Angora Hiking Club

Steep ascent on mostly city streets with about 600 feet elevation gain. Round trip about 2½ miles. There might be some muddy sections as we go through the college. Be dressed and shod for the weather and terrain. Meet for coffee before/after.

Please RSVP Eric Wheeler - ericwheeler2@gmail.com;
608-797-7753

2.38 miles, 2 hours 16 minutes, 732 feet elevation gain

1.51 miles, 1 hour 56 minutes, 150 feet elevation gain

7.87 miles, 3 hour 20 minutes, 960 feet elevation gain

5.29 miles, 2 hour 37 minutes, 784 feet elevation gain

4.70 miles, 3 hours 29 minutes, 613 feet elevation gain

2.17 miles, 2 hours 14 minutes, 446 feet elevation gain

David & Deborah Gray, Jan Fryer, Phuong van Horn,
Arline LaMear, Dory Lukas ↑ Susan Bowe ↓,
Marilyn deFreese, Mary Allen ↵ Rick Gregory, Craig Holt

We will convene at 1 pm at the Trolley Stop in front of the Barbey Maritime Center (formerly the Astoria Railroad Depot) and walk 1.2 miles along Riverwalk to Pier 39. We will be joined there by Floyd Holcom, owner of Pier 39, and Peter Marsh, director of the Hanthorn Cannery Museum. This promises to be a lively discussion that addresses the role of entrepreneurship, tenacity and vision in preserving historic structures on the waterfront and creating an enduring enterprise that is economically viable and contributes to the community. See this article published recently in Our Coast Weekend for more background.

There is no limit to the group size. Please RSVP to Deborah Howe at 503-432-1255 or - dhowe@temple.edu.

5.64 miles, 3 hours 53 minutes, 714 feet elevation gain

Thursday – Dory and Craig arrived early and hiked the Canyon Trail including the Double Falls spur as far as Winter Falls, hiked out of the canyon and returned to the parking lot via the Rim Trail.

5.94 miles, 4 hours 52 minutes, 785 feet elevation gain

Friday – Ten hikers walked behind South Falls, then after about one mile down 186 steps and behind Lower South Falls. Upon reaching Maple Ridge Trail, Jess Champers and Kathy Liebowitz returned to her car. Eight continued on passing Lower North Falls, Double Falls, Drake Falls, stopping at the base of Middle North Falls where four hikers walked down and behind the falls. Upon reaching Winter Trail, Arline LaMear, Susan Bowe, Linda Thompson and her daughter Michal hiked out of the canyon returning via the Rim Trail to the parking lot. Dory Lukas, Craig Holt, Bill Herold, and Alicia Crockett continued on past Twin Falls and behind North Falls whereupon Alicia left to bring a car back while the remaining three hiked to Upper North Falls. Alicia arrived back with Bryce driving her car and we all rode back to the parking lot.

Jan Fryer, her cousin Roberta and friend Jay from Saint Helens formed another hiking group. Jen Oderkirk drove her car to visit four falls. Bryce Holt had an injured ankle, so he rode his bicycle on the many paved bike paths in the park.

1.43 miles, 53 minutes, 132 feet elevation gain

Saturday – Before going home, Arline LaMear, Susan Bowe, Linda Thompson, Jess Champers, Bill Herold, Dory Lukas, and Craig Holt drove to the North Falls Trailhead, walked down the 77 steps to North Falls, spent time in the cavernous cutout behind the waterfall looking down at the canyon below, watched the never ending water fall, listened to the roar, then returned to the trailhead and on to Upper North Falls. Concluding such a wonderful outing, everyone drove home with plenty of time for Mother's Day.

A double loop hike is offered - hike the Kwis Kwis Trail in one direction and return on the Fort to Sea Trail for a total distance of 7.3 miles and an elevation gain of 1125 feet . . . see Map

Some may prefer a shorter hike - just one loop for a total 4.2 miles (3.6 miles if you take the Connector).

Meet in the parking lot on Marine Drive between 2nd & 3rd Streets in Astoria at 9:00 a.m. or in the RV/overflow parking lot at the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center at 9:30 a.m. If you have one, please bring a National Park entry pass and let Tim know that you have one with you (1 Pass admits 4).

7.90 miles, 4 hours 46 minutes, 1,051 feet elevation gain
16 hikers + 2 goats . . . 2 hiked only the first loop

4.33 miles, 2 hours 30 minutes, 80 feet elevation gain

On June 1st we will be hiking the paths at Ft. Clatsop looking for wild greens, etc.

Miner’s Lettuce, Candy Flower, Nettles, Sea Beans and Fiddleheads are some of the delights in the Spring. Oh! and don’t forget, Typha latifolia (Bullrush, Cattail, et al.), whose young shoots taste like asparagus.

Spring greens identified on this hike will bring the pep in your step after the dark days of winter. Many are full of vital nutrients for all. And surprises may astound the attendees, as there are a few fungi popping up in Spring.

This is a moderately difficult nine mile hike of three to four hours. Elevation gain is 60 feet. There will be handouts for about fifteen folks with information on all of the edibles that will be seen, Latin names included!

Gather at the 2nd St. parking lot in Astoria, across from Burger King. South Clatsop County residents may meet us at the Fort Clatsop auxiliary RV parking lot at 9:30. Please RSVP to Pamela Mattson McDonald – matmcd2002@gmail.com.

Linda Thompson, Marilyn deFreese, John Bannan, Rich Duval, and Craig Holt met in Astoria. Rich volunteered to drive and so we all piled in. John Markham meet us at Arcadia Beach, whereupon Mary Allen and Debbie & David Gray arrived making eight hikers. John walked us down to the beach and said to look for his American flag. The beach is very wide and the sand solid and easy to walk on. The tide was very low enabling us to walk around Hug Point. When we got down to John’s house there was NO FLAG! We carefully compared a picture of John’s house sent in a recent email to what we thought might be his house and walked on up. When we came near the door to his house, John came out with his flag in hand. He had been on the phone for 20 minutes.

John has a telescoping flag pole - one never seen before by the author. John is seen here attaching the flag.

After a leisurely lunch on lawn furniture outside John’s house, we all headed back - at times walking eight abreast! The tide had come in, so we walked over the roadway blasted out at the base of Hug Point over 100 years ago. If you missed this wonderful hike, we’ll do it again next year.

  6¼ miles, 3¾ hours
  92 feet elevation gain

1.25 miles, 1 hour 27 minutes, 93 feet elevation gain

1.62 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes, 173 feet elevation gain

6.39 miles, 3 hour 18 minutes, 560 feet elevation gain

Meet at 1:45 pm at the collection storage facility for the Columbia River Maritime Museum. Tour starts at 2:00 pm.

Last year when the Angora Club visited this facility as part of the tour of murals and ghost signs, we promised to return to the Maritime Museum’s storage facility to talk about the treasure trove of maritime artifacts catalogued there. Today is that opportunity. Meg Glazier-Anderson will share information about the acquisition, cataloging, storage, variety and types of artifacts. She can also talk about the new Mariner’s Hall and the opportunity this addition to the Maritime Museum will present for displaying more of the museum’s extensive collection.

Please note we are not meeting at the museum itself. The storage facility is on the south side of Marine Drive at 18th, across from the Museum. This is the old Builders Supply building; it sits between the Mobile gas station and the Gateway Cinema. We will meet in the parking lot on the south side of the building. This is a secure facility, so when we go inside as a group at 2:00, the door will close and we won’t be able to accommodate late arrivals.

This is a 5.5 mile round-trip evening hike to the top of Megler Mountain. This is a fairly strenuous hike involving 1300 feet of elevation gain. The hike is rated 4B - please consult the club’s “Walking and Safety Guidelines for Hikers”. Note that the last part of the return down the mountain will be in the dark.

The hike takes about 4 hours on gravelly logging roads which can be slippery. Hiking poles are highly recommended for better traction, especially on the descent.

A free recreational pass from Nuveen Natural Capital (formally Greenwood Resources is required and can be obtained free of charge here (scroll down to Washington - Nuveen Natural Capital Access Permit - NNC_WA_24, click on Get Permit). Although it is doubtful that we will be asked to show permits, it’s always wise to carry one with you.

On a clear day, there are great views from the top of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams, as well as of Astoria and the entire north coast. The views of the sunset over the ocean should be spectacular.

**Note the time and meeting place for this hike! We'll meet at 6:30 pm at the 2nd and Marine Dr. parking lot for those who want to carpool. Otherwise meet at 6:50 pm at the west end of the Dismal Nitch parking area, which is approximately 1 mile east of the Astoria/Megler Bridge on State Route 401 in Washington. We’ll hike to the top of the mountain in time to watch the sunset, which is at 9:11 pm. There will be light for at least 45 minutes after the sun sets, but that means that the final part of the descent will be in the dark. Please bring a flashlight or headlamp.

Questions? Contact Tim Maret at tjmaret@gmail.com

4.39 miles, 2 hours 17 minutes, 1194 feet elevation gain

which leads from the hatchery to the camping area down and back. The second half of the hike goes up from the hatchery through the woods to a clearing where you may spot Bigfoot! Then we’ll wander down the trail along Gnat Creek which ripples over volcanic rock from millions of years ago and passes two waterfalls. Following the hike, we’ll picnic at the picnic shelter which was built by Wauna Mill using some very large logs. Bring a sack lunch for the picnic. Walking sticks may be helpful. Call Arline LaMear (503-338-6883) for additional information.

3.89 miles, 2 hours 58 minutes, 292 feet elevation gain

Hi Angoras,

This coming Saturday, July 13 we will continue the 100 year tradition of a club hike to Saddle Mt after several years of trail closure. This is a beautiful hike with a profusion of wildflowers and breathtaking views. It is also a very strenuous hike with precarious trail conditions, especially for the last several hundred yards of ascent to the summit. The trail length is about 5 miles with 1650' of elevation gain. But don’t be misled by the relatively short distance and modest elevation gain. This is the toughest Angora hike that I have been on since moving to Astoria. Using the chart suggested by Arline I would rate the Saddle Mt hike a 5D on the attached scale: https://angoras.club/Hikers.pdf. [Note: “2) The hike leader has the authority to deny . . .”]

Deb Howe and I did a recon to the summit a couple of weeks ago and found the trail to be in poor condition in spots. Having said all of that, if you are an experienced hiker in good hiking condition, please join us. Because of the popularity of this hike on a Saturday in July, we will meet at the usual Angora staging area in the parking lot at 2nd and Marine Drive at 8:00 AM to arrange carpools.(Note the earlier meeting time) It is a one hour drive to the trailhead including a 7 mile bumpy blacktop road to the parking lot, which can fill up fast on a weekend. We would like to keep the number of people hiking to the summit to about a dozen. If you feel that you are up to tackle this challenging hike please contact me directly: Eric Wheeler ericwheeler2@gmail.com 608-797-7753

See this link for more information on the Saddle Mt hike.

You must RSVP to Eric to go on this hike !!!!

Port of Ilwaco Bus Stop - Howerton & Pearl Avenues

8.32 miles, 3 hours 31 minutes, 290 feet elevation gain

This year we will ride a MAX light rail train into Portland from Hillsboro to start the 4T trail hike. Get off of HWY 26 at North Plains (exit 57) and take Glencoe Road south which becomes N 1st Ave in downtown Hillsboro. Upon crossing the MAX tracks, theres’s a parking structure — enter under the yellow sign and drive up to the 3rd level for free Park-n-Ride parking. Take the elevator down, cross the street to the MAX station and buy a full day ticket. An empty train will be waiting. Get off the train at the Washington Park station in the tunnel and ride the elevator 256 feet to the surface and the hike begins.

Going past the zoo entrance, we walk down a new sidewalk, over Hwy 26 and up, up, and up to Council Crest, then down Marquam and Shadyside trails to the Marquam Shelter to eat lunch, then up Connor Trail to OHSU. The OHSU Tram ride costs $8.50 round trip, so we’ll ride the Tram down and back up again, then walk down following the MAP shown here. Fare for the Tram is paid by tapping a card with a chip and then using the QR code on the ticket to open an entrance gate. Once again at the lower Tram station we'll walk across the Tilikum Crossing Bridge and board a trolley running clockwide to board a Blue MAX train going to Hillsboro a block beyond the Multnomah County Library. Then home again.

5 hours 40 minutes, 7.28 miles, elevation gain 850 feet.

Name the nine bridges over the Willamette River.

Barbara Highfield, Eric Wheeler, David Gray
Arline LaMear, Debbie Gray, Marilyn deFreese
Dory Lukas

3.63 miles, 1 hour 45 minutes, 47 feet elevation gain