Urban Legends

You know the feeling - suddenly you get the urge to put on your hiking boots, fill your water bottle, grab the camera, and head out for the nearest trail. I hesitate to say "the call of nature" because that has come to mean something entirely different. Nonetheless, the known benefits of the exercise and just being out in nature are too good to ignore! The urge comes frequently in the summer, so our posts tend to fall behind. But not to worry, early January is a perfect time to crack open the backlog and share past adventures!



We are indeed fortunate to live in an area where the choices are numerous depending on how much time you have and how far you want to go. Some trails and parks become regulars, to be enjoyed over and over, while others are somewhat familiar, like distant cousins at a family reunion.

This post is about a local urban trail we enjoyed on a very hot summer day in August 2017. Like many of our nearby forested hikes, the Portland 4T Loop trail, as it is called, is a respectable four miles long (trail portion), is mostly shaded, and has the distinction of letting you ride the other sections of the loop route on a tram, a trolley car, and a light rail train, hence the 4T name. There's quite a bit of uphill for the first two miles, then some down and then more up! The reward at the end of the hiking part is when you hop on the aerial tram and zoom down to river level in about three minutes! Then we had fun stopping for coffee and snacks and taking in the sights of this busy area before riding the trolley over to the light rail stop to get back to our starting point at the zoo.

One of the highlights of our day hike was finding a gem of a mosaic near the end of the trail. It's a large, stepped, artwork by Lynn Takata showing the native flora and fauna of Marquam Nature Park, where the trail passes. Completed in 2013, the work is a tribute to nature and the community effort needed to bring it to fruition.

     

 A wren and creek at left; Hooker's Fairy Bell at right.

     

Western Trillium and Stellar's Jay at left; Orange Honeysuckle and hummingbird at right.

     

False Solomon Seal berries at left; mosaic marker at right.

Most of the four mile hike is what we call "relaxed" although there are several steep sections. You see plenty of homes tucked into the woods and it's a popular route for locals. Overall it was a good way to spend the afternoon in the shade while getting some exercise. It's also a great route for your active visitors if you don't feel like a long ride to the coast or Columbia Gorge.

Links:

Four T Trail Info

Marquam Nature Park

Portland Aerial Tram