To Portland!

I'm off to Portland tomorrow. Got a few days off work and a Saturn full of gas and I'll be hittin the highway heading west across Idaho round 2pm which should get me into Portland round midnight (Pacific Time). Ugh... more time sitting in a car.

I'll be visiting family and friends and I've also mapped out two routes I'd like to run in the Gorge while I'm there.

Tell me these don't look like a couple o' dang-fun-lookin 'ol routes!


Start at Eagle Creek TH. Up Ruckle Ridge to Benson Plateau. South across Benson Plateau to the PCT and continue south to Wahtum Lake. Around Wahtum Lake and west down to Eagle Creek. Down Eagle Creek back to TH. Mileage: Approx 25 miles


Start at Herman Creek TH. Up Herman Creek Trail to Casey Creek. Up Casey Creek (2900 ft in 2.1 miles) to Nick Eaton Ridge. South on Nick Eaton Ridge to Green Point Ridge. Around the NE edge of the ridge and under to North Lake, then east up to Mt. Defiance (4960 ft). Backtrack SW all the way to Wahtum Lake, then north down Herman Creek. Finish #1 is to go back up Casey Creek to Nick Eaton Ridge, then descend Nick Eaton Ridge to the TH. Finish #2 is to simply run out the Herman Creek Trail. Option #1 is preferred, but it depends on how I'm doing on time and how I feel. Mileage: 35 miles?