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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2021)
Appeal Tribune | WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2021 | 1B OUTDOORS Tamanawas Falls Trail, located on the east side of Mount Hood and south of Hood River, features old-growth forest and travels along Cold Spring Creek to 110-foot Tamanawas Falls. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN JOURNAL Camp and hike Mount Hood’s Tamanawas Falls Zach Urness Salem Statesman Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK There are few things that ruin a fantastic hike quick- er than an extra-long drive to the trailhead, particular- ly when you’re traveling with children. Even when it’s a stunning hike, and even when it’s a perfect day, spending more time in the car than on the trail is a less-than-ideal experience. A better alternative, when possible, is camping near the trailhead. And that’s what made our trip to Tama- nawas Falls so appealing in early July. The trail on the east side of Mount Hood is about as good as it gets for a summer kid hike — shaded forest, cool pools and a 110-foot misty waterfall. But it’s also an almost five-hour drive round-trip from the Salem area. There aren’t enough Magic Tree House audiobooks to make five hours in the car enjoyable in one day. Luckily, there’s a wonderful little campground right next to the trailhead that often has spaces open. Sherwood Campground doesn’t have many ameni- ties, but it is in a great location and has some nice sites. You can also reserve half of the campsites in advance, although the best ones — right along the edge of the East Fork Hood River — are first-come, first-served. It’s a combination hike and camp that makes for a fun trip. Sherwood campground This 16-site campground, named for the forest home of Robin Hood and his merry men, is one of the few places near Mount Hood where you can usually find a site, in a year when most campgrounds are com- pletely booked. Sherwood has options for both making reservations in advance — via Recreation.gov — and getting a first- come, first-served site. Your chances are best if you plan to come Sunday night through Wednesday, the slowest part of the week. The best sites are first-come sites sit right alongside the East Fork of the Hood River, but shade is plentiful and it’s a peaceful spot to spend a night. The best part, of course, is that the trailhead for one of Oregon’s best summer waterfall hikes is just a short walk up the road. While Sherwood is best for tents, I understand Not- tingham Campground just down the road is best for trailers. Tamanawas Falls hike It’s tough to imagine a better hike for a hot summer day than Tamanawas — the word means “friendly or guardian spirit” in local Native American languages. It’s a popular hike and the parking area often fills up quickly, so if you want solitude, start early or go late. In terms of difficulty, this one is right on the line between an easy and moderate challenge. I’d say it’s the latter, considering you cross some steep rocky areas. My 72-year-old mother made it, along with my kids age 4 and 6, but both were pretty tired by the end. The trail begins by crossing the East Fork of the Hood River on a footbridge before climbing over a steep and narrow ridge and then dropping down into the drainage of Cold Spring Creek at a second wooden footbridge. There’s one trail junction, but just follow Sherwood Campground in Mount Hood National Forest. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN JOURNAL signs for Tamanawas Falls. Cold Spring Creek is an apt name with the creek spilling through deep mossy canyons along the trail, offering pleasant spots to stop for a rest. There are giant trees and downed logs for kids to climb on as you make your way — often past other peo- ple and gradually uphill — toward the waterfall. The trail breaks out into a patch of rocks and large boulders before reaching the waterfall itself, a beautiful silver curtain. There are a number of places to admire the water- fall, from a small pool in the creek to a small island across the creek. Best of all, sure-footed hikers can scramble up and behind the waterfall, although you’ll get pretty wet in the process. Also, this isn’t Silver Falls where the trail goes behind the falls, and it would be easy to get hurt. The hike back is mostly downhill and goes a lot fast- er than the way in. And if you’ve played your cards Hey wait, I thought we only wrote about hot dogs as bait Fishing Henry Miller Guest columnist Hold the condiments. Given the giddiness for Oregon’s grand sort-of-post-pandemic reopening on July 1, summer vacation for schools, the hot weather and the July 4 holiday, what better time to stay at La Casa Miller to watch one of America’s great spectator sports: Unbridled gluttony? Or in the parlance of purists, the an- nual July 4 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest held appropriately at Co- ney Island, once known by the nickname “Sodom by the Sea.” Because of pandemic precautions, it was held at a minor-league baseball sta- dium near the traditional site at Nathan’s on the boardwalk. So what’s more absurd: a. Competitive eating as a televised “sport” on ESPN, or b. watching competitive eating? No contest, pardon the bun, er pun. Insight into the answer came when Twitter exploded with angry wiener watchers when the live feed from the event cut off with less than a minute to go and eventual winner, Joey “Jaws” Chest- nut on a record pace. Video was restored after the competi- tion had ended. I won’t keep you in suspense. Chestnut did, in fact, chew through the competition to win his 14th title with a record-breaking (his own, by the way) 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes in front of a couple of thousand fans. It’s now in the books as one of more than 50 Major League Eating records that the 37-year-old holds. If I may be allowed a digression from this column, which is in fact entirely a di- gression, Major League Eating, capital- ized, is really a thing (Home | Major League Eating – IFOCE). The logo is a fist holding a fork. Among the sanctioned events is the upcoming Case’s Pork Roll Eating Cham- pionship. Now back to our regularly scheduled column. At this point, if you’re me, and lucky you’re not, you’ve got to do some math. According to Nathan’s Famous nutri- tion facts page for its skinless beef franks, each one weighs 42 grams, so 76 would weigh 3,192 grams. If I remember my chemistry conver- sion (I bet you thought I was going to say cannabis, weren’t you? Shame on you), there’s 454 grams to a pound, rounded up slightly. Voila! Seven and a skosh pounds, to be frank (sorry). As an aside, again according to the nu- trition facts, that includes 2 pounds of to- tal fat. On the plus side, they’re sugar- free. Moving along, there’s no telling what a competition bun weighs, if there is such a thing, but an eight-pack of our own be- loved Franz tips the scales at 13.5 ounces, according to an online ad, or rounded up slightly, 1.7 ounces per bun. So 76 times 1.7 equals 129.2 ounces, di- vided by 16 ounces to the pound, comes See MILLER, Page 2B
