Читать книгу One Night Wilderness: Portland. Quick and Convenient Backcountry Getaways within Three Hours of the City онлайн

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Initially the trail is very gentle, wide, and strewn with gravel to accommodate tourists interested in exploring the geology of the mudflow. At 1 mile, however, the trail crosses silty Kautz Creek on a seasonally-installed log bridge and becomes a wilderness trail. The much narrower path now enters an old-growth forest unaffected by the 1947 mudflow and begins a long, persistent, and at times moderately steep climb. The way is viewless but shady and pleasant throughout. Numerous short switchbacks help keep the climb from becoming overly steep. You cross a trickling creek at about 3 miles (the first reliable source of clear water), then climb some more in a series of short, steep switchbacks. Still not done with the uphill, you ascend at a gentler grade on a wide ridge and slowly enter more open high-elevation terrain. Mt. Rainier is frequently in view, while closer at hand are rocky buttes and increasing numbers of heather, huckleberries, and various wildflowers. A final short, steep uphill leads to a high point on the southeast shoulder of Mt. Ararat (a name that significantly overstates the size of this small butte), and then you descend about 150 feet to a junction at 5.7 miles with the Wonderland Trail.