A Hike and Gear Test

Mt. St. Helens

April 13, 2025—The weather was expected to be in the upper 60s today, which provided me the perfect opportunity to get out for a hike and try out my new Leki Spirit Lite trekking poles and REI Trail 25 daypack. I had several possibilities of places to go that would allow me to evaluate the gear: the Rainforest Trail near Lincoln City, Silver Falls, Tryon Creek State Park, and Chehalem Ridge Nature Park.

Frost in the morning prevented me from leaving earlier in the morning as originally scheduled. I didn’t leave the house until a little after 9 a.m., so I settled on Chehalem Ridge, as it was the closest.

This was my first visit to Chehalem Ridge Nature Park. It was also my first hike following knee surgery in March. I was drawn to explore the area by a write-up on the AllTrails website that said it was a good place to view birds. I wanted to do more than just hike. I stuffed my binoculars in my pack, along with some food, grabbed my camera, and headed for Gaston, Oregon, where the Chehalem Ridge Nature Park is located.

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park consists of a multi-use trail system. Hikers share many of the trails in the system with cyclists and equestrian riders. The trails are wide, mostly soft surface—except for Timber Road and the Woodland Trail that are crushed gravel—and well maintained. The trail system isn’t really for hardcore mountain bikers who want to rip down single-track trails—those trails don’t exist in the park. I observed many cyclists riding hybrid bikes and young riders riding kids bikes on the trails.

Wayfinding Sign

One thing I noticed as soon as I set out on my hike that really impressed me was the design of the park’s wayfinding signage. Besides signs directing hikers to the various trails, trail maps were also placed on top of each post. Maintenance may be more expensive because UV rays will cause the maps to fade over time, but the cost of producing paper copies of the maps for visitors that might wind up littering the trail is reduced to zero.

While horses and bikes are allowed on the trails, dogs are not. I later got into a discussion with a couple with two Rottweilers out hiking on Timber Road. I informed them that dogs are not allowed on the trails, to which they acted shocked, never mind that signs at the trailhead state that dogs are not allowed. I explained to them that dogs can frighten horses on the trail, and there is the issue of kids riding bicycles on the trails. A sign at the trailhead to Timber Road states that dogs can harm sensitive vegetation. The couple seemed unfazed, even arguing with me that they aren’t on trails the horses are using and that they hadn’t seen a horse. An equestrian rider had literally ridden past them minutes earlier. They just continued on with their hike. I guess some people think rules don’t apply to them.

Douglas Squirrel

The first trail I explored was the Woodland Trail. It’s one of the longer trails in the park and begins at the parking lot. As the name applies, it meanders down the ridge through stands of Douglas fir and a forest floor blanketed with sword ferns. A series of switchbacks minimizes the steepness of the trail. While on the trail, I came across a dark phase of a Douglas squirrel and heard a song sparrow in the distance. The darkness of the woods made it difficult to photograph the squirrel.

Mushroom (sp. unknown)

I crossed over Timber Road from the Woodland Trail and ventured onto Ayeekwa Trail. Hikers on this trail encounter western red cedar and vine maple. A small pond was off to the side near the trailhead. I spotted a mushroom while hiking on the Ayeekwa Trail. It had a cream-colored cap with dark brown gills. I’m unsure of the species and will have to ask a friend who forages for mushrooms.

Detouring off the Ayeekwa Trail and onto the Witches Butter Trail—odd name for a trail—I encountered a small group of equestrian riders. That trail connects to the Chehalem Ridge Trail, the longest trail in the park. I didn’t have to hike far before I arrived at a vantage point where hikers on sunny days are treated to views of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. Today it was sunny, so I had a clear view of both mountains. The Chehalem Ridge Trail is a popular trail with equestrian riders, and I encountered several. Time was growing short, and I still needed to have something to eat, so I stopped at a vantage point overlooking fields near Gaston to rest and have lunch before starting my return hike back to the parking lot. I heard a few birds and spotted a spotted towhee on the trail, but I didn’t see or hear as many birds as I thought I might. I kept glancing up at the tree branches in hopes that I might spot a barred owl.

Wild Iris on the Chehalem Ridge Trail

Once I reached Timber Road, I made the mistake of going right instead of left. That took me up to Mampal trail. A wayfinding sign with an arrow pointing to the parking lot guided me onto that trail. However, I soon realized that the trail was not going to the parking lot. While on the trail, I thought I heard what sounded like a low growl. A cougar had been spotted in the park back in November of last year. I gave a quick glance over my shoulder to see if I was being stalked. Nothing, so I continued hiking a little farther before turning around and heading back down the trail toward Timber Road. While hiking back along the trail, I spotted a hollowed tree log that looked like the perfect spot for a cougar to rest. I thought about checking it out, but wisdom persevered.

Once back on Timber Road, I followed it until it eventually arrived at the parking lot. For much of the time, I was hiking uphill on the road. I was tired after hiking almost eight miles—my longest hike in quite some time. My thighs ached, and I rejoiced once I arrived back at the parking lot.

I found little use for my trekking poles, as the trails were mainly level, so they didn’t really get much of a workout. REI’s Trail 25 daypack, on the other hand, performed exceptionally well. I purchased that daypack because my earlier REI Flash 22 daypack only had one large loop on one side of the bag for trekking poles. That forced the daypack to tilt to one side. REI’s Trail 25 allowed me to carry a trekking pole on each side of the pack, thus balancing the pack better on my back. And the pack allowed me to carry an additional three liters of gear, which doesn’t sound like much, but that’s an extra fleece jacket or emergency shelter.