Wildwood Part 4: 30 miles done!

Dad and I have been doing almost-weekly hikes for quite a while. But he has back surgery coming up this week and will be missing out on the fun while he recovers and regains strength.

So we decided to challenge ourselves and hike Portland's Wildwood Trail (30+ miles!) in four installments. With the weather turning and surgery looming, we decided to finish it up Sunday after church. Brad finally got a day off (dang end-of-quarter pressures!) and joined us on the trail.

We started at the Birch Trail on Northwest 53rd off Cornell:

This is definitely the hilliest part of the trail, but Dad thought it was the prettiest. But since it was Sunday, and really hot, and the popular section of the trail, it was a bit like being at the mall! So many people! Usually hiking mid-week, we just aren't used to that. We've gotten spoiled :)

The Wildwood winds its way down, down, down to Balch Creek. On its shore is this random stone house, known to some as the Witch's Castle. It was Dad's first visit, so he had to explore:

The trail then climbs out of the canyon and up to Pittock Mansion. Then through Washington Park and the Hoyt Arboretum. Near the end, a lookout provides mountain views and some historical and geological info:

Finally... THE END!

30 miles on the Wildwood! Congrats, Dad :)

Mom's schedule allowed her three of the four times to be our shuttle driver, saving us tons of time. And then she got to partake in the refueling. Eryn skipped this hike to do her long run of the week and also need food... Davidson's food!

Good job, Dad! You're a fun trail buddy, and I can't wait until your back is all better so we can do even more this summer :)

Wildwood Wednesday: Part 1
Wildwood Wednesday: Part 2
Wildwood: Part 3

Adventure Thursday: Wildwood Part 3

Spring Break! Eryn joined Dad and me for the third leg of our Wildwood hike. We started Thursday morning at the Saltzman Road trail head off Skyline Boulevard:

It was foggy early on, and this corridor was filled with wet webs like this. So cool!

This was our longest chunk, about 10 miles in all. We hung a right at the Birch Trail, where Mom was waiting to shuttle us back to our car.

Last week's rain made the trail really mucky in parts. I'm glad I opted for boots!

Just one more leg to go :)

Wildwood Wednesday: Part 1
Wildwood Wednesday: Part 2

Adventure Thursday = Wildwood Wednesday

Full calendars have again forced our Adventure Thursday activity to move to Wednesday. I realized I like "Wildwood Wednesday" better, anyway!

This week's plan was Springville Road to Saltzman Road.

Mom wasn't available to help us shuttle, so we drove two cars to Forest Park and made our own shuttle. We started at last week's exit point: Springville Road.

 Look how sunny it was! A big change from last week's clouds and drizzle.

We hiked about 6 miles on the Wildwood Trail before heading up Saltzman Road to our other car.

We think it's about 7.5 miles in all.

Refueling happened at Native Foods Cafe, but I left my camera in the car. Eryn, Mom and Brad joined us, and yummy food was consumed! :)

Wildwood Wednesday: Part 1

Adventure Thursday: Wildwood Part 1

Back on the Adventure-Thursday bandwagon, Dad and I have been hitting Tryon Creek State Park lately. But with the time change and more evening daylight, I suggested with hike the Wildwood Trail in Portland's Forest Park.

Several years ago, Brad, Tim, Laura and I hiked the entire 30-mile trail in four sections. I asked Dad if he wanted to try it and he agreed. We plan to do it in over the next four weeks, finishing just before he has back surgery that will take him out of the game for a while. (But hopefully alleviate lots of pain!)

Scheduling made Wednesday the better option this week, so I picked him up after work and drove to the Newberry Road trailhead - the far west end of the Wildwood Trail:

We easily covered the 8 miles of rolling trail to Springville Road, our exit for the week. We feared it would be really wet, but it just sprinkled the last hour or so. We were damp but not wet. And the temp was great for shorts and long sleeves.

We mostly had the place to ourselves, crossing paths with just eight people in 2.5 hours.

A short hike up the approach trail, and we were done!

Mom couldn't hike with us but volunteered to meet us at Springville and shuttle us back to the start. That was awesome and saved so much time! Thanks, Mom :)

Our reward was dinner at Davidsons - yum!

Brad got in on the action, too. He was having a rough week at work. Grumpy Pants:

Looking forward to next week's hike :)