Sun goes down around 4:30 this time of year so I really needed to be getting someplace soon. Surely I would hit something I recognized soon? It started to snow again and it was getting on toward the afternoon. The way kept getting harder and harder and looking less and less like a real path. I would either find Devil’s Rest, or I would run into them. I was following the foot prints in the snow of a couple of hikers and they surely must have known where they were going. I was trying to get to Devil’s rest, and I thought I was going the right way. This turns out to be a sure sign your are lost. I had seen the signs that said things like “Devil’s Rest” and “Angel’s Rest” but I was convinced that they were all pointing the wrong way. I came this way once in the winter in the snow and damned near got myself lost and benighted before I turned around. Be on the look out for the signs on the trees here as it can be easy to miss your way and get turned around. Now we are turning to make our way up on the Devil’s Rest trail. We have only seen one person since we left the springs. Remember all of those people we saw down by the trailhead on the Historic Highway? They haven’t made it up here. I will interpret their posts as reverse time derivatives of my work). (An internet search finds nothing except other people saying how nice it is to hike this loop. Is there some great huge underwater lake up in the higher hills with a little out flow near the bottom that feeds underground to the springs? So the flow will be just about constant no matter what unless the secret reservoir runs out of water? I am going to say it is unless Wikipedia wants to contradict me. The source of the underground spring must mitigate the high and low water levels. In fact, it seems to be pretty much the same as it looks during the winter rains. Something I realized about Wakeenah, though we are in the midst of a dry hot spell and at the end of the summer, when all of the other creeks and streams are really low (Multnomah falls, for instance, is a shade of its normal glory) Wakeenah is flowing along just fine. I probably don’t need to filter, but I don’t see a reason to risk it. The water here is very cold, even at this time of the summer, and the flow is also strong and clear. I have brought my little filter and we quickly fill up. Today, we are going to stop here for just long enough to top off our water bladders. This is a great spot for have lunch and relax. There is a trail there off the road and if you go back 100 feet you will hit the Devil's Rest Plateau. Follow it up and around (you may have to negotiate a locked traffic gate) until you see some partially hidden signs and a space that might be for parking. This is a an access road to some property owned by the Trail Club of Portland. The last time I hiked this road the bridge was closed to cars, but I understand that it has been fixed. You are on what I am calling the Nesika Lodge Road. Turn right onto this road and you will soon cross a (car accessible) bridge. Eventually you will come to a place where the trail crosses a dirt road. At one point there is a high and low water turn out. if you keep going up Larch mountain trail, you will soon find a bridge across Wahkeena Creek and then a pleasant continued hike along the river. If you are doing loop (1) you would take Wahkeena Springs trail #420 toward the Crossroads. The Trail up from Multnomah falls is also Larch Mountain Trail #441. Starting Points: (Well, technically end points also) The back way to Devil's Rest (Neskia Lodge Road) is a somewhat notional marking as it doesn't appear to be on maps anymore. I have tried to place markers for the trail start and stop options. I don't like the map they hand out or post on the trails. I have provided links to any in-depth blogs I may have generated over the years. Interesting, you can say "Facebook" on this blog site.Īnyway, I decided to put together a general map and trail description of the area with pointers out to any more detailed blogs I may have done. I thought I had written about most of these but I must have gotten mixed up with some Facebook postings. There are also a number of different loops and semi-loops that can be added together to form many different hikes of different challenges. It is pretty close to Portland, It has some nice elevation (exercise), usually has parking, and can be hiked in most weather for most of the year. For the past few years I have been doing a lot of day hikes around the Multnomah falls area.
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