Flowers and Destruction

For Day 3 of 3 consecutive days of long hikes to assess adventure readiness, my sister joined the fun at Mary’s Peak. Starting around 8:30 with fog on the coast and patchy fog in the valley and thick air, the day finished warm and sunny with Mt Jefferson hardly visible thru the haze as we headed home.

Mary’s Peak, though in the coastal range, sees spring roll up the hillside about on the same timetable as cascades. Today’s trailhead (Conners Camp) sits around 2500 feet elevation, and spring was just arriving. Early flowers were starting to bloom, the underbrush just breaking out their leaves, but the lupin had yet to bud.

The soaring raptors came out in the afternoon and the morning was filled with wood grouse and brown creepers. A raven impressed us by catching a worm (big!) seemingly out of nowhere – how did it see that worm? Deer tracks were not seen at all, surprisingly. While Mary’s Peak didn’t feel as sterile as 5 years ago, animals are few and the forest is noticeably a mono-crop 2×4 farm.

Driving up to Conners Camp, you pass by the gnarly remains of a recent timber farming operation. The last time I came up the hill in early morning darkness that hill was lit up like a space station -harvesting in the dark. From the summit, the timber farming practices become clear and more painfully visible. Harvest all the trees, leave the hillside gouged and scarred – replant, redo, again, and again.

Regardless if you believe or trust the science behind this method of 2×4 farming, it’s hard to not feel sorry for the mountainside and all the life that once lived there – where did they all go?

Mary’s Peak is like a neighborhood park, like Ridgeline in Eugene; many people come weekly and treat it respectfully … bikers, walkers, hikers all mixed together. The trails are well kept and ‘doable’ – you don’t have to drive to the parking lot atop. Not sure it’s a destination hike but a great place to rendezvous from different directions.

The Route

Started at Conners Camp TH and together went to the summit via the Summit Trail; then down along the meadow to the campground. Then from the second time at summit, down the north ridge to the cut-over trail and back to Conners Camp for lunch. After lunch, I went up same way and back down same solo.

Trail conditions were perfect! … soft, a couple of ‘step over’ blowdowns but in very good shape. Human traffic picked up as the sun came out around noon. 2 MTBs went up the hill from Conners – that’s a climb.

Gear Box

Multi-day hike season is here, maybe early this year. These 3 days of back-to-back hikes helped determine my ‘readiness’ (human gear). The 3 days respectively, 22.4, 18.1 and 16.0 miles and 4355, 2215 and 3617 feet of elevation gain. Metatarsals remain a concern, but otherwise ready. With these guidelines for 4-5+ day hiking planning: a) 15-18 m / day; b) avoid mandatory ‘long days 20+ m / day’; c) day 3 ‘easy’ (recovery).

These guidelines need resetting at least annually as we age; attempting to do more than is comfortable adds life-impacting danger and risks enjoying the hike. Compared to last year, guidelines are stricter, fewer miles – age denial = danger 🙂

Data Geek Cellar

• Shoes: Altra Lone Timp 6 – Currex Insole, T-Form insole pad
• Pack: Gossamer Gear GRIT (full foothills day hike) – fast belt added
• Upper Layers: Lightweight baselayer, Patagonia Capilene
• Upper shell: none
• Trekking Poles: Gossamer Gear
• Approximate Times: 08:30– 15:00
• Carbon ratio: -1.5 hours (7.5 hours driving: 6.0 hours hiking); YTD = 87.0 hours banked
• Miles hiked YTD: 434.5
• Notes:
  • Photos: low
  • Speed: moderate
  • Difficulty: moderate (elevation)
  • Weather: 50-60s sunny after morning fog / haze

All Trails Data