Oregon Hikers

Rooster Rock Wagon trail to Mirror Lake and Palisade Falls via Portland Women's Forum Scenic Viewpoint. Solo Tuesday 2/9/2021.

TH Information; parking enough for 35+ vehicles, lot and road in is paved. Easily visible from the old Columbia River Highway. There is no fee to park here. Informational kiosks dot the walkways. Beautiful views from the forum. The trail starts beyond the white gate, make sure you have a map of the area as I noticed several less traveled side trails. There are two handicap spots next to the Columbia viewpoint, would not recommend this trail for handicap, but the viewpoint is handicap accessible and paved. Would recommend for young children as long as there is no mud, ice, or snow on the trail (also be aware there are some steep, narrow, drop off areas). There are no bathrooms at this TH. Multiple bike parking available as well as a water fountain (not sure if it is working due to Covid-19). This viewpoint is not gated. Open from 6am to 9pm.

4.07 miles w/815ft elevation gain. Started at 5:30am no other vehicles in the lot, temp was 31 degrees, but with wind chill 🥶, it felt more like 21 degrees. I would call this one on the easy side of moderate. Trail starts off wide and turns very narrow. With the recent rain the trail was very muddy and slick! There were multiple stream crossings. The descent and ascent are very gradual and the colors in the forrest this time of year are very vibrant . Beautiful views! Love how most of the time, this time of year you can see the trail for a ways in spots. Saw and heard beautiful birds, but no other big game.
Only saw 2 other female hikers on trail close to TH at 9:45am, they socially distanced and one wore a mask. When I got back to the forum, there were 4 other vehicles in the lot at 9:08am.

Remember to pack it in pack it out, leave no trace and leave the trails better than you found them, I picked up as much as I could from the trail; including covid-19 mask , broken glass, TP and alcoholic cans.

I'm dumbfounded as to why only seeing two other hikers socially distanced wearing masks needs inclusion in your report. Do you seriously think you can get C-19 briefly passing fellow hikers in the middle of nowhere?

You seem to be easily dumbfounded.

I think reports about mask wearing are interesting

Mostly, people have not worn masks that I've seen.

Outdoors, brief encounter - low risk

If it caused someone else anxiety because I didn't wear mask, I'd wear one, even if not really necessary

If walking on a trail with a lot of people, like in the city, and a narrow trail, I'd probably wear a mask

Going to the grocery store? Absolutely everyone should wear mask. Or buy food from Amazon and have it delivered

backcracker wrote: ↑

March 1st, 2021, 8:29 pm

I'm dumbfounded as to why only seeing two other hikers socially distanced wearing masks needs inclusion in your report. Do you seriously think you can get C-19 briefly passing fellow hikers in the middle of nowhere?

Mask inclusion is never a bad thing in these reports - most of my recent hikes have shown nearly 75% of those I encounter on a trail aren't wearing a mask, which just tells me what they think of me and others they encounter. Can you tell me with 100% certainty that passing within a few feet of someone who has the pathogens won't be passing them on to me if neither of us is wearing a mask, just because we're outdoors? Is it really that much of a hardship on anyone to wear a mask around others? I really just don't get it. These reports aren't just about the trails or the areas, they're also about the others who use the trails.

If I was walking by you I'd wear a mask

retired jerry wrote: ↑

March 2nd, 2021, 6:49 am

If I was walking by you I'd wear a mask

WHAT??? If I encountered you on a trai, Jerry, I'm pretty sure I'd want to stop and say hello and such silliness - masked up of course. Hard to just walk past an OH legend. But, no hugging.

do a handshake but leave hands a foot apart

you know, maybe some of this will survive covid. Don't shake people's hands because it transmits germs. Wear a mask if you're infectious.

I remember a trip to Japan decades ago. Maybe 1% of the people in the subway wore masks. It's common courtesy to protect other people from your infection.

Generally speaking when we are out hiking we don't wear masks unless we pass other people on the trail. Normally we see them far enough away we can mask up before we get close. I look at it as a matter of common courtesy these days.

Most trails I can get off much more than 6 feet.

One thing annoying is on a narrow trail, sometimes someone will politely get off the trail a couple feet, then I have to walk by them, getting closer than the recommended 6 feet.

Or, for example on the trail before McNeil Point there's a section where it traverses a cliff. It's hard to get off the trail because it's a cliff.

What should people do? If someone's coming the other way, get off the trail more than 6 feet and wait for them to get through the narrow section?

What did people do? Stop at the narrow section for a break making me get closer than 6 feet to get by them. That would be impolite in non covid times.

"They" say that to get infection you have to be closer than 6 feet to someone for at least 15 minutes. Maybe indoors further away than 6 feet. Maybe outdoors closer than 6 feet. Hiking - you don't need to worry about it. Grocery store - low risk because you're not close to anyone for 15 minutes. Bar or restaurant or someone's home - high risk.