 |
| AllTrails map |
Getting There
There
is room for a few cars on the side of the road at the Skyline Blvd
trailhead (Firelane 15). It's about 1.6mi north of NW Germantown Road on
NW Skyline Blvd.
The Hike
Distance: 7.03 mi
Elevation Gain: 1,427 ft
Calories: 1,185
Avg Pace: 19:09
Moving Time: 2:14:31
Total Time: 2:19:07
This is my 6th hike in this section of Forest Park.
Actually I was surprised by the lack of flowing water at the Firelane 12-15 junction considering the recent change of weather. There are definitely some puddling on the trail and a few slippery spots, including exposed roots & rocks.
I wanted to change things up for this hike. I usually go counterclockwise (Firelane 15, Wildwood, Newton Rd/Creek, BPA Rd). This time I thought I’d take the side road (Firelane 13) instead of BPA Rd. I confidently descended down this new route without looking at the map! I presumed it would pop out about 1/2 way down BPA Rd. Unfortunately I found myself at a dead end. I looked at the map. Nope. I was close to Hwy 30 but it was pure bushwhacking. The other road also dead ends before the bottom.
So I walked back up to the BPA Rd. I scrapped the plan to go down to Newton Creek and the clockwise route. I got a good workout. I walked back towards Wildwood.
For a little extra exercise I hiked up to the BPA trailhead on NW Skyline then backtracked to Wildwood. Then returned via Firelane 15.
Good stuff. Lots of birds out.
