(why are we doing this again?) the only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to go back to bed 
That thought only lingered for a moment though and we were off to Timber where my girlfriend Joie(the real hero in all this!) and one of the pups dropped me off near the post office around 5 am after dropping a bag of supplies near the gate at Elk Creek off highway 6:
Just down the road near the junction of Cochran Road I grabbed one last hug before taking off for the mountains:
It was already almost 5:30 by now so I had to work hard if I wanted to get to the Trask River before dark. Joie and Jack watched as I began the journey west heading down Cochran Road. After a few miles on gravel I reached the start of the Gales Creek Trail near Reehers Camp. The trail crosses over the old POTB rail line shortly after leaving the Nehalem River as it works its way up and over a ridge line that sits in between Gales Creek and the Nehalem. I dropped into the Gales Creek drainage and grabbed some water and gels as the morning opened up:
It didn't take long to reach the Storey Burn Trail and soon after the Devils Lake Fork Bridge over the Wilson River:
The next segment included a short stint along highway 6 before picking up Rutherford Road and a steep climb up and over the divide between the Devils Lake Fork and South Fork of the Wilson River. Much like a lot of the Tillamook State Forest the landscape is covered in second growth doug-fir on one side of the road and clear-cuts on the other:
I scanned for Elk on the edge of the clear-cut and enjoyed a mix of sun and clouds while munching on some almonds and peanuts:
Found a few flowers here and there:
Back down into the woods and I passed by the StageCoach Horse Camp:
Shortly after I was along the old South Fork Stage Road heading down past the Prison Camp. The stage road dropped me back off at highway 6 where the Devils Lake Fork and South Fork meet, just across the road from the entrance to the Elk Creek Campground. I was only 20+miles in and already at the aid bag and Elk Creek. This time there was no brutal onslaught of spring rain and I was free to load up on pbnj, bananas and pringles while refilling some liquids and changing cloths/batteries etc. I walked the next couple of miles and let some food digest as I tried to get used to the heavier pack with enough food and extra clothing to get me through the next 45 miles. I stopped a few times to admire the old giants of the forest that were lost in the burn:
Upon reaching the junction with Kings Mountain I still hadn't seen anyone outside of the folks driving on highway 6 and one car camper at Elk Creek. This theme would continue for most of my time on the Wilson River Trail as the only people I encountered were at places like Diamond Mill and the Forest Center, otherwise I didn't see a single person while I was on the WRT, Gales Creek or Storey Burn Trails. Climbing up from the Kings TH junction and I reached a few of the nicer viewpoints along the Wilson River Trail:
A small slide on the way down to Diamond Mill:
Just above the North Fork of the Wilson and the mill I spotted some HUGE anthills a little ways off the trail:
A closer look, I think they're Western Thatching Ants:
Once I reached the Tillamook Forest Center I couldn't resist a quick stop at the exhibit and the soda machine for an Orange Juice. It was actually quite difficult to use the vending machine at this point! I guess you can call it cheating if there's Orange Juice and picnic tables:
"Please no food or drink in the exhibit hall!" it says. Judging by the plastic bottles near the other end of the bridge many folks seem to read it as "Please litter food and drink in the forest, not the exhibit hall". Although it was tough I managed to carry my plastic bottle all the way to Tillamook!
Once I left the Forest Center it began to rain a little bit as I neared Wilson Falls:
The stretch past the Footbridge junction that drops into Wolf Creek and curls around the Ryan Creek drainage is one of my favorites along the entire Wilson River Trail. Only a mile or so past the Footbridge TH and the WRT crosses over Wolf Creek Road before a bridged crossing over Wolf Creek. It makes a great destination almost any time of the year!
Once I reached Cedar Butte Road it was time for another good climb on gravel as I rose high above the Wilson once again. The most confusing part of this adventure is the myriad of constant road and trail junctions the route takes to traverse over the entire range. I managed to stay on track and before I knew it I was back at an old decommissioned road stretch before a big bomb back down to highway 6. Just before reaching the brushy deccomed stretch I got caught in a heavy thunder shower so I kept the rain gear on as I blasted through the soaking wet thickets of salmon berry:
After a good beating I made it to the other side and offed a few layers for the run down to highway 6 on Coast Range Road. Upon reaching the river I took to the highway for one more short stretch and crossed over getting on Kansas Creek Road for the last climb of the day. On my way up over the divide between the Wilson and Trask Rivers some folks drove up from behind and asked where I was headed. The man driving was a logger so when I told I came from Timber he looked at me like I was insane and asked me if I wanted a gatorade. It was ice cold from a cooler and probably the best thing I've ever tasted
Not five minutes passed and another car came driving up from behind when a familiar voice said, "Sean?" from the driver window and once again it was an old friend from high school. Himself and another old classmate were heading up to a cabin for a weekend of bow hunting and again offered me a drink and a ride. It was great to see him out there and at this point I was feeling spoiled:
Just before I topped out and readied myself for the bomb down the Trask cutoff the clouds and late afternoon sunlight made for an impressive showing over the tree tops:
On my previous trip I didn't run the downhill road segments well at all. Many of them are quite steep for road grades and don't supply even footing like cement or pavement, or even really packed down segments of some gravel roads. This time around I was really proud of how I approached the entire trip with a no nonsense attitude while still enjoying it so much. I know drinking a lot more water and eating more food than I usually do helped a ton. So with the added fluids I'd scored on the way up Kansas Creek I felt great as I bombed down to the Trask River. I reached the highway and pavement with about ten miles to Tillamook and kept up a jog for a while as the last light of another amazing day in the coastal range came to a close:
A few miles on pavement and I was really feeling the burn from a rash that had started developing over 30 miles ago. Once I ran out of food energy and couldn't bare the pain anymore I was pretty much just waddling down the highway like an idiot
Lucky for me this time my rescue crew and most favorite person in the world came driving up the road even sooner than last time to pick me up and drag my sorry excuse for a carcass all the way back to Portland All in all the trip was about 65 miles and 10,000+ feet of elevation gain in just under 17 hours. Which is a little over 2 hours shorter than the previous trip, although that one was about 2 miles longer. This is the best I have ever run in my life and I cant wait to go on another trip like this one and see how much better I've become!
Crazy incredible! My best days of mega-hikes are behind me, and even then, going more than 20 miles in one day was a push for me. You sir, are a mileage master!
