Journalist By Nature: Rockin' and Rollin' along the Clackamas River Trail

Mt. Hood Nat'l Forest

On a cloudy, cool day there's nothing like a hike along a river to give you that forest feeling yet not be disappointed to miss a mountaintop view. The trail along the Clackamas River starts at Fish Creek trailhead. It is a popular kayaking and rafting put-in/take-out spot, complete with stairs to the water's edge. The trail follows the southeast bank of the river with views of it most of the way. You can hike part way and turn around or leave a car at the other end of the trail and shuttle back to the start. We chose option A. The trail begins easily enough on a level, softly padded path through the southern edges of the Mt. Hood National Forest. After a mile or so, the way turns quite rocky and rough where weather and traffic have worn away the needle padding. The elevation rides a roller
coaster of gains and losses.

This year there were several small landslides along the trail that have required additional maintenance in the form of rocky in-fill or carving more trail from the hillside. Water runoff has contributed to the erosion and a few spots proved to be questionable in their stability. The trail keeps quite close to the cliff edge in places and there is no room for careless footing. Otherwise, the route winds safely through old growth forest, crosses small rivulets and showcases the lovely Clackamas River in its flow toward a confluence with the Willamette River.

Blue Sky rafters

There is an abundance of photo opps along the hike. The canyon reverberates with screams of yellow-helmeted teenagers in Blue Sky rubber rafts scooting through the small rapids sections of the river. From our elevated vantage points we could watch them floating along, oars dragging in inexperienced hands, raft captains shouting directions from the stern. At times the rafts were caught in eddies or on the rocks, but they eventually made their way through the rapids. We in turn shouted encouragement from above, waving our hiking poles in cheerleader fashion.

Scene of the "turtle" accident

The creek crossings were tricky because the stones appeared to be dry but were in fact quite slick with mossy slime. Trekking poles proved to be helpful for balance in these situations. At one junction I stepped on a large, dry-looking stone only to find myself instantly flipped into the water and lying on my backpack, trekking poles askew with four appendages straight up and looking for all the world like an up-ended turtle. I was quickly surrounded by my hiking companions' outstretched arms and concerned faces as I struggled to check for pain. Thankfully there was no damage other than to a soggy dignity and a now dripping wet backpack.

Pup Creek Falls in 2011

Our goal was to reach Pup Creek falls at 3.6 miles and then return to our starting point. The trail seemed to run longer than our map indicated and we were tiring of the rough topography, rising temperature and post-rain humidity. Lunch was a great diversion, refueling option and turnaround point. Later research revealed that there had been a landslide at the falls which prevented safe and close viewing of it. The picture here is from a previous hike. Kudos to our guest hiker Wendy who kept pace with the group and was suitably impressed with her first adventure in the woods. Back at our cars we considered planning another adventure ON the river. Blue Sky Rafting may be our mode of transportation next time around! Be safe out there. Slippery rocks and other hazzards can surprise you.