Catherine Creek Area Questions

[Guy]

So we are thinking of heading out to Catherine Creek this Sunday with some friends. I've never been there before & from reading posts & the field guide info here there seem to be a couple of short trails but I don't have a good idea of the whole area. Does anyone have a decent trail map of the area they could share & is it possible to do a hike of more than 2 or 3 miles in that area?

Thanks.

[retired jerry]

We need a better map in the field guide

In the field guide, it describes a trail over to Coyote Wall - 4 miles to Coyote Wall.

If you look at the standard USGS top map, or you can go the the Catherine Creek Trailhead in the field guide and click on Portland hikers maps, there's a double dotted line marking the trail over to Coyote Wall - old 4WD road.

Or, there are 4WD roads going up on the West side of Catherine Creek.

Or, there's a trail that goes up on the East side of Catherine Creek - I don't see anything on the USGS map - if you wander around a bit you can probably find it.

I think there are some 4WD roads/trails further East.

Just wander around and you can probably do about any length hike you want.

May have to stretch to make a "Loony" hike

[Guy]

Thanks Jerry,

Going with folks who are deffinately not Loony Hikers & no longer trust my estimations of distance .. But it's a long way to drive if you can't hike 7 or 8 miles at least!

[Excursionista]

Just go get lost. That's what I did my first time there. If you go uphill you can see where you are. If you go downhill you hit the river. If you hike east, you end up in Lyle. If you hike west, you hit the Coyote Wall.

Joking aside, you can get 9ish miles and a decent workout using the following route. I don't have a GPS, so I don't have a track, and these directions are as confusing as the trails are until you hike them enough. But the entire area is great fun, and quite open. If you want, you can piece this route together using the field guide:

Start at the Catherine Creek TH (in the field guide). Hike west (left) up the road, which turns into a trail following powerlines up the hill. Near the top of the hill, head west on an obvious old road. This road becomes a trail as it winds along and reaches the Coyote Wall. Descend to the river by following a trail/bike-track along a small creek, and just before the abandoned highway, look for a trail heading east. A few hundred yards later, turn right (uphill and north) to climb through the Labyrinth back to the east-west trail between the Coyote Wall and power lines. Return the way you came, or continue east under the power lines and take an old road down into Catherine Creek valley. You'll eventually pass a small bridge/road that crosses the creek and leads a few hundred yards to the old corral and basalt arch; back on your descent road, if you don't cross the creek and keep it to your left, the trailhead is a few hundred yards further down the road (you'll be on the eastern/right-hand road from the TH).

Note that Catherine Creek divides the entire area in two. The eastern side is smaller, and if you reverse the directions above, visit the arch first, and continue uphill past the arch (east), there’s no good way across Catherine Creek higher up – you’re stuck on the east side of the whole area (unless you bushwack). This is not a bad predicament to be in, but your hike may be shorter.

And lastly, don’t be surprised if you don’t hike as far as you plan… there's a lot to see.

[romann]

I never seen a complete map of the area, but if you combine these 4 it will cover most of it:

1) Kind of simplified map on nwhiker.com: http://nwhiker.com/CGNSAHike59.html
2) http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... 7&start=10 Labyrinth - adjacent area W of Catherine Creek (scroll down for a map), note 2 trails that go off Cath. Creek TH, not shown here is a trail that goes right off right branch, crosses the creek and come to an arch)
3) http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/dow ... &mode=view (a trail that connects yellow and pink section on map #2)
4) http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... _wall3.JPG Coyote Wall map in Field Guide, just west of Labyrinth

Yes - enough trails there to get lost

[beag]

Guy. Dont have a map but this hike will get you 6 or seven miles and you can wander around for ever. Head down road and cross Creek on wooden boards, Follow road uphill , Arch on right and Corral on left. Under Powerlines make a left . Soon after you will see a trail heading uphill. You will be below nice cliffs as you hike upward with Catherine Creek to your left. You can hike as far as you want when you reach the meadow.Eventually you will see a stand of trees at the end of the cliff. I would hike uphill to there and find the trail that goes downhill and South. You can continue uphill if you like and pick up the return path on your way back to make a loop. That area to the East is known as Tracy Hill.. I'd like to join you but I will be in a car heading for NY.It should be nice out there if there is not too much snow.

[jdemott]

The Tracy Hill area makes for a nice loop of 6-8 miles, depending on your wanderings. From the parking area, go right along CAtherine Creek and cross the creek on the small bridge near the ford. Past the arch, stay right and head uphill, and stay right near the powerlines to head up to the area above the arch. After exploring that area, head generally uphill (following old 4WD road/use path) along the ridge above Major Creek (the next creek east of Catherine Creek). At about the 2 mile point you reach a small woods--continue through the woods on the obvious use path and emerge on Tracy Hill. Continue uphill enjoying the views. You can wonder around on the hill, continuing into the woods to the north where there are some roads. Eventually, you will want to return south and head west (downhill) toward the Catherine Creek drainage. (There is a well defined path over toward Catherine Creek from the woods.) There is a more or less defined use path partway down the slope of the Catherine Creek drainage. You can explore uphill as you like and eventually follow it downhill toward the south which will return you to the road near the arch. Basically you just make a loop by going up the west side of Major Creek and coming down the east side of Catherine Creek, which you can probably see easily on any topo map.

[drm]

The area is without official maps or signs because it is a fairly recent public purchase and only last year was a proper plan approved for how it is to be used. There is just now a new trailhead sign on Courtney Road and various groups and agencies have work parties planned for the upcoming year. Hood River mountain bike shops have hand-drawn maps of the trails they ride with names.

This means that if you like to do it like Excursionista described, there are lots of options. While proximity to the Columbia and a lack of trees mean that it is impossible to truly get lost, you will never really know where exactly the next junction takes you and if you don't make the best choice, you could end up walking the road back below, or bumping into private property above. Or just turning around. The most basic version of the upside loop from the official trailhead is about 5 miles and best done clockwise so you don't have to find and choose junctions. But there are many options to extend it west into the Labyrinth, syncline, and coyote wall areas.

This area is going to change a lot in the next few years. With the trail upkeep and information, the area will get in a lot more guidebooks, maybe info on forest service websites. This will likely mean a lot more people. It's a natural process but it's not going to be the same.

[payslee]

As others have said, Catherine Creek is phenomenal and you cannot go wrong no matter where you wander. There are many trails and loops possible, few signs and maps, so I have found it best to adopt a "non-linear" mindset when I head up there.

A favorite loop of about the legnth you describe is one I did just last Sunday. I have sketched out a rough map on the photo below. It takes you up and around Tracy Hill, heading down with amazing views the whole way, then up over the top of the arch and down across the road to the pretty waterfall at the bottom of Catherine Creek. You can mix and match hikes of any length here... I have done figure 8 loops of up to 12 miles (catcherine creek will Cliff you out if you try to cross it anywhere but near the very bottom).

As others have said, no official maps mark the "trails", and I suspect most of them are old cow or deer trails anyway, but the most useful one I've seen so far is on the USFS Catherine Creek site, showing a seasonal Peregrine Falcon closure area. It has many of the main routes sketched in, although this shows only the southern part of the area and many of my favorite loops extend beyond it. Link here: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOC ... 351542.pdf

My very rough map below. Be cautious of poison oak, although it hasn't leafed out yet I still managed to get a reaction on one hand. If you stay on the east side of the loop in my sketch the footing is all very good, and there's a nice out and back to a sping/ pond (not shown on map) near the top of tracy hill. On the west side of this loop the trail is easy to spot but skirts a very steep dropoff over the creek so I'd only recommend it to sure-footed folks. Have fun!

[Guy]

A big thank you to everyone who replied lots a great info here!