Today I went hiking in a National Wilderness area. Since moving to Oregon, I’ve been hiking quite a bit. Not until today, did I stop to think about what it takes to maintain the roads, trails and signs that make my hiking experience possible. On the way to the trailhead, our driver (and experienced hiker) Kathy, kept commenting on how improved the road was over 2 years ago. Once we arrived at the trail, we expected to be near fire damage from the Dollar Lake Fire that closed this and many other trails last year. What we didn’t expect was for the trail to travel through approximately 2 miles of extensive forest fire damage. Had the trail not been “broken” for us, we could easily have gotten lost in the ghostly and blackened stumps of the trees, walking in ash. Instead, there was an obvious path and occasionally flags on branches (that remained) to lead the way.
For my 5 minutes I’m writing a thank you to the Forest Service. Not only for fighting the fire, but for improving the road and restoring the trail so I can enjoy Mt. Hood. For more pictures, visit my album on Facebook.
UPDATE: Awesome description of this hike, includes information on volunteers who maintain the trail. http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Elk_Cove_from_Vista_Ridge_Hike. Next time, we’ll make it all the way to Elk Cove…
5 Minute Citizen 