#hike16

Date: April 29, 2018

Location: Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge - Lawton, OK

Distance: 5.6

Trails: Charon's Garden, Crab Eyes

I got up early and drove to Oklahoma.  I needed a change of pace and a little adventure, and this location provided both of those things.  I parked at the Sunset area and hiked the two trails that share the same beginning.  Charon's Garden was lovely, but I got confused and turned around at the boulder field.  I'll go back once I investigate the trail a bit more, I was mostly winging it today.  The Crab Eyes trail was a nice surprise in variety.  It starts going through the woods and over a few creeks and ends with a gentle climb and decent through fields and rocks.  I didn't spend much time in the park, but plan to go back.  Here are some photos from the day.  Enjoy!

(For more info, click HERE!)

Positives: I found maple trees, the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, spring wildflowers were everywhere, and there were very few people

yesterday i went hiking again, this time back to powell butte. i went with the intention of doing the summit loop hike. starting from the powell butte trailhead, i headed up a mix of gravel and paved paths in the sun, seeing clear views of mt. st. helens (pictured) and mt. hood. as i was traversing the summit lane trail i had an itching to be in the forest. i decided to go down the butte through part of the west loop hike.

when the loop got to the pipeline lane, i headed left instead of right. i then went down the stairs again and through the greenery. i am really glad i did. sometimes the best thing is to be surrounded by trees, just smelling the fresh air all around. having the sun out was a bonus. i got to the holgate trailhead before heading back in and onto the dogwood trail. my intent was to then go hiking at kelly butte or even mt. tabor again, so i left through the 148th street trailhead. the bus ended up being over twenty minutes delayed and i did not want to hike as the sun was setting so instead i went home.

i really recommend hiking powell butte if you’re in portland. if the weather is clear (even if a few clouds are overhead) head to the summit and just look around. whether or not you do a planned hike or just map as you go, powell butte has a great mix of forested areas and wide open spaces. it is one of my favourites. next time i may just start at a trailhead and map as i go, seeing where it takes me. i will be hiking again this week but i am not sure where as my best mate and her mother are visiting, so we’re going together. also i use an app to track milage and it shows elevation gain so i am using that as i did not go by the preplanned oregon hikers hike (which most of my oregon hikes can be found on there).

-n.