The secrets of Forest Park

Discussions and Trip Reports for off-trail adventures and rediscovering lost trails
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Don Nelsen
Posts: 4377
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: The secrets of Forest Park

Post by Don Nelsen » February 12th, 2021, 9:26 am

arlohike wrote:
February 11th, 2021, 11:06 pm
Can you actually park on the road where firelane 12 ends? I knew it was technically a road but it felt like that person's driveway so I never really walked it
It's a narrow road with private driveways along one side, and several homemade "no parking" signs from the local residents, but there is one pullout in front of an empty lot with room for two cars and that's where I've been parking. If that were already taken, I think the next closest spot would be another half mile further down, at the Highway 30 intersection.
The shelter you mention above Newton Rd is probably the one I was talking about and the one Don visited. It's pretty elaborate and not that far up the hill from the trail, I think I was able to spot it once I knew where it was. You can easily spot the bottom of the steep abandoned road the shelter is on coming off Newton creek if you are headed uphill.
Thanks, I'll take a look around next time I'm there.
Yes, that's the shelter, easily visible from Newton - but not easily spotted once the leaves are out. I could find no trace of user paths in the area indicating to me its been a few years since its been used.

That pullout at the south end of the road to FL 12 is the one I use too when I hike there.

Arlo, please check your private message box.
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aaburles
Posts: 28
Joined: September 29th, 2015, 8:33 am

Re: The secrets of Forest Park

Post by aaburles » February 22nd, 2021, 6:51 am

3 foot tall woodpecker on the Wildwood trail.
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arlohike
Posts: 237
Joined: April 28th, 2014, 8:28 pm

Re: The secrets of Forest Park

Post by arlohike » March 20th, 2021, 4:02 pm

I headed out to the Ridge Trail today for a loop around Hardesty/Wildwood/Lief, but after parking, on a whim, I instead walked down to Firelane 7a and walked up that toward Lief.

I soon came upon this old concrete structure that I'd seen in the past. What I hadn't noticed before is that the structure is much larger than this one garage-sized room. A staircase on the right leads up to a second level and then to a roof or platform on top, all of which is thoroughly covered in ivy. There might be a staircase on the other side as well. There's an old campsite up on the roof, but relatively little trash. I don't know what this could have been, given that there isn't really road access to it, but it reminded me of the old gun batteries on the coast.
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Digging the Satanic graffiti
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Almost hidden staircase
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Large platform at the top
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Old hand truck, I think
Then just a bit further is this ... thing ... maybe the two are related. This has Union Pacific stickers on it, but they're on there so haphazardly I don't know if it's really a railroad thing. There are no wires or electronics to be seen ... just this flat surface aimed at the highway and railroad far below.
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The view from the trail
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Walking around to the front
I then followed the trail along the fence past the Gas Line Road junction. It quickly dropped down to a creek and I could barely see a small waterfall the next ravine over, but the trail basically dead-ended at a steep hill with the oil pipeline markers visible at the top. So I went back and took the Gas Line Road up to Lief Erikson. That's a good workout ... it's the first place I've seen footholds kicked in the mud like you'd see in snow!
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nborders
Posts: 1
Joined: July 6th, 2021, 3:36 pm

Re: The secrets of Forest Park

Post by nborders » July 6th, 2021, 3:42 pm

arlohike wrote:
March 20th, 2021, 4:02 pm

Then just a bit further is this ... thing ... maybe the two are related. This has Union Pacific stickers on it, but they're on there so haphazardly I don't know if it's really a railroad thing. There are no wires or electronics to be seen ... just this flat surface aimed at the highway and railroad far below.
I freely admit I may be wrong on this one. However, the "sign" looks to be a navigation aid use in shipping. This area is at the bend in the Willamette river, so logically it is a good spot. These kind of things have been updated over the years and I think they use GPS now. Who knows?

Just a thought. However, all the railroad attention may point to something with them also. There are a bunch of tracks down in the industrial area to the southeast on the other side of HW30.

Love this thread. I have done a bunch of exploring similar to this, but more on a bike (cycling). I don't ride the trails, but thrown my bike on my shoulder and attempt to find links to off-road trails for bikes. I have more insight into the roads ("blue gates") to the north of FP. However, I see similar patterns with those roads further northwest and these abandoned roads. Another great place to explore washed-out infrastructure are the logging roads around Vernonia. I've come across so many old logging camps in my explorations.

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