Separation Lake via Horse Creek

I love hiking! I got to the trailhead which is only about 40 minutes from our house at about 8 AM. There was another car at the trailhead and ran into the person not long after crossing the bridge on the Horse Creek Trail. He said he was turning around after seeing some bear scat. I think it was horse, though, honestly when I got further up the trail. Still, a friendly guy to have a conversation with before not seeing anyone for the rest of the day. I really like that. I felt like I had the forest to myself. I hiked with headphones in today because I really needed it. When I started out the hike, I was kind of glum. That mood seemed to change as the day went on. The trail was clear of downed trees all the way to the trail junction. From there I hiked down to Separation Lake. I don't think that I had ever been on this section of trail. 

It was steep downhill and had quite a few downed trees. I had to cross two creeks also, which had some logs to balance on. It leveled out before reaching Separation Lake. I hadn't been to Separation Lake for many years and when I went before it was in the fall. During the spring it was so much prettier. I remember it being almost a swamp, but right now it was a really pretty wooded lake. I ate some food and rested my knee. It was feeling a bit sore, but resting for a bit made it feel better. Then it was back up the trail, this time climbing up the really steep hill. It was a good workout, but honestly I wasn't trying to break any records. I took my time, listened to music, and really felt alive again. It was like the woods and the wilderness really revived me on this day. When I got back to the trailhead, I was disappointed. I had enjoyed the hike so much that I did not want to go back to the real world. Today just reminded me that this is always there for me. We worry about money, career, making things perfect for people around you and the commitments that we have. But there is always wilderness to explore. I love hiking!



 

East Fork Trail

Still recovering from my knee injury, I decided to take a trail that went quickly downhill. Not really the greatest of ideas, but since last year they were doing work on the Cougar Dam and the road to the trailhead was closed, this is what I wanted to do now that it was finally open. I had Conrad to join me. The drive to the trailhead went fine. It was back up Aufderheide Road, but this time I turned at the dam and went across it. The road stayed paved for a time and then went uphill. It was about 8 miles up a dirt road when I got to the trailhead beside the road. There are two directions that you can travel from this point. Conrad and I went downhill. This is because going uphill would probably place us into snow pretty quickly. 

As I was expecting the trail went down fairly quickly and it didn't take long for my knee to feel a little bit sore. I still powered through it knowing that some ice and elevation would relieve the pain that I was feeling on this day. Eventually the trail made it down to the East Fork. The trail was in very good condition at this point. The creek was really nice and the walking was enjoyable. Conrad and I were even talking about how you could run this trail. Then it got worse. The brush got thicker, the logs increased until about three and a half miles in we came to a mighty large log that was blocking the trail on a steep slope. We could probably figure out a way to cross it safely, but given the soreness in my knee and the constant fight we were putting up with the trail, we decided this was a good place to count our losses and head back to the trailhead. The hike back goes so quickly and I enjoyed the conversation. Still, the knee was pretty sore by the time we made it back to the car. I definitely glad I went for the hike though. The creek was really pretty and the hike was enjoyable. I was going to need to rest my knee though. 

Rooster Rock

So tired and frustrated from the night before, I set out with my Dad, his wife Laura, and Conrad for a hike up to Rooster Rock. I was tired and frustrated because I was supposed to be running the marathon in Eugene this morning, but given the current state of my knee, I was not going to be doing that. So after months of training, I was stuck just hiking on this day rather than running 26.2 miles. I was glad that a couple of people wanted to spend the day hiking with me. I kept my eyes closed almost all the way out to the trailhead that was a little over an hour from our house. For one, I was sitting in the back where I get car sick. For another, I did not sleep well. When we got to the trailhead, though, I was happy to be there. The trail started innocent enough.

It was fairly flat, but went through some thick forest. Laura was with us for this part. After a while, though, she let the three of us go up ahead. We moved pretty good, but I was not trying to go fast. The knee was definitely hurting, but uphill was not a big deal. My dad was hanging with us. I could tell after a while that even though he said that we could go up ahead, he was trying to keep up with us. Conrad could have destroyed me, but I wanted him to stay with me. After a while, though, I asked Popo if he wanted to go first. That worked a lot better because the three of us were able to hike together. The trail was really steep. In just a few miles we were gaining over 2000 feet. It was about 4.5 miles roundtrip with 2100 feet of elevation, so the trail was pretty steady. The forest was typical northwest forest, but there were also lots of madrone trees. I don't know what it is about madrone trees but they have such a unique look. After a while, we made it up to a junction. The other trail that comes in from another direction meets up here. It is a little less steep, but much longer. From here, we split up. Conrad went up ahead, I was in the middle, and Popo last. There was not a very long distance until we made it to Rooster Rock. I was expecting the trail to end here, but it kept going from there.

On this day, even though I was curious to see where the rest of the trail went, I was happy with ending it here. The knee was definitely feeling it. We ate a bit of food here and admired how steep the rock was. Climbing it seemed like such a difficult proposition given how janky my knee was feeling. From here we went back down. This was the hardest part and definitely walked with a limp. After we passed the junction, we saw Momo (Laura) coming up. Here my dad split off and spent the rest of the hike with Laura. Conrad and I went down as I limped my way down the steep trail. I took most of the force on my right leg to keep my left knee from taking the brunt of it. It would still be sore for a couple of days after the hike, though, because this was probably too steep of a hike for the knee. We made it back to the trailhead. Conrad and I entertained ourselves playing Euchre on my phone. We definitely dominated our competition. It seemed like no time at all before Momo and Popo were back. I got to relax a little bit and I realized how much I missed hiking. Running is important, but hiking is where it is at. We got to see some things and the next day, we were not too exhausted. I would definitely have to visit Rooster Rock again and try the other trail to see where the rest of the route goes.