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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2019)
Appeal Tribune ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019 ❚ 1B Outdoors HIDDEN TRAIL FEATURES BEAUTIFUL OLD-GROWTH The Mike Miller Trail travels through old-growth forest near South Beach State Park outside Newport. PHOTOS BY ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK In the Oregon Coast town of New- port, dramatic scenery grabs you from every direction. From lighthouses to beaches, a his- toric bridge to the Oregon Coast Aquari- um, it’s full of obvious charms. But hidden away in a nondescript part of town, away from the typical tour- ist hubs, sits a small park worth a visit. It’s called Mike Miller Educational Park. And while it doesn’t seem like much, the 40-acre park features one of the most interesting hiking trails on the Central Coast. The hike is 1.2 miles total — with pos- sibilities for a longer outing. It has some steep sections that will challenge younger kids, but in general it’s a great open-to-everyone hiking experience. We visited the trail earlier this month during a trip to South Beach State Park, a classic place to play in the sand. After getting our fill of beach and sun, we de- cided to enjoy a forested option, and headed across Highway 101 to the Mike Miller Trailhead. The park opened in 1974 and is named for a judge and commissioner who fought for the site’s purchase. In 2012, a donation added 6 acres and the new “Emery Trail” to the system of pathways, which allows the possibility of a longer trek. It’s easy to see why people are pas- sionate about protecting this area. The trail features an utterly unique combination of sand dunes, marshland and old-growth forest you only find in- tact in a few places on the coast. There’s also an array of plants, animals and mushrooms you’ll have the chance to come across. The hike begins amid high rhododen- dron bushes and max-myrtle, creating a green tunnel in the forest. Keep left at the loop, and you’ll follow the grade of an old railroad used during the first World War to carry logs used in early air- craft, according to the brochure you can pick up at the trailhead. The trail is marked with numbers that correspond to interesting tidbits in the brochure. Next, the trail crosses the first of Mike Miller Trail In a nutshell: Kid-friendly hike near South Beach State Park in Newport. Distance: 1.2-mile loop, with options for a longer trip Climb: 200 to 300 feet Difficulty: Easy to moderate. There are some steep, muddy and uneven sec- tions of trail. The Mike Miller Trail travels through old-growth forest near South Beach State Park outside Newport. three elegant footbridges and enters a dense old-growth forest of sitka spruce, Douglas-fir and western hemlock. The trees are enormous, and grow at odd an- gles, including one that grows sideways before bending upward, like the world’s largest letter “L.” There are numerous fun places to ex- plore with kids in this deep, shaded, Best trip: Add it onto a trip to Newport, Yaquina Head Lighthouse or South Beach State Park Directions: From Newport, drive south on Highway 101, crossing the Yaquina Bay Bridge and heading another two miles. Turn left on S.E. 50th Street, following signs for Mike Miller Educa- tional Trail. After a quarter mile, you’ll see the trailhead on your left. Park in a pullout on the side of the road. (If you reach South Beach State Park on Highway 101, you’ve gone just a bit too far). Coordinates: 44.60180, -124.05204 See TRAIL, Page 2B Fish and Wildlife stocks big brood trout in big ponds Fishing Henry Miller Guest columnist A total of about 120 10- to 12-pound brood rainbow trout from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Roar- ing River Hatchery near Scio were deliv- ered early this week to three Willamette Valley waters. By the numbers, 41 were planted at Timber Linn Lake, 42 at Waverly Lake, both in Albany, as well as 45 at Junction City Pond south of its namesake town. Timber Linn Lake is in Timber Linn Memorial Park, 900 Price Road SE across Price from the Linn County Fair and Expo Center. Waverly is in Waverly Park on the north side of Pacific Boule- vard SE (Highway 99E). Take Exit 234B off Interstate 5. Junction City Pond is on the right- hand side of Highway 99 several miles south of Junction City. Todd Hansen, a fish biologist with Fish and Wildlife’s North Willamette Watershed District office in Clackamas, said that only 3-year-old rainbows will be spawned this year at Roaring River. That means that the brood trout planted in the valley will be in the 8- to 12-pound range, instead of the occa- sional monster senior citizens of the Brood trout are being loaded into a hatchery truck for delivery to Junction City Pond. The big ones are rolling again. HENRY MILLER/SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL holding ponds that ran up to 15-plus pounds, some as much as 20 pounds, that were turned out in previous years. “We used to do 4-year-olds, too,” Hansen said about the Moby trout, add- ing that their productivity drops off sig- nificantly after year three. Frequent readers of this column probably have the same opinion about retired outdoor writers. As a personal aside, Hansen has one of the best all-time job descriptions that I’ve ever heard. As the scheduler of hatchery deliver- ies, he is known as the department’s “liberation coordinator.” “I know where every fish is going,” he said jokingly. “At least on the west side,” of the Cascade Range. Vive truite libre! Sigh, another digression. In addition to the bruisers planted this week, all three Willamette Valley ponds are scheduled to be stocked with “keeper-plus” size rainbows early next week during the run-up to the Thanks- giving holiday. Junction City will get 1,000 fish, Wa- verly, 700, and Timber Linn Lake, 500. Closer to home, Walter Wirth Lake in Cascades Gateway Park in Salem is set to get 1,300 keeper-plus trout early the week of Nov. 25. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough ripe spawners at Roaring River this week, Hansen said. And fish spawned on Tuesdays have to be held for a week before being re- leased, usually on the following Mon- days. Which means that the annual tradi- tion of releasing “brooders” during Thanksgiving week won’t happen this year. But there will be many more runs of bonus babies in the offing. Roaring River has fired-up its record- ed Broodstock Hotline, which is updat- ed on delivery days. For your speed dial, that number is (503) 394-3155, then press “2.” Mushrooms Concerned about a low turnout at a new venue, Kay and I dropped by to fluff up the attendance and rub elbows with the members of the Willamette Valley Mushroom Society at the group’s fourth annual Mushroom Show. It was an afternoon event on Nov. 17 at Painters Hall at the Sustainable Liv- ing Center in Salem. After holding the event at the Salem Public Library the previous three years, a record 620-plus turned out for the free collection of displays, seminars, guided exhibit walk-and-talks and mushroom taste-testing. People circling looking for parking spots should have been our first clue. If you didn’t get to the show, but would like to know more about the Sa- lem-area group of wild-fungal enthusi- asts, the society website is https:// www.wvmssalem.org/ Henry Miller is a retired Statesman Journal outdoor columnist and outdoor writer. You can reach him via email at HenryMillerSJ@gmail.com