Tag: Forest Park

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Firelane 1 Forest Park

Forecast had for one more day of nice weather before the rain returned so I wanted to get in one more hike. I tried doing Firelane One in Forest Park but the gate was close so I thought I would try it again. The parking lot and new start of the trail was put in a few years ago so it was nice to see what was done. The trail starts out steep but quickly changes into the service road for the power line. I added on some other trails to make a lollipop loop out of it. The first mile of the firelane has some great views and some great mud.

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Mazama Roller Coaster Hike

This was the 14th anniversary of the Mazama’s New Years Eve Roller Coaster Hike in Forest Park. Rex was the leader this time and we had a good turn out. It was a chance for me to see some old Mazama friends and to meet some new folks. We lucked out the the weather and did not get any rain. The hike was about 7.5 miles long with 1600 total elevation gain and we were on the trail for about 3:45 minutes.

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Exploring new trails in Forest Park

The middle section of Forest Park has a maze of trails and firelanes. I have not fully explored this section of the Park so I started today with my first hike to discover what is here. I started at the, never visited before, Springville parking lot. I head down Firelane 7 to the Trillion Trail. The Trillion Trail is a short steep rugged that drop quickly down to the Wildwood Trail. I headed South down the Wildwood trail to Saltzman Rd. I saw several bike riders heading up Saltzman Rd. as I was heading down. Where Saltzman meets Leif Erikson Dr. I headed down Quarry Trail, a little used and brushy trail that took me to the Maple trail and my lowest elevation point. I took the Maple Trail back up to meet the Leif Erikson Dr. and on over to Firelane 7a. The last stretch was Firelane 7a to Firelane 7 and back to my car.

I hike 7.5 miles with 450 ft. elevation gain.

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Wildwood Trail North

It was going to be a hot day so Lori, Jeanette and I decide to make this outing short and easy. We started from Newberry Rd. trailhead and did about a 4 mile out and back on the Wildwood Trail. The north end of Forest Park has more of feel that you are out in the woods. Afterwards we went for lunch at Rock Creek Tavern and enjoyed sitting out on the patio having drinks and food.

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Exploring some trails in Forest Park

My original plan was to start at the Tolinda Trail head and hike up but bridge traffic was so bad I could not make the turn. So going to plan B I went up to the Leaf Erikson Parking lot and started there. I have no memory of hiking the Tolinda Trail or the Waterline Trail before so those were the main objective of this outing. So I was going to have hike down the Tolinda trail first to get my plan back on track.

The Tolinda trail starts on an old road bed that climbs up to a flat area that was planed to be for housing that was never built. Form there it converts to a dirt trail that clearing has been altered for mountain bikes to sail down even though it is mark for no mountain bike. After getting back to Leaf Erickson walked a short ways and started up the Waterline trail. I was surprise find towers and a large grass meadow at the end of it. After exploring these new trail I head on some standard trail to get some mileage in. The hike was 8.3 miles with 1150 total elevation gain in 3 1/2 hours.