10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR Dunes

This forum is used to share your experiences out on the trails.
R11
Posts: 313
Joined: June 22nd, 2011, 12:27 pm
Location: PDX

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by R11 » October 28th, 2014, 12:35 pm

pdxgene wrote:That's my favorite trail on the coast. Down the big dune to the lakeside is a great lunch spot.
I'm glad you didn't get any blood on it.. :P
I've noticed several comments like this from you recently..... and I have to say I'm gaining an appreciation for your wry sense of humor!

I walk a lot of miles in Marquam Nature Park here in town during the week for exercise, and the section south of Marquam Hill Road is predominately Red Alder trees. During the winter when stiff winds blow those things sway a surprising amount, and their bare canopy branches begin to clash and bounce off one another making a lot of racket (which is probably a good thing as a warning). I'm not as worried about outright toppling as branches potentially breaking off and falling from the bashing against each other where you might not even know something was coming down. When ever I'm going through there during high winds I'm always trying to keep my eyes up and my ears open for cracking noises that sound different from the usual banging. Yesterday in the eight mile route I usually do in the park I saw 5-6 new trees down across the trail in various spots from the winds on Saturday. Fun stuff as long as no one is maimed or killed! :mrgreen:


ron

pdxgene
Posts: 5073
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by pdxgene » October 28th, 2014, 1:11 pm

Of course I wouldn't say that if someone had got hurt so I hope it's not taken the wrong way. I'd have said the same thing, or probably worse, if it had been me on the trail.

R11
Posts: 313
Joined: June 22nd, 2011, 12:27 pm
Location: PDX

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by R11 » October 28th, 2014, 1:16 pm

pdxgene wrote:Of course I wouldn't say that if someone had got hurt so I hope it's not taken the wrong way. I'd have said the same thing, or probably worse, if it had been me on the trail.
It was a compliment! My opinion is that people in general are way too uptight and most could benefit from a little lightening up and humor. If they don't get it, that's just sad...


ron

User avatar
Crusak
Posts: 3617
Joined: August 6th, 2009, 7:33 pm
Location: Oregon

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by Crusak » October 28th, 2014, 8:40 pm

Whew! Close call there. I'm glad you two made out okay. :)

It looks like a great hiking destination!
Jim's Hikes

Solvitur Ambulando

User avatar
mileagemike25000
Posts: 475
Joined: February 8th, 2012, 7:40 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by mileagemike25000 » October 29th, 2014, 4:46 pm

Gene - I agree that this is a fantastic hike, and unfortunately, I didn't quite get the most out of it due to the incident and the gale force winds! :? :shock: I'm also very elated we didn't leave any red stains or body parts behind! ;) We believe in leaving no trace. :lol:


Ron - We also love watching the swaying canopy in a wind and during a storm, and now we know one possible freaky sound that comes with a tree trunk splintering before the silent fall to the ground! I'm hoping we never hear about anyone avoiding the warning signs!


Jim - Thanks for the kind comments! It's a beautiful hike, and I'd put it on the wish list with a note not to attempt in gale force winds. :)

User avatar
romann
Posts: 2417
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by romann » October 29th, 2014, 8:51 pm

Close call indeed! Glad you guys had a quick response. The hike itself looks very nice, is that part of dunes off-limits to OHV's?

Once I went on a perfectly quiet day on a forest hike with a bit of fresh snow on the trail, and then I came to big dead branch that has fallen with its sharp end down, with such speed it "planted" itself in the middle of the trail. It splashed some dirt on the snow so I could tell it landed no more than an hour or 2 ago. Pulled it from the ground - it was solid 5-6 pounds. Didn't hear anything crashing that day, no wind at all.
raven wrote: Checking for widow makers is always a good idea whenever pitching a tent.
+1 on this, really good advice.

hiker4fun
Posts: 175
Joined: March 11th, 2014, 12:13 pm

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by hiker4fun » October 30th, 2014, 7:08 am

Nice of you to share your experience to give a friendly warning to others. Glad there wasn't any major incident personally.

User avatar
mileagemike25000
Posts: 475
Joined: February 8th, 2012, 7:40 pm
Location: Vancouver, WA

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by mileagemike25000 » October 30th, 2014, 5:56 pm

Romann - We're also very glad our first reaction was the correct next move on the chess board! :o I had to look back at my pictures to see if the trail was open to OHV's. From the picture, it looks like the three mile lake portion is hiker only.
TH.JPG
I'm not sure about the Dunes portion of the trail as there were no signs to indicate the acceptable usage.
Dunes Trail_(1).JPG
We didn't see any OHV marks on the Dunes Trail, but we did see a single dirt bike track where they tried to access the trail from the beach, but turned around. I believe that the OHV approved portion of the Dunes is on the north side, but maybe someone else knows for sure?

We've also seen plenty of branches impaled into the ground. Almost like someone threw a spear. A bit unnerving after our experience! :? :? Lately, I've been thinking about wearing some kind of protective helmet on our hikes in bad weather, but this seems a bit over the top. :roll:


hiker4fun - Thanks for the kind words! :) I think it's important to convey the hazards that can befall us on what seems like a safe beautiful walk, to help fellow hikers be aware and make sound choices.

User avatar
Sean Thomas
Posts: 1647
Joined: February 25th, 2012, 11:33 pm

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by Sean Thomas » October 30th, 2014, 7:07 pm

Glad you're both ok. I've seen some serious honkers(tree limbs) down around different parts of this city this week, many of which probably came down in that storm last Saturday.

raven
Posts: 1531
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: 10/25/14 Near Death Experience at Threemile Lake Tr OR D

Post by raven » October 30th, 2014, 7:29 pm

If you have a chance to hike in the fairyland conditions at the very end of a freezing rain/ice storm, please remember that limbs tend to break shortly after; when the air and ice warms, and the ice weakens.

Post Reply