By Tom Kloster, Board Member, Trailkeepers of Oregon
Have you hiked the Old Vista Ridge Trail #626A to Owl Point? This historic route was unofficially reopened by volunteers in 2007 after decades of neglect, and has since become a popular new hike with spectacular views of Mount Hood’s dramatic north face.
By Paul Gerald, Board President, Trailkeepers of Oregon
Almost every trail you’ll ever hike will take you past a sawed-off log. And while you are certainly aware that somebody sawed off that log, you probably have no idea how complicated it might have been, nor how much work.
By Guy Hamblen, Crew Leader, Trailkeepers of Oregon
The Trailkeepers of Oregon rock team on the Angel’s Rest Trail affectionately dubbed a flat andesite rock “Pancake Rock.” Measuring about three feet by four feet across and one foot thick, the rock has been around since Larch Mountain was issuing lava flows some one and a half million years ago.
By Michael McDowell, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon
On August 15, John Sparks and Michael McDowell met with three Trailkeepers of Oregon board members at the Lucky Lab Pub in Multnomah Village to discuss TKO advocacy and policy: Tom Kloster is a founding member and past TKO board president; Ben Hedstrom and Jaime English are the newest board members, having joined the board in early 2018.
By John Sparks, Board Member, Trailkeepers of Oregon
In Japan, an entire tourist industry is based on kōyōgari, or momijigari, “fall leaves sightseeing” (the two words are different pronunciations of the same characters). People flock to the countryside and temple complexes to appreciate the turning of the colors. Likewise, the northeastern states of the US experience a significant influx of visitors from late September into October for the same purpose.
By Lindy Callahan, Volunteer, Trailkeepers of Oregon
I visited the north side of Mount Hood the first time in October. A steady chill had taken the air as the last leaves were just starting to fall from the trees. All I had expected on this trip was some easy hiking and a somewhat spooky night in an old lodge. Our car pulled up in front of Cloud Cap Inn and my expectations began to change.
By Steve Kruger, Executive Director, Trailkeepers of Oregon
On September 19, 2017, TKO volunteers had every intention to make their yearly return to Angel’s Rest. The site of our first official trail work party in 2008, this place is very dear to all of us, and we make a special effort to come back and take care of this trail on a regular basis. As the Eagle Creek fire lit up and rolled on in dramatic fashion through summer’s end and into fall, our return wasn’t meant to be as planned. We worried that we would not get the chance to visit some of these special places for quite some time. We intentionally avoided saying these Gorge work parties were “canceled,” instead declaring that the events were “postponed” for the time being. By making that distinction, I shared my own determination that when the smoke cleared and the area was deemed safe, we’d be the first to sign on and bring those trails back again.
Steve Kruger stands atop the Upper McCord Trail that leads to the overlook of Elowah Falls. In January, he and lead TKO volunteers scouted the trail for the first time and saw that it has a long way to go before being opened to the public. (Photo by Tom Kloster)
By Patrick Keavney, Crew Leader, Trailkeepers of Oregon
A lot of us see trails that rarely get a good brushing as we’re out hiking. At a recent TKO fundraiser, a hiker asked me the best way to trim the brush encroaching the trail. My wife Elaine and I have a lot of experience at that. We work with local land managers and lead work crews to maintain trails east of Portland from the Clackamas River to Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge. We try to brush the most heavily-used trails one or two times a year. When we brush an existing trail corridor, we clear six feet wide and eight feet high. If the trail is shared with horses, we clear eight feet wide and ten feet high. Obviously, you need special tools to clear that way. But any hiker can do a good job at brushing using a simple hand trimmer and a folding saw / pruner that easily tucks into a side pocket.
By Michael McDowell, Newsletter Editor, Trailkeepers of Oregon
Susan Schen grew up in Northeast Ohio among deciduous hardwood forests and, as she says, “not a lot of elevation gain in hiking.” When she lived in Seattle for a year, she “just kind of fell in love with” the Pacific Northwest. She started volunteering with Trailkeepers of Oregon in the fall of 2016 after moving to Portland and is now a trail crew leader. Michael McDowell and John Sparks sat down with Susan on a morning in February to talk about her experiences with trail work.
Susan working on fire-damaged trail in the Gorge. (Photo by Megan Zabel Holmes)
By Megan Zabel Holmes, Board Member, Trailkeepers of Oregon
After a new baby arrives, it feels intimidating to get out of the house, let alone out on the trail. These little humans seem to require so much in the way of supplies and accessories, not to mention what it takes to soothe their unpredictable temperaments. To the uninitiated, hiking with an infant might seem like undue torture. But it doesn’t have to be! With the right plan and attitude you can unlock a new level of quality family time. Here are some lessons I’ve learned (most of them the hard way) about hitting the trail with the smallest adventurers.
Baby does her best Lewis and Clark impression. (Photo by Megan Zabel Holmes)
Trailkeepers of Oregon
P.O. Box 14814
Portland, OR 97293
(971) 206-4351