Friday, October 29, 2021

Hike: Forest Park (Firelane 12, 15, Wildwood, Newton Road, BPA) VIII, Portland, OR

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: 8.07 mi
Elevation Gain: 1,831 ft
Moving Time: 2:46:49
Total Time: 2:48:55

Avg Pace: 20:40
Calories: 1,470

This is my 8th hike in this section of Forest Park from the Skyline Trailhead and 12th hike on the north end of the park.

I considered going the clockwise direction but I just enjoy the challenge that the 0.8mi section of BPA Road presents. My climbing time for this is consistently about 25mins.

On today's hike, I got a little bit of a bloody nose just as I was descending Forest Road 15 at the Wildwood junction. Argh. I considered cutting the hike short but forged ahead as I noticed the bleeding had stopped and I was just blotting pink stuff. Still annoying. 

I saw a couple at the "bench". Their little dog wanted to play and nipped at my heels while the owner tried to catch & restrain him/her. So cute!

I passed another couple going in the same direction and a bit later, I saw the same forest crew person that I did last time. He was raking leaving and mud.

I got a little bit later start today so I wasn't sure I wanted to hike all the way to Germantown or whereever I went last time (passed Newton Road parking lot). I split the difference and just took Wildwood (super muddy in spots) to the Newton Road cut off, then doubled back. 

The water was flowing in the creek but the trail was still nice & firm.

As mentioned above, the ascent from Hwy 30 to the top of BPA road took me 25min. This seems to be my max speed at the moment.

I was nice to hear birds and running water after a very dry summer.