salmon river trail

Some days, I wonder if my memory is failing me.

I can't seem to remember to buy everything on my list at the grocery, I forget where I've laid my keys, birthdays slip my mind.

But yesterday I was reminded that perhaps my brain just wants to love what it remembers.

I met Julie just as dawn was breaking, excited to introduce her to a trail I had run before - the Salmon River Trail on the lower hills of Mt Hood. It was one of the first trails I had ever run; I earned my first bloody knee on its winding course. I remember trying to run the first big climb and having to walk, feeling I had failed. Thankfully I am an ultrarunner now and can dispense with such nonsense.

The trail begins along the river - two and a half miles of easy running along the shore of the lively Salmon River. We started at the campground so it was an out and back, and as I ran along the trail I had walked with my girls a couple of summers ago, I could remember trees and turns, places they had played. My memory wasn't failing me at all.

Autumn is on its last legs now, leaving bright spots of color along the ground.

After the river portion, you begin a gentle climb to some gorge-like terrain.

After some fairly level running, you climb again to this open spot. The sun warmed our faces and hearts.

Julie's favorite spot of the day.

We finally reached the top of the ridge - I only had to screech "Yowch" one time - and then continued on along the ridges above the river. We could in fact have gone out 15 miles, but we ran out of time and only made 17 on the day. (Not that we were planning to go that far anyways...we aren't overachievers!)

A forest rainbow

The Salmon River Trail is a great trail for a training run. Highly runnable, non-technical, with great views and nice swimming holes (if you head out on a hot day), it's a runner's paradise. Several other trails in the area allow for loops or gnarly climbs if you are so inclined. (We only climbed about 3,600 feet - the Green Canyon trail climbs nearly this far in 3 miles...)

Hikes in the area:
Salmon Butte
Devil's Peak 
Salmon River

eagle creek

You know what I love about seeing other runners on the trail?

They are always smiling. The grit it out, get it done face is absent among the mountains and the creeks. Runners are friendly, wanting to chat and share trail conditions, routes and favorite spots.

And when we get to run trails like these, it's impossible to not be grinning like a child.

The Eagle Creek trail is a technical, scenic, popular trail in the Gorge. If you could only do one trail here, this might be my pick. While not the best choice for a solid training run, it's delightful for the sheer density of trail awesomeness.

Lower Punch Bowl Falls

Loowit Falls

High Bridge.

The view from High Bridge.

We were treated to tricks of light all day long.

You might have to be part goat to run these trails really fast. Or at least an Ironman. We met a guy on the trail who was running this trail so fast, we could hardly wrap our mind around it.

We also met a guy with the park service who was telling us the best time to come up the trail is during the winter. Yeah, he said, you might have freezing rain the size of golf balls so that these rocky trails are covered in ice, but that's just in the morning, he assured us. It melts off by the afternoon. Gulp.

Tunnel Falls

The tunnel behind Tunnel Falls. It is actually blasted from the rock.

Twister Falls.

Right near our turn-around point.

 It really was a spectacular fall day. Every turn of the trail elicited squeals of delight.

Punch Bowl Falls. Argh - I need a filter for these sunny days.

 

Hike information: http://www.nwhiker.com/CGNSAHike37.html

larch mountain

Damn, I am a lucky girl. Er, woman. This is what I got to do today:

Multnomah Falls is usually so crowded that I've never taken the time to check out the view from the first bridge. This morning, the lot was empty. Turns out, it is quite pretty from there.

A familiar sight, now in brilliant color.

I did not remember seeing this creek on Sunday when we came down from Franklin Ridge. No matter how many times you run the trails, there are always new things to see. Especially if you are senile.

A foxglove blooms late in to the season.

We chose to run up to Larch Mountain from the bottom of the Gorge. If you drive to the top, this is the hardest part you'll face.

In case you weren't sure how high you had climbed, the nice folks who built the viewing ramp reminded you how far you had come.

The Columbia River basin, far below.

On the left, St Helens, in the middle, Rainier, and on the right, Adams. 

Mt Adams in the distance.

And a shot of Mt Hood.

We finished off the adventure with a quick trip to Oneonta Gorge. Our flip-flops weren't the best choice to try and scramble over the logjam, so we'll leave that for another day. 

franklin ridge, columbia gorge

Conquered a sweet little 15 mile loop in the Gorge.

Taking off from Multnomah Falls, you cut over to the Oneota trail, climb and climb and climb to Franklin Ridge, bust your behind across the ridge, and then drop back down to Multnomah Falls and Wahkeena Falls for the finish. Quiet trails, babbling creeks, ridge views, autumn leaves...what better way to spend a Sunday?

Appropriately named Triple Falls.

Did I mention we climbed a bit? About 5,000 feet in a little less than 15 miles.

 

I am a sucker for photos of rock cliffs. Whatever.

The route details: Franklin Ridge loop
We added on mileage by heading towards Wahkeena Falls to get back down to Multnomah, rather than battling the crowds on the switchbacks down.

paradise park, mount hood

Near the end of the school year, my running partner Julie and I realized that if we woke up really early, we could sneak in a good trail run during the week and make it back to Portland in time to pick up the kids. Inspired by the opportunity to hit the trails, we spent much of the summer dreaming of the days school would begin and we could try our new plan out in earnest. Today marked our first successful outing of the new school year.

The 5:00 am alarm was jarring, but seeing the sun rise as we pulled in to Timberline Lodge was worth it.

Our destination was Paradise Park, high on the slopes of Mt Hood for a solid run of twelve miles. The first climb up from the lodge to get on the Pacific Crest Trail had us both sucking wind in minutes.

Thankfully the gorgeous day revived us from our miserable breathing habits.

Armed with a new camera, I wasted little time in recruiting my new found model for some action shots.

This would be a recurring theme. Thankfully she was a good sport for me.

Playing around with some photo effects.

The light was amazing all morning. 

I found myself in awe of the grandness of the area versus our puny selves. 

The trail down to the Zig Zag canyon is full of water. I was so focused on capturing the images that I totally missed the fact that a guy we passed was carrying a gun. He had shot a bear, he proudly told Julie, and then asked if she wanted to see it. It was in his backpack. "That poor baby bear" was all I could think when she told me her story. Now, I don't know if he really shot a baby bear. Or a bear at all. I know it wasn't a large backpack, so it couldn't have been big...this is just the silly thought that kept rolling through my head. We've decided that he was crazy and hadn't shot anything at all, because we like that version of the story much better.

More tricks of light on the ridges.

The entrance to Paradise Park.

A lot of water flows through this area, creating little oases high on the mountain. Gorgeous.

Julie runs up towards the broken rock, one of the coolest sights of the day.

One more photo effect.

A shot of me taking photos. Cracks me up.

The hike information:
Paradise Park, via the Timberline Trail

Total mileage: 13 miles

Rating: INSANELY AWESOME.