While camping at Smith Rock State Park over the weekend, two friends and I explored the Oregon Badlands Wilderness on a day hike. This was our first time visiting here, and we didn’t know what to expect other than it would be hot.
Hiking through the blast zone at Mount St. Helens to Harry’s Ridge on a foggy day.
We started at the Grouse Vista trail for a foggy hike up to Silver Star Mountain. While the Grouse Vista trail is steep, rocky, and viewless for part of the way up, the mid-section traverses a scenic open ridge with wildflower-covered slopes.
At Beacon Rock State Park, several former logging roads have been gated and turned into trails for hikers and equestrians. Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain are the more popular destinations here, while Hardy Ridge is far less crowded.
The trail to the summit of Kings Mountain is steep – with 1,000 ft of elevation gain per mile for 2.5 miles – that’s STEEP.
This is a great conditioning hike that starts at the Wahkeena trailhead, goes up to Wahkeena Springs, over to Angels Rest, then up to Devils Rest before heading back down to the Vista Point Trail and finally, returning to the Wahkeena Trail and the trailhead.
The Herman Creek Trail is one of the areas that was damaged in the September 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. This hike has been a favorite trail of mine for awhile, so I was curious to see how it fared after the fire.
Shuttle hike on the Clackamas River Trail: Fish Creek to Indian Henry trailhead
Ever since the Eagle Creek Fire broke out in September 2017, most of the trails on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge have been closed. When the trails from Angels Rest to Multnomah Falls recently reopened after restoration work, I was anxious to see how one of my favorite loop hikes fared.
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