Hike: Coyote Wall Labyrinth, White Salmon, WA

Getting There

I got an early start, about 6am, from Portland to Hood River. I took I-84 and stopped at McDonald's for a breakfast sandwich.

I crossed the toll bridge to the WA side of the Columbia River and drove into Bingen. I continued another 4.5 miles on Hwy 14 East to the Syncline Trail - East Trailhead at the intersection of the old Highway 8 and parked in the small gravel lot.

I was the first to arrive at around 7:40am but everyone showed up by about 8am. We had donuts and milled around for a bit. Sometime around 8:30am, we got into a semi-circle and did the safety talk. I gave a brief overview of the shovel.

The Hike

Distance: 2.94 miles
Elevation Gain: 733 feet
Hightest Elevation: 828 feet

 

 

 

 

 

This was my second work party as an ACL. I'm counting this as a hike since it was at least a couple of miles of travel and some elevation gain. I chose to not count my previous work party at Lyle Cherry Orchard between we worked on the lowest section of the trail, not far from the car/trailhead.

I thought the East Trailhead would get us closer to the trail than the Coyote Wall Trailhead to the west but it's about the same walk on the old Highway 8. There is a lot of debris on the defunct road from the blasted rock crumbling down. At one point, the path through the rocks is only about 8" wide.

It was cold in the morning and I was layered up but I was stopping to shed a layer only after walking for 5 mins. I was much more comfortable on the ascent to the work site on the Labyrinth Trail. Our job for this work party was to "armor" the muddiest sections of the trail. "Armoring" means placing basketball-sized rocks in hole dug into the tread, then covering with small rocks and dirt. The trail is used by hikers, mtn bikers, and horses.

My team of 4 was assigned to the topmost section of the trail we intended to address. I had never done this kind of work before so I was trying to soak in the brief instructions and watch what an experienced volunteer was doing. We had plenty of examples to look at when we hiked up to our work site. However, we started placing small rocks as stepping stones, insufficient.

When James came by to check our progress, he explained that we needed to dig up the rocks we'd buried and use much bigger pieces. He also said it takes time to learn how to do this kind of work and that it takes practice. I was still learning but it started to make sense as I completed my "section". 

Fortunately, what we did was a big improvement from the mud but I wasn't as happy with the result. Two of my crew was brand new, it was the very first work party, so I tried to be as positive as I could but still offer advice.

There was another section that James wanted us to tackle. He and I went up there to evaluate the trail. The long-term volunteer finished his section and moved up. I followed to show him what James had suggested. Ed said we didn't need to armor the trail, just remove the berm so the trail would drain. This was an example of the CL giving suggestion but allowing seasoned trail workers to implement what they thought was a better solution.

We finished the task and started back down to join the rest of the crew.

We stopped to stage rocks next to the trail for the April work party to use to armor another section.

It was finally time to call it a day. We started back to the trailhead.

I had a chance to talk with James about what I thought went well and where I could improve. He said I was a natural and gave me kudos for my leadership on this work party.

It was great to hear. I feel like I will grow into this role and be successful. I will certainly have some challenges with potentially challenging people I might have to coach.

 

Hike: Herman Creek, Cascade Locks, OR

Getting There

Take I-84 eastbound from Portland to Cascade Locks. Drive through town on Wa Na Pa Street. (You can also take the exit after Cascade Locks ("the exit toward Weigh Station"). Follow the Frontage Road for about 1.7 miles to the Herman Creek Campground and Trailhead (Herman Creek Road). The small parking lot is 0.3 miles from the turnoff.

The lot was full but there were several cars parked next the a fence storage area for some kind of construction project. I parked next to a car in front of a stack of board and a No Parking sign. It was afternoon so I hoped that there wasn't any active work here.

Last time I came here, I got a blood nose and saw a lot of broken car glass in the parking lot. I bailed. Today, I hoped the thieves would not show up. Also, I made sure nothing enticing was left in my car.

The Hike

Distance: 7.61 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,180 feet
Highest Elevation: 3,109 feet

 

 

 

 

 

I only vaguely knew what the trail had in store for me. It was going to be great weather (mid-70s) and I was hiking without a base layer for the first time in month. I had my sun shirt and I needed it.

The first part of the trail I pretty wide, like a forest road, to Herman Creek Camp. I wonder if it's mixed use (hike, bike, horses) (*I did see two mountain bikers on their ascent in the afternoon). It pretty heavily wooded so the only views of the river were limited. I could see the top of the mountain but couldn't guess the route from my vantage point below.

I'd done a little research on a loop hike that was about 8 miles but some descent elevation gain, 3000+ feet. It seemed doable.

The EG from the trailhead to Herman Creek Camp was only about 1000 feet. I knew the next section was going to tough, 2000+ feet. I had my sights on a view point at the top. About 1/2 way up, I emerged from the trees and the views opened up to the southwest. I could see behind the mountains behind Cascade Locks and Mt St Helens and Mt Adams were more visible to the north and northeast.

I passed on hiker going the other direction. We acknowledged each other but that was about it. I was happy to know the clockwise loop was passable. As it was making my way, I thought I remember reading about lots of downfall over the trail. I hoped I had made the right choice and didn't encounter any logs that weren't easy to step over. I even cut a few out myself with the handsaw. This is where the big fold-able saw would have been key!

While I was tired when I reached the junction for "unnamed high point", I saw it wasn't a lot of EG. I was glad to have made it to the apex of my hike. There was a small cairn but it was wooded on the northside, obscuring any direct views of the river. I could see Mt Adams through the trees and you could sort of see Bonneville Dam to the west.

From here it was all downhill. LOL.

When I got to the junction for Indian Point, I realized it was pretty technical and I would lose a bit of EG to get down there. The actual point is a rocky spine with moderate exposure. I was too tired for a technical climb on the ridge. Maybe next time!

Judging by how far down the river was, I still had a ways to go, even if it was downhill. My muscles were sore but I felt good and strong. No IT band issues.

I got lost in my. thoughts but made sure to stop every once in awhile to appreciate my surroundings, and accomplishment of tackling this mountain climb. I was stoked to have checked off a new trail from my "list".

I came around a corner and recognized the signage at the Herman Creek Camp, back to where I'd started the long uphill climb. I was back on the forest road. As usual, it seemed longer than I remember.

A couple of mountain bikers were climbing the hill. I stepped off the trail. 

When I got within sight of the parking lot. I suddenly got worried that I was looking at work trucks. Oh shit. I was sure I'd gotten a ticket for parking in front of the No Parking sign. I rehearsed my apology. It only took a little while to realize that the work trucks weren't anywhere near the trailhead. 

I found just two cars in the official parking area and my Jeep was the only car left in the "overflow" area. No ticket, no workers, nada. No vandalism. Win-win!

Wind Mountain, Ausperger Mountain

Mt Adams

Wind Mountain, Dog Mountain

Hike: Oneonta Falls, Cascade Locks, OR

Getting There

Since the Historic Highway 30 is closed between Wahkeena Falls and Multnomah Falls, you have to take I-84 to Ainsworth and double back to the Oneonta Falls Trailhead.

I was the first to arrive but the rest of the work crew showed up shortly thereafter. 

I left both water bottles at home. Fortunately, Oliver showed up and had extra. He gave me a full bottle of water. Thank goodness because I needed it.

We had the safety talk and geared up. 

The Hike

Distance: 3.52 miles
Elevation Gain: 765 feet
Highest Elevation: 650 feet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a trail work party with TKO but we did a decent hike so I added to the stats.

The original project plan was to replace the gabions on one of the switchbacks but scrapped due to unfavorable weather forecast. So they would be stolen at the trailhead, we carried the the gabion cages up to the #400 Gorge Trail junction.

I carried a grub hoe and snatch block. We were going to be fixing the tread along the way but the main goal was to clear some trees and root balls near Triple Falls.

At our first big task, we had to bring down a tree that was suspended over the trail. While evaluating the cut plan, I started limbing the trunk as far up as I could reach. I felt fine but out of the blue, I got really woozy. I had to sit on a rock and let it pass over me. I didn't want to alarm the new orange hats. After 10 mins, I finally felt good enough to start moving again.

I went back to my pack and ate one part of my sandwich and drank some water. I didn't want to be the "new" guy that needed help. Note to self: make sure you hydrate and eat sufficiently before a strenuous hike & work party.

We cut down the log but it didn't roll off the trail. We used the old "butts & boots" method to got it off the tread. Basically, you sit on the ground or hillside (on yer butts) and collectively push the log (roll it) with your boots. There wasn't much tread repair so we wrapped it the task. The rest of the team was already having lunch at Triple Falls.

We met them and started out lunch while reviewing the next task.

It was a bit of a complex situation. There was a big root ball right off the trail. The goal was to cut it off and roll it off the hill. There were some other trees that it was rest on, a bind. We spent a lot of time preparing the root ball by removing dirt and rocks to expose the wood (roots).

We had two crosscut saws working in parallel and some long-bladed hand saws.

A hiker showed up but had to wait while we B&B'd a log off the trail. When the coast was clear, I learned he was just hanging out to watch us work, fascinated by the process.

The main root ball turned out to be a tough task than expected. We used a rope and winch to pull the cut pieces but it was quite stubborn. After cutting the root ball off the trunk and pull it upright with winch it landed in the middle of the trail instead of tumbling over the side of the cliff. Crap!

It was getting later in the day and we still had to hike back down to the trailhead. We could leave it as-is.

We identified some roots that could be cut to make the ball actually roll. We took turns on the saw as folks' energy was waning.

Triumphantly, we got the job done. The piece fell into the ravine and we quickly repaired the tread. Woohoo! Teamwork.

We packed up and started our descent.