Camping and hiking thread

[Audrey2]

One of my two closest friends who I hike with had a work thing yesterday, so we had to do something closer than Marion Lake, which I'd really like to do this year (on OR 22, east of Detroit). We did the Riverside trail (along the Clackamas River) and only saw 4 other groups of hikers. It was a beautiful hike, but the ups were up and the downs were down; the 300 feet gain on the trail was net, not gross. (If you are looking online, there is a separate Clackamas River Trail).

[Audrey2]

We finally got to do Marion Lake on Saturday and had a great time! Counting the side trip down to Marion Falls, it was about 6.4 miles. The lake was very pretty, as was Lake Ann, which you came to first. Marion Falls was beautiful, too! The path to Marion Falls is not easy, especially on the way back up.

[CTRLZero]

Here's my end-of-summer review of a few trails we did recently in the Pacific NW.  Unfortunately, we spent a few weeks avoiding going outside because of the forest fire smoke. 

I did the Bridge of the Gods 10k run at Cascade Locks, Oregon, and saw the scorched tree trunks.  Fortunately, it looked like the forest would recover along the three-mile path downstream of Cascade Locks.  The trail system beyond that was closed. 

We just spent a few glorious days on the north Oregon Coast.  The Astoria Riverwalk extends farther than the last time I was there. 

We also tackled Saddle Mountain again.  I suspect we are getting older, because it was pretty tough.  The view is spectacular, and it was fun to see the mountain and say, "Hey, we were there," when we returned to Astoria. 

On our way home, we traipsed around Cape Disappointment.  Of course, the fog would roll in.  Our muscles were pretty sore, so we called it a day after roaming around the interpretive center and lighthouse.

During the winter, we are going to study up on the Oregon Coast Trail.  Happy hiking!