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WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
Chairlift
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Meadows is focusing summer efforts
on hiking, with a chairlift assist should
you want it. Officials are looking to make
use of the area’s natural scenery — and
close proximity to already-popular trails
— to lure the throngs of hikers that make
their way out from Portland each week-
end. They’ve built 8.5 miles of new trail
that connects to existing hikes such as
Sahalie and Umbrella falls, along with
the Timberline Trail — the pathway that
circles Mount Hood.
The chairlift ticket, good for the en-
tire day, costs $19 in person or $16 when
purchased in advance for adults, $15 for
ages 7 to 14 and younger and free for
those 6 and under. The scenic chairlift is
the most popular attraction so far,
Meadows spokesman Dave Tragethon
said, but you’re also allowed to park in
the resort’s massive parking area and
access the trails for free when the chair-
lift is open (Thursday to Monday).
“The thing that sets us apart and I’d
say makes us the best lift-serviced hik-
ing destination on Mount Hood is that
we’re not entirely above timberline —
we’ve got forest, wildflowers and water-
falls along with big views of Mount
Hood. Our goal is to provide a quieter,
more natural experience,” Tragethon
said.
Chairlift-aided hiking and new trails at
Mount Hood Meadows is a new way to
experience the largest ski area on
Mount Hood. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN
JOURNAL
The lift and route down
It turns out that I’m pretty close to the
key demographic that Mount Hood
Meadows is looking to hit. On a recent
camping trip to the east side of Mount
Hood, I had my 70-year-old parents and
4- and 6-year old children in tow. We’re
looking for adventure, but with those
ages, you have to pick them carefully.
The idea of a chairlift and easy down-
hill hike with views of Oregon’s tallest
mountain sounded pretty appealing
and something everyone could do.
We stopped in at Meadows on a
Thursday, visited the ticket window and
headed out to the chairlift. Both of my
kids have only done the bunny hill at
Hoodoo Ski Area — never the chairlift —
so it was a novel thing getting swooped
up and into the air, the ground well be-
low your feet.
The chairlift view included the top of
Mount Hood coming in-and-out
through the trees and the profusion of
beargrass below.
At the top of the chairlift, we strolled
off at around 6,000 feet — the Stadium
chairlift gives you a 600 foot boost up
the mountain. Then we decided what
came next. Meadows provides a hiking
map and markers that work once you’re
oriented. When we were there, they
were still waiting on a master trail sign
at the top of the lift, leading to some
confusion. But after looking around a
bit, and walking down the road to the
first marked trail, we finally figured out
where to start our trip.
(The future map will apparently have
a “you are here” feature, more trail
markers and interpretive notes on wild-
fire ecology, glaciers, volcanology and
Native American history).
With young kids and older adults, I
wasn’t looking to climb up to Timberline
Trail or gain any elevation — we wanted
to let gravity help us hike. So we started
on the Stadium Loop — a 0.3-mile loop
right below the chairlift — and then con-
Miller
Continued from Page 1B
the bathroom door open every time you
failed to latch it just to see what you
were doing, although the activities were
limited, and repetitive.
Harry was quite a hunter.
Along with about a half-dozen moles
Chairlift-aided hiking and new trails at Mount Hood Meadows are new ways to
experience the largest ski area on Mount Hood.
PHOTOS BY ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
nected to the Beargrass Trail, which at
3.5 miles was our target for the day.
As advertised, there was plenty of
beargrass. The trail weaved through for-
est and out into open meadows filled
with the puffy white wildflower, along
with touches of purple lupine. The trail
occasionally broke out to big views look-
ing south toward Mount Jefferson and
across the northern Cascade Range.
You never quite forgot that you were
at a ski area — I couldn’t describe it as a
wilderness area — but the Beargrass
Trail was pretty, and the sensation of
hiking entirely downhill was pleasant
for our group. It was as though you’d al-
ready done the hard part and were on
the return leg of a hike.
We stopped for lunch in an alpine
meadow and the kids found a few
patches of snow they were thrilled to
play in. After 3.5 miles, and far quicker
than expected, we found ourselves back
near the bottom, crossing below the
chairlift that had previously taken us
skyward.
The end of the hike was punctuated
on the large wooden deck at Meadows,
where we bought ice cream in celebra-
tion. The kids still had plenty of energy
and as the adults sat in the shade, the
kids found some friends and played on a
mini playground just below the deck.
There are a number of other trails
hikers can connect to for a longer adven-
ture, from Sahalie Falls to Umbrella Falls
to the higher terrain along Timberline
Trail or an area called Jack’s Woods. For
us, though, a short downhill hike and ice
cream was about all we needed for a
pretty good day.
that he dug up during the years, and
several square yards of weed-barrier
cloth, he ambushed a crow in the back
yard, and he once jumped up to grab a
gamboling squirrel off the top of a four-
foot fence without a running start.
The latter incident occurred while my
brother, Steve, was house-sitting.
Inordinately proud of his trophy,
Harry refused to surrender it.
After several vain attempts to get it,
Steve decided to offer the one thing in
life that Harry loved more than a dead
squirrel.
My brother opened his car door, and
the dog hopped in, rodent still dangling
from his mouth.
He finally dropped it on the seat after
about three blocks, and Steve grabbed
the carcass and hurled it out of the win-
dow.
Seemingly impervious to pain, Harry
once ran unfazed through an electric
livestock fence to get to a flock of sheep.
The phrase “what’s Harry got in his
mouth now?” was not an uncommon re-
joinder.
The most memorable hunting memo-
ry was the epic twilight assassination
attempt on a skunk in the back yard, the
fog of battle a malodorous, choking
chemical cloud that reeked for weeks.
It ended in a draw when we separated
the combatants with a blast from a gar-
den hose, but not before both the pro-
tagonists and the referees were soaked
in skunk spew.
Despite multiple baths, the vet made
us wait outside before calling Harry in to
check for war wounds, and Kay was sent
home from work the next day because of
the residual fumes.
I was similarly afflicted.
The first couple of times that we
walked Harry, Kay used to joke that
“we’re in the club” when we would chat
up fellow dog-walkers during our daily
rounds.
Our membership has expired.
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275 Lancaster Drive SE
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TUALATIN
8970 SW Tualatin Sherwood Rd
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PORTLAND
832 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 783-3393
TIGARD
12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy
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(503) 783-6869
EASTSIDE
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Chairlift-aided hiking and new trails at
Mount Hood Meadows is a new way to
experience the largest ski area on
Mount Hood. ZACH URNESS / STATESMAN
JOURNAL
Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
*The chairlift will be open until 7 p.m.
on Friday nights that we are offering
Movies on the Deck
Movies on the deck
Future of more hiking
Tragethon said that if this model of
hiking proves popular, Meadows is
planning to expand, possibly opening
additional chairlifts to other parts of the
mountain or establishing venues along
the trail where hikers could stop for a
bite to eat or even have a wedding.
“Eventually we’re looking to operate
seven days per week,” he said. “The next
step is just determining if we have
enough traffic for a second chairlift.”
Days & Hours of Operations
Chairlift operating: June 25 - Sep-
tember 6
Thursday & Friday* - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday - 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Highlights
Item 1: With more than 100,000
pounds remaining in the total allowed
catch as of Monday, all-depth halibut
fishing off the central coast will be open
every Thursday through Saturday until
the entire quota is exhausted or Oct. 31,
whichever comes first.
Meadows is showing kid-friendly
movies on the desk that beginning in
the evening, that could make a nice cap-
stone to a hike at the resort. Here’s what
they’re showing.
August 6: Ghostbusters (1984)
August 13: The Goonies
August 20: Harry and the Hender-
sons
August 27: Dirty Dancing
September 3: The Parent Trap (1961)
Zach Urness has been an outdoors re-
porter, photographer and videographer
in Oregon for 13 years. Urness is the au-
thor of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon”
and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can
be reached at zurness@StatesmanJour
nal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on
Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.
Prior to the expanded opportunities,
fishing had been allowed every other
week on Thursdays through Saturdays
The open area is between Cape Fal-
con near Manzanita on the north coast
and Humbug Mountain near Brookings
on the south coast. High winds have re-
duced both effort and catch rates, ac-
cording to the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife.
Reservations:
Depoe Bay Dockside Charters: (541)
765-2545. Website: www.docksidede-
poebay.com Tradewinds Charters:
(800) 445-8730. Website: www.trade-
windscharters.com
Newport Newport Marina Store &
Charters: (541) 867-4470. Website:
www.nmscharters.com Newport Tra-
dewinds: (541) 265-2101. Website:
www.newporttradewinds.com Yaquina
Bay Charters: (541) 265-6800. Website:
www.yaquinabaycharters.com
Item 2: Because of the release of
cooler water from near the bases of De-
troit and Foster dams, the prohibitions
on fishing after 2 p.m. have been lifted
on sections of the North and South San-
tiam rivers.
Fishing is allowed on the North San-
tiam in the open area below Big Cliff
Dam and from the deadline below Fos-
ter Dam to the junction with the main
Santiam River.
“Hoot-owl” fishing prohibitions after
2 p.m. remain in effect on all other rivers
where the bans were imposed earlier
this month because of low, warm water
stressing salmon, steelhead and trout.
Thought for the week: Whenever
you get discouraged about your lack of
angling success, consider this parallel
by the late, great Ted Williams: “Base-
ball is the only field of endeavor where a
man can succeed three times out of 10
and be considered a good performer.”
HenryMillerSJ@gmail.com