Clackamas River Hike

Zoe and I drove southeast, past Estacada, to the Clackamas River on Saturday. Once you get through Estacada the views open up and you see this amazing, deep, lush, river valley. I had no idea this area was so beautiful!

We parked at the trailhead at the junction of Hwy 224 and FR 54, ate a small lunch (it was already 12pm), and got on our way. The first mile was mostly up, as the trail reaches its highest point here. After that it was a lot of up and down, with a couple of flat spots. We saw maybe 10 other people the entire day so traffic was pretty light. There were a few spots where you could get into the river, but it was running pretty fast, and I didn't want to have to jump in to fetch Zoe, so we stayed on the main trail. At some points the river was so loud you couldn't hear anything else, others it was very calm and all you could hear were the birds (and the road noise...).

My favorite part was this narrow chute with great flat camping spots on either side. We sat here for a while, relaxing and taking in the view. I also got to try out my new Gorillapod...so cool.

This river is so beautiful, it's so clean and clear, wide, and big enough for everyone to enjoy it without feeling cramped. I saw lots of rafters, fishermen, and campers, but never felt like I was invading their space. One funny thing at the very end of the hike, a couple of guys fishing on the opposite bank asked if I would swim across. Um....NO?

12.25 mi.
2040' elev. gain
5 hours

Click HERE for more photos.