Winter Falls Trail Running

Sometimes when I don't have a plethora of time, I'll head out to Silver Falls State Park. This day it was pretty rainy, thus I decided to slip on my rain jacket and do interval trail running (tip: interval heart rates helps burn fat).  

What I didn't know is that in true Oregon fashion, I would run into rain, sun, and hail.  The hail was pretty big and actually hurt to hit my skin.  Good thing I was running! 

An adventurous workout to say the least! Silver Falls trails are always great ones for trail running because they have a good amount of hills, well maintained paths, and a variety of routes that you can take.  

Date of hike: April 11th, 2015
Distance: 5 miles (loop)
Elevation gain: 670
Difficulty: Moderate
Mile Mark: 277

Shellburg Falls

The more I hike and the more I blog, the more people I find to connect on hiking excursions with.  For this time I had the pleasure to hike with some old camp friends, Tum Tum (aka. Ryan) and Senior Frijoles (aka. Andy). Additionally, the lovely fiancee to Senior Frijoles, Steph joined us. It was a delight to catch up with each other, talk hiking spots, and enjoy the amazing scenery of the Shellburg Falls area.

I've of course done this hike before so I was the lead on where to go. I took us on the traditional route from the road, hiked through the farmland, up through the falls area and rounded back down the road.  (See previous Shellburg Post for additional details on this hike)

After our hike, Senior and Steph have a tradition of burgers and beers so we headed off to Thompson's McMenamins.  Steph got to get another stamp on her passport and I enjoyed some good wine (Black Rabbit Red).

All in all, it was a feel good day filled with great views and even greater company.  Thanks everyone for coming out!


Date of hike: April 4th, 2015
Distance: 6 miles (roundtrip)
Elevation gain: 500
Difficulty: Easy
Mile Mark: 272

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge

I still am quite unaware of what I did, but this week I hurt my knee. Which was a real bummer because I had a whole afternoon off after my clinical hours in Corvallis. I had planned on doing a nice hike in the Corvallis area, but after seeing my trainer at Courthouse Performance that morning, I was banned from my normal type of hiking.  He said nothing more than 2 miles and very limited elevation gain. Which to me feels like just a walk down a path in the woods, not a hike. But I knew that Aaron knows best and I wanted to preserve longevity of my body.

I've driven past Baskett Slough several times and have looked at it online in the past.  I never got around to going out there because it was short and seemed too easy.  I had no time for such frivolous jaunts in the woods that didn't end in a spectacular waterfall or a stunning view of a mountain.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that while yes it was an easy jaunt, it had some great views of Mt. Jefferson and it was just great to be out in the spring sun.  It was also nice having Caitlin with me to get some much needed fresh air on her Spring Break from school.

I highly recommend taking a little time to just explore this beautiful national wildlife refuge.

Date of hike: March 26th, 2015
Distance: 1ish Miles out and back
Elevation gain: 200
Difficulty: Easy
Mile Mark: 266

Abiqua Falls

I actually didn't realize on my way out to Abiqua Falls that I had been very close to it several times! In the summers we like to drive down to the Abiqua Creek to another relatively hidden spot where we can slide down the falls and jump right into the water. It is an amazing hidden gem. However, the road to it is pretty rough.

Had I known it was the very same road that led to this falls on the Abiqua Creek, I'm not sure I would have gone on this hike.  As I started driving down this road, I quickly realized how difficult it would be on my car. So, I opted to leave my car up the road and trek down the very rocky road.  This made my little one mile hike into more like five or six.  I followed the road to the end where the trailhead was, then veered left onto the normal trail.

Though the hike down to the falls is very short, it is not without its difficulties.  Almost immediately, you will descend pretty steeply down toward the creek.  Luckily, some people had come before me and secured several ropes to help provide stability and avoid falling down.  Not only was it a steep descent, but it was slippery from a previous rainfall.  I was very thankful for the secured rope both going down the trail and back up.

Turn left upstream along the creek, following a rough trail for another 0.2 mile or so. You will have to climb over and around rocks and logs, but it can be done. During periods of high water, you'll need to climb a steep slope to get around some logs, but during low water, it's easier to walk on the exposed river rock for much of the distance. The trail ends at the huge basalt bowl where Abiqua Falls plunges into a very big splash pool. There is a large rocky area jutting out into the pool from which you can admire the falls, or walk over the mossy rocks to the left around the edge of the bowl.

It really is a stunning spot and worth the rough terrain.  Also, in my opinion an excellent spot to pack a lunch to with a friend or on a date. :)

Date of hike: March 21st, 2015
Distance: 6ish Miles out and back
Elevation gain: No idea
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Mile Mark: 265