Kiara Tackles the Trails - Trail #1 Powell Butte Nature Park

Kiara Tackles the Trail - Trail #1 Powell Butte Nature Park

Ki and I decided to run all 65 trails in TRAIL RUNNING OREGON by Lizann Dunegan and we'll document our good times here. Today was SOOOOOOOOOOO wet!! What better way to get started! I forgot my camera but will try to take it to all the runs from here on out and hope to get some great nature pictures.

We saw no other runners and just a few brave people out in the wind and wet walking their dog friends. It was supposed to be a 3.5 mile loop but I apparently got lost almost before I even started. About 5 minutes in I realized I had missed a marker - so I just kept going. We had been out for about 20 minutes and I decided to head back to the trailhead just to make sure I knew where I was - I got a late start today and was risking getting stuck (lost) in the dark. We got back fine and found a different and BETTER trail and in the end we ran for just over 1 hour. Next time I'll start with the Old Holgate Trail so I can see it through to it's end. It was beautiful in there - surrounded by trees and a red leaf covered path and bright green moss. I stopped and took a picture with my phone but truly - the Palm Treo takes horrendous pictures. If I can figure how to get it on to my computer, I'll see if it's worth posting here.

Powell Butte is on an extinct volcano that to Ki's great pleasure was filled with lots of birds and other wildlife. Per the book, the park is riddled with a system of interconnecting trails that wind through open grassy meadows, old fruit orchards, and thick woodlands made up of western red cedar, Douglas fir, alder, and big-leaf maple trees.
This is all true! Tons of stuff to look at and sludge through and fall over. There is truly nothing like being attached to a sled-dog on the downhill side of a muddy trail when she sees a flock of birds she wants for lunch. OH...MY....