Heading up, we got distracted by what I will call the Cabin Railroad, an old logging rail track that heads east across the slope. Don, waxing nostalgic now that he was in his element, asked me if I wanted to see some “old stuff.” There were the mortal remains of trestles as well as embankments, skid roads, and cuttings. The “old stuff” manifested itself more often as we got farther from the Shovel Trail: some rusting brake shoes, what Don said was a bear trap (garbage can chained to a tree), and a picturesque stone wall. At The Cabin, more a low hovel like the now incinerated Steve’s Shelter in the Horsetail drainage, there was a lot of recent hunter garbage, including camouflage netting. Behind The Cabin is a composting donkey sled and landing with hardware on display.
On the way back, we took a branch logging railroad line that led us up to Larch Mountain Road. A few more bits of “stuff” could be seen along the way. Walking down Larch Mountain Road, we easily found the top of the Shovel Trail and completed that route down to Palmer Mill.
I now expressed a desire to erase some confusion regarding the current state of trails below Devils Rest. After another detour on a logging track near Bridal Veil Creek, we began an exploration of The Way, which begins on the decommissioned Smith Road where it meets Multnomah Basin Road. The Forest Service strewed logs across the track after the fire, maybe to curtail ORV incursions. Some of the larger logs must be clambered over, but The Way has been diligently marked by tin can lids skillfully painted as taijitu as well as orange flagging.
At some point, The Way departs the salmonberry thickets of Smith Road and winds over to Tractor Tire Junction, now marked with stakes. It was explained to me that the Li’l Devil Trail runs a short course from here up to She Devil. Thus we digressed again and turned up Li’l Devil to hit She Devil just below Devils Rest. Then we dropped down She Devil and did a little loop involving Red Shorts and back to She Devil.
We still had to finish The Way, so Don suggested a cross-country cutoff that took us to that trail. We headed west on The Way, still marked by the flagging and yin-yang can lids, to its junction with She Devil. Here, a rather incongruous old sign, provenance University of Michigan, has recently been mounted on a conifer.
By this time, it was 3:30 p.m. or thereabouts, so we tracked eastward on The Way for its entire length, and then hiked up Palmer Mill Road to reach Don’s chariot at just about sunset. With all the stumbling and stopping and goofing around, we were surprised that we actually accomplished around 11 miles.
