Stairs to Pittock

Taking advantage of a string of days of nice weather I did another training walk up to Pittock Mansion. Today was a blue sky day with clear views of Portland and the mountains. I also got better number on this walk. I did 4.8 miles with about 900 ft of total elev. gain and did 513 steps in an hour and fifty-eight min.

Stair Ramble to Pittock Mansion

I had not done the stair route to Pittock in many years. Include a couple of short ones I did 10 flights of stairs total. The mansion was in a heavy fog so no views but the fog gave the place a feel of mystery. On the way down I found Balch Creek was running higher then I had ever seen it.

Pittock by way of Balch Creek

A New Year morning walk to get the year going. This was a standard Ramble route that I have done many times so it felt like home. This trail gives good elevation gain but there is a lot of wild to enjoy on the route. The walk was about 6 miles in about 2 1/2 hours. I was on the trail at 7:30 am with very few folks around. By the time I was doing last section down Balch Creek the trail was loaded with folks. Lots of stopping and waiting for families to get by. A cold clear morning and a nice way to start a new year.