Month: March 2024

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WSU Vancouver More Trails

I returned to Washington State University in Vancouver to explore the rest of the Cougar Trails. I started by going up to highest elevation that gave me great early morning views of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood. I then headed over to the wooded trails that run along Mill Creek. Next I did some connector trails that took me over to Pleasant Valley Community Park. From there I made my way back to my car. The Cougar Trails take you through a number of environments from college campus to open fields to woodland to wetlands to flowing creeks and gives you great mountains view to running water to enjoy. Plus many enjoyable people to meet along the trail.

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Catherine Creek Hike

Out timing was right to catch the last sunny day for a while and judging by the parking lot a lot of folks had the same idea. Lori, Jeanette, Sylvia and I got back to Catherine Creek to find the early season wildflowers blooming and to enjoy the beautiful scenery, We did not do a lot of distance but we did climb 750ft in a mile. After enjoying the nice weather we went to Riverside for a late lunch and enjoy the river view.

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Sandy Outing

We had an uncertain weather forecast so we went for a little hike and exploration in Sandy Oregon. Lori, Jeanette, Marilyn and I were going to start with a short hike of Tickle Creek Trail that runs through the expanding new neighborhoods of Sandy. On arriving and after trying several trailheads on the lower and most scenic part of the trail we found it was closed because many trees had fallen across the trail. We ended up going to the other end of the trail to hike back to the closed section. So our short hike became even shorter. Next we moved on to do a short exploration of Meinig Memorial Park. They hold several events here through out the year so now we know where it is. From the park we were able to walk up to the old section of town and start in on a walking tour of historic Sandy. The wind and rain pick up part way through our tour so we retreated back to the car and headed to lunch at the Smokey Hearth. After lunch we check out the Jonsrud Viewpoint. Not much of a view today with the bad weather but on a clear day this spot would be nice. So ended our outing.