King Castle/Castle Rock

It was just Conrad and I. He was willing to go on a hike with me. He was a pretty good companion despite the fact that I would be carrying him the whole way. It was not particularly easy any more as he was getting heavier each day. I could not complain, though, because I was able to get out with him despite the whole parenting responsibility thing. We still had another week off before we started our new job at McKenzie, but Jacqueline and Zyla were in town. She took a day off from going in to school as she was extra nervous given the fact that this was going to be her first teaching job.
I had not taught in a few years, but I understood the stress that went with it, so getting out and enjoying the rest of my summer was definitely on the agenda. The trail I chose was the King Castle trail. It left from a paved road right off of the McKenzie Highway. There was a small trailhead for just a few cars. I loaded Conrad up in the pack and off we went. The trail did not stay flat for too long as soon we were zig zagging through a beautiful forest. I was just so impressed by the forest in Oregon. The trail was lined with very tall trees, but there was still an openness to the area. You did not feel closed in and also we were so close to the main road, but still felt completely away from it all.
There was a lot of sweating going on as the morning was cool, but the kid kept me in shape. We popped out on to a road that looked like it was in fairly good shape. We sat down to have a snack and then continued on up the trail. It crossed the road and continued on uphill. Eventually it reached a point where we stopped going uphill and then went down. We got to a trail junction and I thought this would be a good point to turn around. I couldn't keep him in the pack all day and this gave me a point that I could easily return to and finish the trip up Castle Rock which is where the King Castle trail eventually led.

As we went down, we reached a flatter section, so I stopped to give Conrad a chance to walk a little bit. I was amazed at just how small he was compared to the trees around him. We did a good job, but he was a little wobbly out there. I only gave him a few minutes and then he was happy to be back on my back and down the trail we went. I really liked that trail. It was so close. I only saw two other groups the entire time. I thought that maybe I could even get out and run that trail it was just in such good shape and so well maintained. Excellent use of my last days of freedom.

Two days later, I was back to finish it off. I did not let that fester for long.
 Conrad came with me once again. We drove to the top which was up a long forest service road which at times I doubted whether I was going the right direction. I figured as long as I continued going uphill it was going to be okay. I was right as I came to a trailhead at the end of this road. It was only a mile from here to the top. This was a flatter trail at first, but with some steeper drop offs. Eventually, it switchbacked and came out into a more open area. The top was a spot where there definitely was an old lookout. You could see a lot of the McKenzie Valley from here and most of that was forested.
I felt so lucky to live in such a wild place. This felt so much more remote than where we had come from, but yet there was a lively history here. I left there knowing I would return to Castle Rock many times.