Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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By either route, you now enter the developed part of Moulton Falls County Park. To find the continuation of this trail, loop to the south through a picnic area and past a popular summer swimming hole and then pick up a wide gravel trail that climbs slightly to a tall arching bridge spanning the East Fork Lewis River, fully three stories above the green-tinged waters.

After crossing the river, the 10-foot-wide, virtually level, and wheelchair-accessible trail heads downstream through a forest of Douglas firs, western red cedars, bigleaf maples, and red alders towering over an understory dominated by ferns and thimbleberries. Although well above the river, the trail remains close enough to allow hikers to look down into the stream’s lovely waters. The path soon passes Moulton Falls, really just a rocky cascade, and then, at 0.35 mile from the arched bridge, comes to a junction.

The narrow trail that goes left (uphill) is the Bells Mountain Trail (ssss1). For this hike you continue straight on the wide gravel path. As you walk (calling it “hiking” would give the impression that the trail is much more challenging than it really is) you will frequently see homes and cars on the other side of the river. From spring through fall, however, leaves on the deciduous trees hide most of these unnatural sights, while in winter, traffic on the road is less frequent and not too intrusive. In fact winter is a particularly nice time to visit because several seasonal side creeks are filled with rainwater then and cascade over small waterfalls into the river. Unfortunately this canyon gets almost no sun during the winter months, so it can be dark and chilly.