or
else I am stuch with a pair of fairly expensive and uncomfortable
boots. I stopped at the survey marker at the top and we returned the
way we came after lunch. Stopped at Kiwanada beach for a stroll on the
way back. (5 miles, 1200 ft, done 7/21/2002)
View from my lunch spot, the rock outcropping on extreme right has an arch being carved into it by the sea.
View inland from Cascade Head.
View of the beach below.
**** Ecola State Park :
(Near Canon Beach, OR): A short hike up an old dirt road lead to old
WWII era bunkers surrounded by swampy ground. There was a nice view
down to some sea stacks and ocean. There were also some fairly new
camping huts up there but no water source. (5 miles, 400 ft elevation
gain, Done 2/2/05) **** Ecola State Park /Indian Beach:
Nice short hike that started from the view point parking lot. The trail crossed a bridge over a marshy area with blooming skunk cabbages before becoming very muddy as it climbed up to the saddle with nice views of the offshore light house and Indian Beach.
The trail on the other side of the parking lots descends to Crescent Beach but is badly eroded and a little treacherous at the lower end. I spotted a whole ehrd of elk grazing placidly, oblivious to hikers and sightseers, on the slopes above this trail.
**** Neahkanie Mountain( near Nehalem Bay, OR)
: Nice and easy hike in the coast range. The trail switchbacks through
nice sitka spruce forest, crosses a dirt road and then reaches the open
area near the top. Small scramble trails lead to the summit which has
great view of the Nehalem bay and river below. (5 miles, 400 ft
elevation gain, Done 2/2/05) Junaid Omar Last modified: Thu Apr 30 12:37:03 PDT 2009
