Hiking Trails and Trips

The goal for this weekend was to find two Tualatin River waterfalls in the steep, dense Oregon coast range.  The second was Upper Tualatin River Falls, found here:  http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/nws/falls.php?num=4072%20/.There is no "trail" to speak of for this hike.  We parked at the end of a gravel road that ended, and walked along the west side of the river.  We originally thought the falls were further south, but once we got to the point there...

The GPS was going a little crazy with the poor reception, but we finally made it down to the Little Luckiamute Falls (a destination we've tried and failed to reached two times earlier).This terrain was extremely rugged, slippery, and overgrown with all sorts of underbrush.  In order to reach the lower falls, we had to cross the river 2.5 times (I ended up wading across when we got there, so I could...

A pretty strenuous climb...This year, we hit it too late to enjoy the wildflowers growing near the summit, but it still provides some stunning views of the Columbia River Gorge.

Waikoa Pond, or Venus Pool, in southeast Maui, is a naturally formed swimming pool in an incredibly beautiful setting next to the ocean. The pool, in between Hana and Oheo Gulch Pools, is one of a series of waterfalls and pools. Local lore says that in ancient Hawaii only royalty were allowed to use this exquisite site.The freshwater swimming area is a perfect place to spend a secluded day. Sunbathe on the...

This is a state park, with a decent viewing area to snap a few pictures.  If you're up for a short, steep hike, you won't be disappointed!

This was an (overly) ambitious plan of attempt to follow the remnants of the old Little Luckiamute Trail from where it starts at Black Rock to its ending point above the Little Luckiamute Falls.We averaged about 0.5 miles per hour, due to (among other things) overgrown thistles, stinging nettles, and lack of any trail maintenance for the last 25 years.  We were stopped short about a half-mile from our destination, due to...

This is a pretty quick day hike, but with almost 1000 feet in elevation gain, not something to be taken lightly.  Yosemite is a beautiful park, but next time I'll be going during the week.NOTE: This trip was done prior to having a GPS, thus the tracks and waypoints should not be relied on 100%.

This was a challenging, but not impossible summit hike I took with a few friends in mid-September.  The last one mile is worst, as you enter into loose scree until you hit the summit crest.NOTE: This trip was done prior to having a GPS, thus the tracks and waypoints should not be relied on 100%.

This trip was originally planned as a multi-day backpacking trip, but schedule conflicts were threatening to make us postpone.  Instead, we decided to just make a long day hike out of it, which turned out to be extremely challenging, but also one of the most rewarding backpacking trips I've ever done.  The weather was fantastic, and we timed the wildflowers perfectly.The only thing regret we had from this trip, was not being...

This was a nice short hike I took in early May.  It is quite a bit off the road, but definitely worth the trip.