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

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DIRECTIONS Drive west on U.S. Highway 26 to the junction with State Highway 53 near milepost 9.5. Turn left (south), drive 4.8 miles, and then turn left on a gravel road signed Soapstone Trailhead. Proceed 0.4 mile on this narrow road to the well-signed trailhead and parking area.

The wide, smooth, and gently graded trail travels through a second-growth forest dominated by western hemlocks towering above a thick mat of oxalis, various ferns, and thimbleberry bushes. Several huge stumps with old logging springboard holes attest that the forest here was once composed of much larger specimens. The trail crosses two often-dry creeks on wooden bridges and then at 0.3 mile gradually loses a little elevation before crossing a small grassy meadow. In late summer this meadow delights the visitor with lots of ripe blackberries and blooming goldenrods. At the far end of the meadow is a bridgeless crossing of clear Soapstone Creek. This crossing can be wet in winter but is an easy rock hop the rest of the year. After the crossing, you climb a rather steep set of wooden stairs and then wander uphill through a lovely forest of impressive old Douglas firs before coming to a T-junction near the north end of Soapstone Lake.