Paul Gerald - 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland: Including the Coast, Mounts Hood and St. Helens, and the Santiam River

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Portland

Copyright 2018

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Sixth edition, first printing

Project editor: Kate Johnson

Cover design and cartography: Scott McGrew and Tim Kissel

Interior design: Jonathan Norberg

Cover photos: (front) Vista Ridge; (back, clockwise from top) Ape Canyon, Triple Falls, Silver Star Mountain: Ed's Trail, and Lava Canyon, all by Paul Gerald

Interior photos: Paul Gerald, except the following: : Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Proofreader: Susan Roberts McWilliams

Indexer: Rich Carlson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Gerald, Paul, 1966- author.

Title: 60 hikes within 60 miles Portland / Paul Gerald.

Other titles: Sixty hikes within sixty miles Portland

Description: Sixth edition. | Birmingham, Ala. : Menasha Ridge Press, 2018. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018000286 | ISBN 9781634040846 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781634040853 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: HikingOregonPortland RegionGuidebooks. | TrailsOregonPortland RegionGuidebooks. | Portland Region (Or.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.42.O72 P6738 2018 | DDC 796.5109795/49dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018000286

MENASHA RIDGE PRESS
An imprint of AdventureKEEN
2204 First Ave. S, Ste. 102
Birmingham, Alabama 35233

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DISCLAIMER This book is meant only as a guide to select trails in the Portland, Oregon, area and does not guarantee hiker safetyyou hike at your own risk. Neither Menasha Ridge Press nor Paul Gerald is liable for property loss or damage, personal injury, or death that may result from accessing or hiking the trails described in this guide. Be especially cautious when walking in potentially hazardous terrains with, for example, steep inclines or drop-offs. Do not attempt to explore terrain that may be beyond your abilities. Please read carefully the introduction to this book, as well as safety information from other sources. Familiarize yourself with current weather reports and maps of the area you plan to visit (in addition to the maps provided in this guidebook). Be cognizant of park regulations, and always follow them. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this guidebook, land and road conditions, phone numbers and websites, and other information can change from year to year.

Dedication

With immense gratitude and respect, I dedicate this book to the people who build and maintain the trails.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

At some point, the task of thanking everyone associated with this book just becomes too much. The whole idea that I am the one who writes it even starts to blur a little; I get so much help, information, support, and companionshipand so many of you read and use this workthat it seems more like ours than mine. Whenever I meet somebody out on the trail who is using this book (and assuming they arent lost or injured), I get a powerful sense that we, together, are enjoying these places and benefiting from our work. So thank you, most of all.

Of course, there are dozens of people behind the scenes who make this happen, starting with all the people at Menasha Ridge Pressnone of whom Ive even had the chance to meet in person! First and foremost is Molly Merkle, who for years has patiently answered all my tedious questions and tolerated my somewhat adversarial relationship with deadlines. For this edition, its mainly been project editor Kate Johnson putting up with me. Then there are the people who turn my Word files, photos, and GPS tracks into the book youre holding: Annie Long, Scott McGrew, and Tim Kissel. Thanks to Allison Brown for patiently explaining my royalties reportsmany timesand to Tanya Twerdowsky and Liliane Opsomer for letting the world know the book exists.

I processed a lot of information for this book, much of which came from the U.S. Forest Service, Oregon State Parks, oregonhikers.org, the Columbia Gorge Visitors Center, Washington State Parks, the Mazamas, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, and the amazing book Oregon Geographical Names from the Oregon Historical Society Press. (I am proud to own a signed copy of the seventh edition, revised and updated by Lewis L. McArthur, and I recommend it highly.)

Once I put all the information together, I needed somebody to make sure I wasnt completely out of touch with reality. Enter a small army of patient employees of various federal, state, and private agencies who interrupted their busy schedule to review all the text. My humble thanks to them all: Stephen Anderson, Tom Atiyeh, Lynn Barlow, J. W. Cleveland, Jane Dooley, Susan Freston, Brandon Haraughty, Greg Hawley, Karen Houston, Lorie Hutton, Robin Jensen, Breanne Jordan, Heather Latham, Mark Marshall, Pete Marvin, Gary McDaniel, Jacquelyn Oakes, Randy Peterson, Erik Plunkett, Dean Robertson, Tom Robinson, Kevin Strandberg, Bob Stillson, Rick Swart, and Gary Walker. Special thanks also to Tom Kloster for his WyEast Blog and that thing he and his friends did up at Mount Hood. Ryan Ojerio with the Washington Trails Association was fantastic with Coyote Wall and Cape Horn. And thanks to Becky Schreiber for helping out so much with the trails in Hoyt Arboretumand for loaning me Buddy the beagle on occasion.

Of course, a hike is a lonely experience without good friends to share it with. Special mention here has to go to Kelly Podshadley for being my most frequent hiking buddy and my hiking safety check-in partner. May you finish all 60 soon! And here is a list of the folks who made researching this sixth edition such an enjoyable experience: Mehdi Akhavein, Debbie Bauer, Sherry Bourdin, Jennifer Brown, Peter Carew, Jim Chase, Tom Eggers, Gwen Farnham, Laura Foster, Andrew Franklin, Craig Frerichs, Jane Garbisch, Steve Gilbert, Regis Krug, Ann Johnson, Bob Malone, Lorin Moentenich, Avis Newell, Judy Olivier, West Post, Pam Probst, Martin Schwartz, Maria Shindler, Margaret Smith, Kathy Stefan, Sue Stonecliffe, Jim Van Lente, Norma Vincent, Eric Wheeler, and Leslie Woods-Eggers. Ive done a horrendous job of keeping notes on who accompanied me along the way, and I absolutely left people out. I apologize in advance. I also literally copied and pasted those last two sentences from the fifth edition!

And finally, a lifetime of love and thanks to my family back east: Marjorie and Barry Gerald; Lee, Lela, and Jack Gerald and Max Simpson; and Lucy, Becky, David, Jeff, and Charlie Cook.

Paul Gerald

FOREWORD

Welcome to Menasha Ridge Presss 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles, a series designed to provide hikers with the information they need to find and hike the best trails surrounding metropolitan areas.

Our strategy is simple: First, find a hiker who knows the area and loves to hike. Second, ask that person to spend a year researching the most popular and best trails around. And third, have that person describe each trail in terms of difficulty, scenery, condition, elevation change, and other categories that are important to most hikers. Pretend youve just completed a hike and met up with other hikers at the trailhead, we told each author. Imagine their questions, and be clear in your answers.