Last week I led hikes for a Road Scholar (formerly known as Elderhostel) on trails in the Sisulaw National Forest in Oregon. Here are a few photos I took.
T- and Sammy at Sweet Creek
They don’t do justice to the magnificent scenery. Going through them now I realize I didn’t even take a single photo of the 500-year-old trees we walked under on the Gwynn Creek trail. That’s because I don’t want to see the world through a teeny lens. Consequently, I rarely take photos.
On Monday we started out at Heceta Head Lighthouse where Sammy wanted nothing to do with the paparazzi (puparazzi?) The fellow trying to coax him into the picture is John Ford, the other naturalist on the program.
Sammy & John @ Heceta Head Lighthouse
It started raining right after we left Heceta, but we’re Oregonians and hike rain or shine. That’s why mold and milder remover is used as a skin care product here.
Sammy & T- in the Rain
That afternoon we did a loop starting at Washburn State Park and hiked south on China Creek Trail , crossed the road and walked down the Hobbit trail to Washburn Beach. Hikers were a little nervous when before even setting foot in the woods we passed a large pile of bear poop in the parking lot that was–and I’m not making this up–still steaming. As Sammy always says, “You have to take time to smell the poop.”
Bear Poop in Washburn’s Parking Lot
Hikers in the Mist on the China Creek Trail
Sammy is very adept at walking himself so is technically always on a leash.
Hikers in the mist on Washburn Beach.
Sammy doing his best to round up the herd on the beach.
On Tuesday we did the Gwynn Creek Trail, a 6 1/2 mile loop that goes through old growth forests. It’s one of my favorite hikes on the forest because it has 500 year old trees that survived the massive fires we had here in the 1880s. B.T.W. when Siuslaw National Forest was named a National Forest in 1908 it was sometimes referred to as the Siuslaw Burn.
Sammy & Me under Gwynn Creek’s Wooden Throne
Hikers on the Gwynn Creek plateau.
Gwynn Creek Trail
Medium Sized Trees on the Gwynn Creek Trail
Wind damage on the Gwynn Creek Trail
On Wednesday we hiked the Siltcoos Trail. My camera’s batteries ran out about 10 minutes into the hike.
A tree on the Silt Coos Lake trail that looks like one of the creatures in Avatar.
An octopus growing out of a tree on the Silt Coos Trail?
A devil in the woods?
On Thursday we hiked along the Sweet Creek River. It’s usually everyone’s favorite hike because it’s the most beautiful one. It has in theory 14 waterfalls. I say in theory because every time I start counting I never get beyond five. That’s in part because I just enjoy strolling along without thinking to much and because know one can agree on what defines a water fall.
Sweet Creek Waterfall #1
Hiker’s debating which waterfall this is and does it count as one or two waterfalls?
Sweet Creek water fall #5, or #6, or, well, who cares? It’s photogenic.
Yet another waterfall on Sweet Creek.
Sweet Creek
Fungus on the Sweet Creek Trail.
A spider web holding at least a tablespoon of water on the Sweet Creek Trail.
And finally, a photo of the Sweet Creek pit toilet, the Forest Service employee who cleaned it before our arrival, and his truck filled with TP. You wouldn’t believe how much money the Forest Service spends on toilet paper. You also wouldn’t believe how much time people in the Forest Service discuss toilet technology, so much so that sometimes we thought of ourselves as Toilets ‘R Us. Maybe I’ll blog about that someday.
Pit Toilet @ Sweet Creek
Rent a Naturalist for $150 a day.
Camping Cartoons and Hiking Cartoons that can be used in presentations, books, ads, etc. So cheap you can use them as toilet paper if the outhouse has none.
The pictures are incredible, but Sammy steals the spotlight.
I know. It’s awful. When we all got together in the morning so many people would come up to Sammy and say, “Hello, Sammy!” and then a moment or two later realize John and I were there and say, “Oh, hi to you too.”