Favorite Hikes and Outdoor Destinations: 2010

This last year provided many opportunities for walking on dirt under open skies. In addition to the list below, there were a few neighborhood open space park hikes that were quite nice, but certainly this list is of the best hikes taken in 2010. The list is alphabetical as it would be difficult to rank them by preference as each had something special to offer.

· Blue Ridge Parkway; Graveyard Fields Trail, North Carolina

· Bryce Canyon National Park; Queen’s Garden Loop, Utah

· San Juan Capistrano- Caspers Wilderness Park; Oak Canyon Loop, California

· Chino Hills State Park; Skully Ridge to Lower Aliso Trail, California

· Columbia River Gorge; Gorge Trail Loop, Oregon

· Crater Lake, Oregon

· Daley Ranch; Circumvent Loop, Boulder Loop (and others), California

· Dry Tortugas National Park; Fort Jefferson Walkabout, Florida

· Humbolt Redwoods; Boy Scout Loop Trail, California

· Indio- Mecca Hills; Split Rock and Ladder Canyon Trails, California

· Joshua Tree National Park; Hidden Valley, Barker Dam and Lost Palms Oasis Trails, California

· Laguna Coast Wilderness; Laurel Canyon Loop, California

· Prescott- Granite Dells; Peavine Trail, Arizona

· San Diego- Mission Trails; Oak Creek/Grasslands Loop and Cowles Peak Trails, California

· San Luis Obispo; Johnson Ranch Loop, Cerro Cabrillo Peak and Bishop Peak Trails, California

· Sequoia National Park; Tokopah Falls and Weaver Lake Trails, California

· Zion National Park; Kolob Canyon-Middle Fork Taylor Creek Trail, Utah

· Zion National Park; Narrows and Observation Point Trails, Utah

Looking forward to 2011 and those trails yet to tread as well as much loved favorites.

Multnomah-Wahkenah Falls Loop

Multnomah-Wahkenah Falls Loop
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
6.3 miles - 1,600 elevation gain
Moderately Difficult
Multnomah Falls is arguably the second most recognizable feature of the Columbia River Gorge. The first is the river itself. This iconic spectacle is a popular tourist destination due to its beauty and comfortable tourist accommodations including a sit down restaurant, fully loaded gift shop, paved walkways and flush toilets. Highway access is quick and easy. There could be no better place for locals to bring visitors to Portland when wanting to truly impress them with the area’s natural beauty.

Most folks will take the ½ mile walk to the base of the first fall to peer upward from the circa 1914 concrete constructed Benson Footbridge. A number of others may even venture a bit more to peer dizzyingly over the upper fall’s cascade though it can produce some gasping breaths from those unaccustomed to steep walking. Even fewer take the opportunity to see some of the other wonderful falls higher up the gorge’s talus slopes and into the thick rainforest, which is exactly what I wanted to do during a recent trip to Portland to visit family and friends.

Depending on who you ask and which trail map you pick up, the Multnomah-Wahkenah Falls Loop hike is known either as Loop #1 or Loop #2. This map shows the route as Loop #2. Many of the hiking guides tell you to trek this in a clock-wise manner, from Multnomah Falls towards Weisendanger Falls but I would advise you to take this route in the opposite direction. Due to the crowds on the Multnomah Falls walkway (I’m hesitant to call this section a "trail," since it’s nicely paved, wide and well engineered. I spied many folks walking in flip-flops along the steep grade) I recommend saving this human traffic jam to the end of the hike. It would be a shame and misleading to allow this to set the tone for the remainder of the trek.

The hike is well documented on other sites including; Oregon.com Multnomah Falls Guide and Tripcart.com Multnomah Falls Guide
which give varying accounts of mileage and difficulty. In rechecking my calculations, the hike with side steps to lookouts and such is right at 6 miles with an elevation gain of approximately 1,600’.

Begin and end the hike at the Multnomah Falls Lodge. From the falls proceed west, past the lodge and parking area as you parallel the Historic Columbia River Highway until you reach Wahkenah Falls. Begin your climb up the gorge’s south wall as you travel a good distance along Wahkenah Canyon creek. The canyon fills your ears with the music of the rushing creek, as moss draped pines and deep green ferns saturate your eyes. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever hiked in a more beautiful forest setting.

The climb up-canyon continues for about 2.7 miles until it levels off on the southern slope of the gorge. Along the way you’ll discover Fairy Falls, a lovely fan waterfall that invites many photos to be taken. Near the high point of the hike, you’ll have opportunities to visit Devils Rest, another 1.6 miles and Larch Mountain, an additional 5 miles from the trail junction.

When you begin to descend north along Multnomah Creek, several more small waterfalls are found including Wiesendanger and Ecola falls. Though the scenery remains spectacular, it is along this section of trail that you’re likely to encounter more hikers who’ve come up from Multnomah Falls, the number of which will increase to distraction and irritation until you reach the main lodge again.

I’m definitely repeating this hike on subsequent visits to the area but will also strive to summit Larch Mountain next time. From the photos and trail guides I’ve read, it should prove to be a rewarding experience. The top of the mountain is similar to a bald; unprotected by trees thereby offering unobstructed views for miles in all directions.

In addition to the other charms of the area, both in terms of the inhabitants and environs, this hike will be just one more reason to return. And soon.

Johnson Ranch: San Luis Obispo

Johnson Ranch is the newest addition to San Luis Obispo's open space park inventory. It's not a large park, the main trail only offering about 4 miles of easy going, single track hiking, but it is a beautiful park, maybe even strikingly so at certain times of the year.

I was fortunate enough to happen upon it on a recent business trip to the San Luis Obispo area. Heading towards a more familiar trail at the end of the day, I spied the parking lot and trailhead from the highway as I was nearing my hotel. After a quick U-turn, I found a handful of friendly local hikers and moutain bikers who were making the best of the fading light and expansive green hillsides decorated with a narrow brown ribbon of trail threaded along the undulating glades.

The new park has gained more than a few online fans who speak of the history of the ranch and its environs. In the spring, the park's hills can be verdant, lush. During the summer months, the dry grasses give the landscape a soft, satisfying and warm glow, accented with deep green oaks offering welcome shade.

The trail is supplemented with a number of wooden bridges that help you to navigate across ravines and a year round stream, the habitat of a small number of steelhead trout. As such, a good portion of the park, while open to view and enjoy from a distance, is so sensitive that hikers are not allowed.

Unfortunately, a growing number of feral pigs haven't been told of the sensitive nature of the area and have made themselves a bit of a nuisance. In addition to tearing up some countryside, they've been stirring up sediments in the stream making life for the rare steelheads a bit tougher. Some hikers have reported confronting the pigs, but no injuries have resulted from the encounters.

Johnson Ranch is certainly not a destination hike, but if you find yourself in the San Luis Obispo area for any reason, do take some time to check this place out. There is a remarkable, sprawling oak tree that spreads up, back into the ground and then out again that makes the trip worth it. The trail travels beneath this wonderful tree, so you can't miss it.

The link below will lead you SLO's Park and Recreation website. Other Open Space Parks are listed, including the Irish Hills Natural Reserve, which has some very sweet trails that I will describe later.

SLO Open Space Parks