Shale Ridge Trail

 We had a morning where we could all go hiking as a family which is rare. I am not sure why it ends up being that way, but life keeps us busy. Now school is out and Zyla is done with all of here dancing. The kids do not have track, although Conrad is still going to town twice a week to run with the Oregon Track Club. We still had appointments for orthodontists, dentists, and doctors to make happen this spring, but we had a morning that we didn't have to accomplish tasks in town until later in the day. I talked Jacqueline and the kids into doing the Roaring Ridge Trail that took off near the Roaring River. Unfortunately, when we tried to find it, we missed the trailhead. Instead we ended up at the Shale Ridge Trail. This was a nerve wracking decision to make. Do we waste our limited time and go back to find the Roaring Ridge Trail or do we make this work? 

We decided to make this work. I could see the levels of doubt growing in Jacqueline's eyes, but the trail turned out to be very pleasant. There was a sign that said that it was not maintained often at the trailhead, but that was probably put up by the last people to maintain it because the logs were cut and the trail was clear. Our one difficulty came at creek crossings as there were no bridges. We had to negotiate some obstacles, but we all came out with dry feet in the end. The trail was called shale ridge, but in reality it stayed really close to the river valley. We knew that there was a river somewhere near us, but with how thick the vegetation was, we never saw it. The river was a branch of the Willamette having crossed the pass that divides the Willamette and the McKenzie when we went over Box Canyon.

We could only hike a little under three miles in because of our commitments in town. This turned out to be just about right as about the time we needed to turn around, the trail maintenance seemed to disappear. This was right around a place that could be used as a good campsite right next to a creek with big trees all around. I imagined that the trail became a little more challenging after this spot, but I was still curious enough to wonder where it goes. I will have to return in the future to find out, but for today, we had to continue back the way that we came over a few creek crossings in the cool early summer late morning. We had a very pleasant hike and it was mainly just great to get out as a family. It did make me curious about hiking some of these other areas out there. Box Canyon seemed to be loaded with trails that I had never hiked before. I was going to have to spend a lot more time in this area.