I am trying to figure out how I can get more time in the forest by economizing somewhere else (trying to save money on gas). The problem is that in my day-to-day life, I hardly ever spend money on anything but gas and groceries.
I guess what I will have to do is minimize the number of hikes beyond Exit 34 (I have to do the Middle Fork). Not sure what else to do.
Today I went to Exit 32, near Rattlesnake Lake and did my usual Olallie Trail, via the Cedar Butte Trail and the Southside Trail. I just turned left onto Olallie and went down. Next time I will shoot for one of the viewpoints up the side of the mountain.
I took the Christmas Lake Trail on the way back, as you can see on the track. I had to break down and get a new Garmin (which goes against my native frugality). The Garmin showed 5.65 miles, but it is a mile short, as, being new, it was doing a software update when I turned it on. I reset it when I hit the Cedar Butte Trail, one mile from the car.
I love the Olallie Trail, which was constructed by and for the mountain bikers. Hikers are officially allowed to share the trail. I have one word for the bikers I have encountered: Bravo!
My personal rules for this trail are:
- Bikers always have the right of way.
- I always stay alert for bikes. A solo biker coming down might be quiet, sneaking up on you, so you have to be on your toes.
- As I hike I scan ahead of me for places to pull off the trail to let a bike pass, and in both directions for bikes.
- When a bike is nigh I pull off the trail as far as I safely can, and biker and I make eye contact and usually say ‘hi’ or whatever. If the closest biker has friends coming up behind, they will warn you, but if they are not with anyone they will tell you that as well.
So we get along just fine.
The trail is in great shape. I hiked it partway during the dead of winter and there were so many blowdowns even I, on foot, gave up and turned around. The bikers have come up and cleaned up the trail, which is in great shape:
I saw a curious deer on the way back:
And I got this shot of the Rattlesnake Ledges, from the same spot where I snapped a picture on December 31 when I did a little snowshoe outing with Jan:
A good workout and a very fun time. Here is the track:
