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Subject: Portland Day Trip Report

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Ben Bailey



08/06/2008 12:09 PM Alert 

OK, I've been wheeling in this area for some time now, and I find that it is a great place to go when you only want to spend about half of a summer day out away from home.  There are several routes to follow in the area, and a few of them are difficult enough that you would want a trail rig, while others are suitable for stock rigs. 

First, there is Maybe Mines Road, (N45 36.497 W122 10.310) an area that I need to explore more, but it seems that every time I go up there something happens to cut the trip short, or I run into 3 feet of snow!  It was snow last time, but the time before that I ended up finding two poor guys who had been stranded without food or water or cell phone for 36+ hours! From that waypoint, you can explore the roads to the north.  We also got two trucks stuck at the same time and had to manually dig them out of 2 feet of mud and water in a rut on the main road.

Another way to go about this is to start to the west of there and explore up the Washougal River Road from Dugan Falls (N45 40.300 W122 09.257).  This is a popular place, but if you progress north you will quickly come into lots of overgrowth.  The last time I was up there I tried to get up to Maybe Mines Road from the north, but the road was partially washed out and I was not able to get over the obstacle with my nearly bald stock tires -- one of which popped on a rock shortly afterwards.

Last weekend I went on an easy trip up to Three Corners Rock ( 45°43'54.10"N 122° 2'56.17"W).  This is an easy drive that can be done with a stock vehicle, but it gets very rough at the top.  There are several spots where you can drive off to the side and get some powerline road hill climbs and get some mud in the wet season.  Normally, there is one of the most spectacular views to be had in the area.  The view is actually at the sight of an old fire watch, and you can see downtown Portland, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, St. Helens, Jefferson, Raineer, etc...  But the view was obscured by clouds and fog.  On the trip back down we ran into a few motorcycles, one of which had lost his chain on the rough rocks.  I just happened to have my torque wrench and a single socket to to with it -- it was the size he needed to torque his wheel back on! 

Normally, you would want to go up there a bit early in the year to get some nice puddles and wildflowers.  But the snow didn't melt off of there till early July, so the wild flowers were more numerous last weekend than then normally are in June!  The trip is about 85 miles total if you start in Troutdale and cross the Bridge of the Gods.  It is a bit longer from Portland.   I usually start early and get my favorite brand of on-the-road breakfast sandwich and I can often be back home by 12:00 to 2:00 p.m., making it a true day trip with lots to see along the way that can make it long or short depending on how much time you have.  You will see waterfalls, creeks, ponds and lakes, lots of trees, lots of views, and you will have fun!

Here are some photos of last weekend: ALBUM

Here are some photos of times that I have been up there before, the first one being my RRC sitting infront of Three Corners Rock -- it is a short climb of about 200-300 yards to the top:

rrc

dcy

toy

 


RBBailey
Images
Rovers
Jason Keaton



08/06/2008 7:58 PM Alert 

Thank you ben.  I have been looking for some places to go that are close to portland and relativley calm.  Me and the wife can go and take some pictures, relax, and not worry that I might break something and not be able to get home.

Just what I have been looking for. Thanks again.

Jason K


2004 Discovery II SE7
Ryan Hall



09/17/2008 12:19 AM Alert 
Thanks Ben, but unfortunatly I dont have a GPS that I can type in coordinates into. Can you maybe tell me how to...nevermind i can google them.

Ryan
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