Hello all. Well, after leaving from the beaver chewed tree, I headed west to the Elk Creek Campground where multiple trails are located, such as the Wilson River, Elk Creek, Elk Mountain and Idiot Creek Trails. I chose the northbound section of the Elk Creek Trail, principally because it would be less likely used.
Here's a photo of downstream Elk Creek from the cement bridge in the center of the campground. Much of the Wilson River and all of Gale Creek looks like this. It's pretty inviting just to do a river bed hike here.
I tried to capture rain drop effects on some of these shallow pools of water, which with the naked eye appeared totally awesome, but my digital Canon 150IS had a hard time getting it down. I sure miss 35mm film cameras.
The trail was perfect in width and the tread pretty smooth. The lushness of the Coast Range rain forests is very apparent here.
Winnie the Poo and Yogi the Bear would have loved the sight of this bees nest. First time I have ever saw one as nicely built as this one.
Another Wiley Coyote den.
Caught site of this old tree marker which read, " 5 Waste Area." Scoured around but didn't see anything. Possibly the Forest Service buried waste here during the days of the Great Tillamook Burns.
Burnt marks are still found on a lot of old stumps, remnants and reminders of what fire can do to a complete ecosystem and outdoor civilization.
Macro of a mini fern growing off of an old downed log.
I think this macro of the flowers is about the best of any of my photos. I love the small water droplets that are resting on each of those small petals.
The intersection with Idiot Creek Trail.
On many of the old stumps from the old growth forest of old, you can see the two plank indents where the timber fallers would stand to cut down the burnt stags from the Tillamook Burns. Just seeing how high they are above the ground gives a glimpse of how hard these men worked. Especially using 6 to 8 foot two man crosscut saws.
That is what excites me the most about hiking our woods. Exploring and sensing the history that awaits us from events, great and small, left for us to find.....if we are only willing to look. Well, I made it about 2 miles up the Elk Creek Trail, before turning around to make it to the Footbridge Trail before it got dark. Awesome trail! These trails of the Tillamook State Forest are my all time favorite. From Black Bear, Elk, Deer, Coyotes to an abundance of forest plants, these forests have it all.
FK
