Approximately 6 miles east of the Sunset Safety Rest Area, on US Hwy 26, is the
concealed entrance to an off-road route affectionately named The Mile. My off road
peers and I gave it this name after learning that the route is about one mile from start to
finish.
My off-roading buddy, Sean, first uncovered The Mile, while he and I were on a quest to find more off-road jaunts. At the beginning of The Mile is a patch of grass north of the highway. Old spans of power lines that run parallel to the highway cut down and into the trees, just west of the patch of grass.
Our first time there, Sean, a more adventurous off-roader, crept into the break in the trees and discovered a power line access road that followed the power poles into the woods. Initially this was thought by Sean to be the entrance to "Power line Trail," a mythical off- road access that runs from Multnomah County to the Pacific coast.
Although we had two vehicles, and were well equipped with typical teenage desire to ignore danger, we headed back to Portland with grandiose plans to map the route and spend a week in the summertime, navigating and camping it.
When we did finally attain maps of the area, we were shocked to discover that the access road we uncovered was broken at several points and dead-ended at a substation near the small town of Jewel, not fifteen miles away. We did plan an off-road route that used small stretches of the highway, eventually dumping out in Cannon Beach, by way of old Tsunami roads. Unfortunately, school and a lack of commitment made the great quest less and less likely with every passing summer.
The Mile was the first one-hour segment of our pre-planned, off-road journey to Cannon Beach. As a warning of its difficulty to navigate, The Mile begins with a steep down- angle right at its entrance. The entrance is steep enough that braking down the hill would have little effect. It's is better-driven using engine compression to slow the decent. From there, it's into the brush.
Due to its lack of use over the years, The Mile's thin dirt road had become overgrown with thick brush. When I finally sold my Jeep, it was highly decorated with brush scratches on nearly every surface, all of them coming from repeated trips through The Mile.
Every challenge completed on The Mile gave way to a new one. One of the first tasks included driving through deep pools of muddy water. On three out of my six trips, I was left submerged to the wheel wells, high-centered between deep, unseen ruts (thank goodness for Warn and their fine winches).
There was one point on the mile where water erosion through a rut had carved a four-foot deep trench that ran for over twenty-five yards. The only way to continue was to drive on and hope that one of your tires didn't slip in.
Right after that section was a tight squeeze between two utility poles. The gap was so tricky that a minor miscalculation on approach would mean having to try again, by driving in reverse over the four-foot trench. Before driving between the utility poles, I had to fold in my side mirrors to avoid breaking them off.
There was also a section of swamp that, depending on the time of year, had you looking for a sturdy anchor across the way. Should your twenty mile-per-hour head start not propel you successfully to the other side, a winch would have to drag you.
The final challenge was a long, steep, hill. The grade on the hill was such that a loss in forward momentum would mean having to make a delicate maneuver. If the forward motion were lost, one would need to quickly shift into reverse and drive backwards down the grade, slowing only with engine compression. The enormous temptation to use brakes during this maneuver is relentless, but brake use would not stop one from sliding down the hillside. Attempting to turn around on the hill would send the vehicle, and its occupants, tumbling down.
On cresting the hill, a look behind would give a view of the last half of The Mile, from above the height of the utility poles below. After that nerve-racking experience, it was a calm drive down a shaded dirt road. The Mile ends at a gravel road that winds back down to Highway 26.
I made several trip through The Mile, from both ends, taking along various friends and loved-ones. I have since sold my 92 Jeep Wrangler and now own a newer, less modified model. I drive A to B with my newer vehicle; content with the thought that more adventures are simply a dirt road away.