EAGLE CREEK (SALMON-HUCKLEBERRY WILDERNESS)

WHERE:      From Portland take Highway 26 to Firwood Drive (just after passing a grid of electrical lines just past Sandy).  Take a right on firwood drive and follow the road taking a right after .8 miles.  Continue until reaching Wildcat Mountain road and take a right (a left will bring you to the Douglass trail which offers some nice views).  Follow to Eagle Fern road and take a left (it is about 1-2 miles before the end of the road and is hard to catch coming from the North since it isn't signed).  Follow Eagle Fern (which turns into George road) to SE Harvey road (again you will have to look at the sign after passing the road since it faces the other way).  At the first junction stay left (the right will be gated during parts of the year anyway) thereafter stay right were you should see blue signs directing you in the right direction.  You will finally arrive at a Y where the right side becomes quite rocky and narrow.  Park your car here and walk the rest of the way down the road as it eventually turns into the trail.

THE TRAIL:  a beautiful old-growth entity that is a prime example of Western Cascade rainforest.  The trail begins through forest that barely survived a logging initiative as it drops down to Eagle Creek and than crosses the boundary of the protected Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness after about 1.5 miles.  The forest is primarily Douglass Fir, Western Hemlock, Red Alder and Bigleaf Maple with some patches of the Western Cedar.  Ferns and mosses cover the forest floor while lichen hangs onto the many trees and clouds cover the valleys.  If you hike in late spring to early summer you will find quite a bit of Salmonberry to nibble on as well.  The trail goes for roughly 6 easy miles before crossing Eagle Creek then begins a steep ascent of roughly 1800 feet over 2.5 miles up Eagle Creek cutoff.  This will bring you to the opposite trailhead off a forest service road.  This hike can be done in one day if you start early.  This trail is full of your typical riverine old growth trail side scenery and rivals the best of the northwest.