Clackamas River Trail--Indian Henry to Pup Creek Falls 4/27

[pdxgene]

Matt and I met out at Clackamas this morning for a drive out to the far end of the Clackamas River Trail for the southern half of it. Though we did see a pair of campers, as per usual with most of my hikes we saw zero other hikers...
What we did see follows starting with one of the many seasonal waterfalls along the trail..




Cat Creek..


A patch of bleeding heart..


A little meadow at The Narrows..


Yellow monkeyflower...


Clackamas River thru The Narrows..


A trailside Indian paintbrush patch..


Pup Creek Falls was flowing really nicely today..


Matt at Pup Creek Falls..


The high path back across Pup Creek. I chose the lower slippery rocks, a good spot to get this picture..


A River Rescue group training session-- kinda looked more like fun to me..


Uh-oh....


Back past The Narrows..


Another seasonal waterfall...


Finishing up with a pair of Fairy-slipper orchids..


Along with the zero people also not a drop of rain. A cloudy day is a perfect day to wander a river trail thru the woods, it makes the colors so much more vivid as long as you keep the sky out of the pictures..
Slideshow here https://picasaweb.google.com/1014808592 ... 7259613121

What a day....

[romann]

A little meadow at The Narrows..

Nice report and pics Gene. But... that log over Narrows is gone? It used to be good place to watch natural selection in action (Jeremiah's pic below, from our hike on a frigid day last winter). Yes this guy went all the way to our side and back, not that he could easily turn around mid-way. Is the rope in your pictures across the river in the same place?

In all seriousness though, someone had to cut that slippery log to save some people from themselves...

[pdxgene]

Thanx! Yes, it had been cut quite professionally looking. Our guess was to avoid any kind of liability should that natural selection actually occur.
The old cable car rope is still there in the same place.

[romann]

The old cable car rope is still there in the same place.

Ah okay, than it's not new rope at the Narrows

[miah66]

Yes, thank goodness that log is gone. I was freaking when that kid was crossing it.

[mattisnotfrench]

Between the Blazers on Wednesday and my work day on Thursday it's taken me a couple of days to get to my photos. Here they are:



I love the overhang on this trail. This is an icy, wet mess in winter but in spring it's nice.



The Narrows, looking upstream.



The Narrows, looking downstream.



Pup Creek Falls. One of my favorite waterfalls!



Another look at Pup Creek Falls. I never get tired of coming here.



Gene crossing Pup Creek. As you see above, I decided to cross on the log a bit upstream. I don't like getting my feet wet!



The first of what I hope is many paintbrush to be seen in 2016. I know it's a common flower but it's still maybe my favorite wildflower.



I envied these guys. This looked like a lot of fun.



This trail has some nice old trees. There isn't much sustained old-growth like you find on some other hikes but there are lots of big trees. The cedars near the Narrows are particularly nice.



Case in point. This is also a nice new wilderness sign. I honestly forgot this area was now wilderness until I saw the sign...and it opened up my eyes.



Gene being Gene.

It was a great day in a great place, with the added benefit of being home before 3PM. I don't get why the Clackamas River isn't more popular but I'll gladly take the solitude.

[Hagbard Celine]

That was my wife and I camped not too far from the narrows, so we kind of meet again!

It was as you say, pretty awesome! . It didn't rain or get too cold over night either. I had gone there last year in summer with our boy but it is so much nicer in spring we are going to go do the Henry-Pup day hike this week before it starts to dry out there. See you again next time.

[SeanMMM]

Beautiful pix! I love the Clackamas River country, but the Clack River Trail is the only trail I ever hike down there. It's just so lovely, but I really do need to expand my horizons a bit. I was thinking about hiking up to Fish Creek Mountain later this spring. Never been there.

[pdxgene]

That was my wife and I camped not too far from the narrows, so we kind of meet again!

It was as you say, pretty awesome! . It didn't rain or get too cold over night either. I had gone there last year in summer with our boy but it is so much nicer in spring we are going to go do the Henry-Pup day hike this week before it starts to dry out there. See you again next time.

That's so funny.... we were so surprised to see you guys since there were no cars at the lot. It was just you two and the people in the rafts and that's all we saw the entire day.. ..

[Hagbard Celine]

We started at Fish Creek with the idea that one or both of us would hitch the eight miles down the road. Turns out we never even needed to try because the only other hiker that we ran into on the trail offered a ride! Thanks again Mark and your furry friend Abe!