One Night Wilderness: Portland. Becky Ohlsen
Basin and Elk Cove
33 Ramona Falls and Yocum Ridge
34 Burnt Lake
35 Cast Lake and Zigzag Mountain Loop
36 Paradise Park
37 Elk Meadows Loop
38 Salmon River Trail
39 Veda Lake
40 Twin Lakes Loop
41 Boulder Lake
42 Lookout Mountain and Oval Lake
43 Badger Creek
Clackamas River Country
44 High Lake
45 Shining Lake
46 Shellrock and Serene Lakes Loop
47 Pechuck Lookout
48 Pansy and Twin Lakes
49 Big Slide Lake
50 Olallie Lake Scenic Area Loop
Mount Jefferson and Vicinity
51 Firecamp Lakes
52 Jefferson Park
53 Pamelia and Shale Lakes Loop
54 Carl Lake Loop
55 Duffy and Santiam Lakes
56 Three Fingered Jack Loop
57 Washington Ponds and George Lake
58 Cache Creek
Appendix A: More Short Backpacking Options
Appendix B: Recommended Reading
Appendix C: Conservation Organizations and Outdoor Clubs
Appendix D: Land Agencies and Information Sources
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank Douglas Lorain for putting together the first edition of this book, and the editors at Wilderness Press for commissioning me to update it. Working on One Night Wilderness: Portland was probably the most fun I’ve ever had researching an outdoors guidebook. As always, the editorial, production, and marketing teams at AdventureKEEN do a fantastic job of bringing these books into the world and making sure that people know about them.
Thanks also to my parents for taking us kids on backpacking trips at a very young age, and to all the friends since then who’ve accompanied me on various wilderness adventures (shout-outs to Paul, Maureen, and Molly). And thanks to everyone who works in the outdoors industry, from my fellow guidebook authors to the volunteers who build and maintain trails, the parks employees and forest rangers who share updates and information online or in person, and the many bloggers and backpackers who post trip reports—a great way to gather intel on trail status and (especially) road conditions before setting out on a hike.
—Becky Ohlsen
Preface
Fortune has smiled on outdoors lovers in the Portland metropolitan area. Within a short drive of their homes, hikers face an almost unbelievable array of options. They can choose to walk through massive old-growth forests or to visit any of several hundred waterfalls. They can climb across massive glaciers or traipse through wildflower-covered mountain meadows. They can beachcomb on surf-pounded sand or explore semidesert canyonlands filled with the aroma of sagebrush. Only one or two other cities in the country can boast such a wide assortment of opportunities so close at hand.
Most of these wonders are accessible to day hikers. But as thousands of walkers have discovered over the years, to appreciate fully the charms and wonders of the wilderness, nothing compares to packing in your gear and spending the night. The outdoor experience is infinitely richer, more exhilarating, and certainly more memorable if you extend your stay, enjoying a place where the stars outshine the streetlights; where the hooting of owls and the howling of coyotes replace the honking of horns and the wail of sirens; and where crowded cityscapes, although closer than you’d think, seem to be a million miles away.
This book is designed for two groups of people: those who already know the pleasures and rejuvenating qualities of spending a night in the wilderness and those who hope to join that club. The goal is to provide a guide to the best one-night (and a few two-night) hikes within a 3-hour drive of Portland. There are trips here for all ability levels, from short and easy strolls suitable for backpackers of any age to extended trips of 20 miles or more that will test even the fittest hiker. What they all have in common is a proximity to Portland, terrific scenery, and inviting campsites.
As any hiker knows, nature and our pathways into it are ever-changing; wildfires reshape whole forests and open up views, floods and landslides obliterate long-established routes, and roads and trails constantly change as new routes are built and old trails are abandoned. Your comments on recent developments or changes for future editions are always welcome. Please write to Wilderness Press at [email protected] or directly to me at [email protected].
—B. O.
Summary of Featured Trips
Epic views like this one of Mount Hood, from Trip 42, Lookout Mountain and Oval Lake, are more accessible than you might think.
Introduction
It’s a busy world out there. Ask anyone you meet how they’re doing, and chances are that’s what they’ll say: “Busy!” Little old Portland is growing and changing; the pace of life here is not as mellow as it used to be. Despite being surrounded by natural wonders, most of us spend our days looking at screens, checking tweets and emails around the clock, and then when it’s finally time to relax, we’re too tired to do much more than sink into the couch and stare at another screen.
Which makes escaping into nature more important than ever. There’s a good reason “forest bathing” has become a trend, even if many of us roll our eyes at the term. Studies have shown that just 5 minutes in nature can transform your body and mind, making you more relaxed, more creative, smarter, and happier overall. It’s good for the brain, it’s good for the soul, and it’s even good for our social media profiles, in the long run. We know we need it.
But it can be hard to find the time to get away. That’s the beauty of this book: you don’t have to find much time at all. A single overnight excursion into the backcountry can have a huge impact, and these trips are all within a few hours’ drive of the city. Some are ideal for getting short blasts of nature, a quick booster shot. They involve hikes of just a mile or two, which means you could conceivably pack up on a Friday after work, hustle out to the trailhead, and be sipping hot cocoa and gazing at stars that same night. Imagine waking up on Saturday morning, peeking through the tent flap at mist on a lake, and sipping your morning coffee from a sleeping bag—with no laptop in sight.
And if a quick, one-night trip is good, a longer trip is even better. I say this from experience: nothing realigns your perspective quite like scrambling up the rocky side of a valley scooped out by glaciers and cresting the rim to see glittering Mount Adams, right there, almost close enough to touch. Add to that a picnic lunch beside an iridescent turquoise lake, a campsite