After many, many months of gloomy rain, summer has finally started to arrive! This weekend the weather was gorgeous - sunny and 75, with a light breeze and clear skies. We planned a hike to Saddle Mountain on Sunday in order to take advantage of the sun while it was still around. But before we could go play in the sun, we had to start the day with church followed by the church questionnaire that is part of the marriage prep process. It is something like 150 "yes, no, maybe" questions along the lines of "do you feel that marriage will solve all of your problems" (hell yes!), and "is there a baby involved in your marriage decision?" (hell no!). Overall, not a difficult test, and most of the questions were geared towards thinking about the future: have you discussed finances, home planning, family planning, etc. The advantage of waiting 8 1/2 years to get married is that all of these things have, at some point, come up in conversation. So I think we're covered. After taking the test (our priest explained it then ran out the door to enjoy the sun, so we were left alone to fill in tiny bubbles in a shaded and quite cold room. AND we missed coffee and donuts!), we decided to bug out of town as fast as possible and take a hike.
Saddle Mountain is about an hour and a half away from Portland, and is located on the coastal range off of the highway that leads to Seaside. The turnoff for Saddle mountain is 11 miles away from the coast, so technically this would be a good way to catch some oceanside action, but the down side is that this highway leads you to Seaside. Do not go to Seaside. Ever. If you must drive through, shield your eyes and the eyes of your children. The sheer tackiness of the city will drive you insane, and if it doesn't then you are not invited to our wedding. If you feel like visiting the coast, please see nearby Cannon Beach for some better beaches, or drive up to Astoria to see all of "The Goonies" locations (the movie was shot there many, many years ago).
But I digress. Saddle Mountain is a state park that is 6 or so miles off of the main highway. And if you have a very expensive or sensitive car, it is a loooonng 6 miles. There are many surprising and bone-jarring potholes that occur seemingly out of the blue on otherwise smooth single lane road. Once you wind through the road to the parking lot, there is a small campsite and a bathroom facility that has flush toilets. Oh joy!
The trail is technically closed. Really. There is a big sign in front of it that says "Trail is Not Passable". That may turn some people off, but to Andy and myself this is a big sign saying "Hike Here!". The trail is very difficult at the top, but we'll get to that. Briefly, the hike is a 2.5 mile up and down that starts at 1650 ft and peaks at 3280. Yep, that's right, there is 1630 feet of elevation gain. From the parking lot, you can crane your neck upwards to see the peak of the mountain. You can even see little people climbing upwards! And, in around an hour, you, too can be one of those little specks.
The trail for the first mile is quite nice. It is wide and very comfortable on the feet. About a half mile in there is a spectacular viewpoint looking at the coastal range, and across the horizon you can see Mt. Hood and glimpse Mt. St. Helen. Another mile in and there are two more spectacular viewpoints, one with some impressive rock formations. By mile 1.5, the trail starts to deteriorate into a less well maintained jumble, with wash outs and loose gravel at many points. Once the steel fence stapled to the ground shows up, you know you've hit some steep terrain. By mile two you just about abandon any normal trail to spend your time entirely on steel fence floor, or gravel. Gravel upon which you may slip. Repeatedly. The last quarter mile is breathtaking, mostly in the sense that it is incredibly steep and aerobic exercise if you are traveling at any pace other than snail. I don't know what the grade is, but by this point you use your hands as much as your feet to attain the summit.
At the top, you have a spectacular 360 degree view of the coast & mountain range. This is amazing. It is even more amazing when there are not clouds covering 180 degrees of your view. Oh well, the hike was still well worth it. Rumor has it that on a clear day, in additition to seeing the coast (and apparently Seaside is a lot less tacky from this angle), you can see Mt. St. Helen, Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood.
I don't have any photos right now, but this is from a blogger who recently made the hike. This is the early viewpoint, so you can just imagine how spectacular it is at the top! (note this is not either Andy or myself. We're too lazy to upload photos from our camera...)
All in all a good day. If you have the time, I'd highly recommend the hike, but keep in mind that layers are your best friend as the elevation change and exertion can cause temperature flux.
