Wildwood trail in a day?

[Lamar2012]

I'm hoping sometime in late May that I will hike the Wildwood trail in one day. The page for the Wildwood trail looks like it has been deleted though.

Anyway it's just over 30 miles long. I'll be hiking it by myself because my husband probably wouldn't want to attempt it.

Has anyone done this hike in a day? It's just a goal I have for the near future.

[vibramhead]

My wife and I hike the Wildwood in a day once a year, usually in June or July. We start at the north end, and we avoid the need for a car shuttle by taking a cab to the trailhead. It usually takes us 10 to 11 hours, so we try to get on the trail by 6:30 a.m.. The first 25 miles involve very little elevation change. The first 5 miles, between Newberry and Germantown roads, are especially nice: more big trees, and fewer people. Your first big climb is the ascent out of Balch Creek to Pittock, then you drop down to Burnside and climb up to the top of Hoyt Arboretum. Keep in mind that there's no place to fill up on water between the north trailhead and the parking lot at Cornell Rd, so make sure you start out with plenty. One year, after reaching the south end of the Wildwood in the arboretum, I continued on the Marquam Trail to Council Crest before turning home, making for a 35 mile day.

[Lamar2012]

My wife and I hike the Wildwood in a day once a year, usually in June or July. We start at the north end, and we avoid the need for a car shuttle by taking a cab to the trailhead. It usually takes us 10 to 11 hours, so we try to get on the trail by 6:30 a.m.. The first 25 miles involve very little elevation change. The first 5 miles, between Newberry and Germantown roads, are especially nice: more big trees, and fewer people. Your first big climb is the ascent out of Balch Creek to Pittock, then you drop down to Burnside and climb up to the top of Hoyt Arboretum. Keep in mind that there's no place to fill up on water between the north trailhead and the parking lot at Cornell Rd, so make sure you start out with plenty. One year, after reaching the south end of the Wildwood in the arboretum, I continued on the Marquam Trail to Council Crest before turning home, making for a 35 mile day.

My wife and I hike the Wildwood in a day once a year, usually in June or July. We start at the north end, and we avoid the need for a car shuttle by taking a cab to the trailhead. It usually takes us 10 to 11 hours, so we try to get on the trail by 6:30 a.m.. The first 25 miles involve very little elevation change. The first 5 miles, between Newberry and Germantown roads, are especially nice: more big trees, and fewer people. Your first big climb is the ascent out of Balch Creek to Pittock, then you drop down to Burnside and climb up to the top of Hoyt Arboretum. Keep in mind that there's no place to fill up on water between the north trailhead and the parking lot at Cornell Rd, so make sure you start out with plenty. One year, after reaching the south end of the Wildwood in the arboretum, I continued on the Marquam Trail to Council Crest before turning home, making for a 35 mile day.

I will have my husband drop me off at the starting point and then just meet me at the end later on. That way i won't need a shuttle. I was thinking anywhere between 9.5-11 hours, depending on how much I stop.

[mjirving]

I did it last fall. Took me 9 hours and 15 min and I was booking it as fast as I could walk with no breaks. You can see my blog entry on the trip if you're interested in more detail. It includes some stats and a visual of my GPS track at the end.

I call it "hiking on a treadmill" as it's not the most scenic hike...same thing over and over again.

http://goaltechhikes.blogspot.com/2013/ ... trail.html

Mike/GoalTech

[payslee]

I've hiked this twice and found it very enjoyable. Since you've got the luxury of a pickup I recommend a south-to-north direction. I've done it once each way, and after 25 miles even a "little" hill feel like a lot! I much preferred getting the zoo-burnside-pittock up and down out of the way first.

Along those lines, use EXTREME caution crossing burnside. This is the other reason I liked going south to north, trying to cross four lanes of speeding traffic (on a curve) is not something to attempt without full attention and energy!

But don't be deterred! My group of 6 finished in 12.5 hours, enjoyed most every mile, and were seranaded by birdsong the whole way. We did it on summer solstice.

Have fun!

Paysleee

[payslee]

also - if you don't have one already, the Green Trails forest park map is worth picking up. Has amazing detail and accuracy and an elevation profile for the whole wildwood.

payslee

[adamschneider]

Man, that's a wacky trail. On a map, it looks like small intestines. And I'd definitely do it south to north.

[Lamar2012]

I've hiked this twice and found it very enjoyable. Since you've got the luxury of a pickup I recommend a south-to-north direction. I've done it once each way, and after 25 miles even a "little" hill feel like a lot! I much preferred getting the zoo-burnside-pittock up and down out of the way first.

Along those lines, use EXTREME caution crossing burnside. This is the other reason I liked going south to north, trying to cross four lanes of speeding traffic (on a curve) is not something to attempt without full attention and energy!

But don't be deterred! My group of 6 finished in 12.5 hours, enjoyed most every mile, and were seranaded by birdsong the whole way. We did it on summer solstice.

Have fun!

Paysleee

Good advice, I think I will do it south to north

[mjirving]

Don't forget the app "Forest Park" too if you're a smart phone type. It was developed by a Lincoln High Schooler a few years back. It's quite nice. (Apple...don't know if there is an Android version.)

[Lamar2012]

Don't forget the app "Forest Park" too if you're a smart phone type. It was developed by a Lincoln High Schooler a few years back. It's quite nice. (Apple...don't know if there is an Android version.)

Darn, no android version.