1. Sophie Mozee Cabin
This hike takes you down a gated logging road off Rocky Point Road (Columbia County) on what is, I think, Longview Fiber land. The road has not been used by vehicles for a while and is now blocked by crowds of alders that toppled in the last storm. In fairly short order, you pass through a clearcut and come to the remains of an old homestead cabin in a tall stand of Douglas-fir. All that remains of the original cabin is the fireplace and chimney.
Thayer is the reigning expert on exploring the hills between Portland and the coast, mainly in Columbia, Washington, and Tillamook counties. To Thayer, a private logging road is a "trail", and he has cobbled together numerous routes through these heavily logged tracts that hikers rarely visit. The book contains some descriptions of conventional and well-trod routes, such as the Elk Mt.-Kings Mt. Loop and Saddle Mountain, but the timing of his publication is unfortunate on two counts:
1. Included is the washed-out route of the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad through the Salmonberry Canyon. This route has now been shut down, No Trespassing signs have been posted, and citations are threatened for those who do trespass.
2. Weyerhaeuser has recently decided to institute a permit system for its forestlands which for decades had been available to recreational users for free. The 11-month permit costs $75, there are a limited number, and they can only be purchased on a couple of days in May. All, or almost all, of them will be snapped up by hunters. Since many of the hikes in book take routes through Weyerhaeuserland, it is unlikely hikers can take advantage of any of them soon. Thayer says he is working trying to get a separate permit system for hikers . . .
It's a splendid book in other respects, though, in particular for the research the author accomplished to present the local history and folklore of the area.
2. Virginia Lake
This seasonal pond is part of the only state park on Sauvie Island, the Wapato Access Greenway. In Thayer's book, he characterizes pre-European Sauvie Island as the most densely-populated piece of real estate north of Mexico City. We took a spin on the park loop trail and stopped at the viewing platform to observe the waterfowl. I identified Canada geese, shovelers, mallards, gadwalls, ring-necked ducks, wigeons, pintails, buffleheads, pied grebes, and great blue herons. At Hadley's Landing, there were several boats moored, and across the channel, on the Burlington side, we admired the remains of the Jean, a sternwheeler that plied the Willamette from the mid-1930s to the mid-50s. It languished as a potential attraction in Lewiston, Idaho, for a while and was then sold and then resold. The current plan is to chop it down to serve as a barge although the vessel still carries its upper stories. I discovered that the two paddle wheels currently languish at Keizer Rapids Park near Salem and may be put on display.
