Wildcat Creek

I spent the day on the Wildcat Creek Mountain Biking Trail System.  A downstream landowner had complained about increased use of the trail system impacting his downstream drinking water source.  That's a real tough thing to prove - especially if he's not treating his drinking water source.  What I was able to determine was that a) he had a legitimate water right, b) his water source was fed by groundwater which is about as clean as you can get, and c) increased recreation traffic hadn't impacted his water supply.  Sure there was some garbage in the parking lot, but that was far away from his drinking water source and drained into an entirely different stream network.  Nonetheless, it was a fun day of hiking around the woods, looking at deeply incised, volcanic drainages just as winter was turning to spring.

a spring in a wetland complex which is the drinking water source of a downstream landowner

deeply incised (approximately 40ft), super steep stream which goes entirely subsurface once the gradient lessens (above and below)

This is the same stream, but its gradient has dropped and the stream is almost entirely subsurface.  As I hiked down this stream, I found four "wild beers" that someone had left in the creek to cool, last summer!

One of the many mountain biking trails which would require some serious skills to ride

The old logging road that serves as access for the many mountain biking trailheads

I was also able to get Wes and Jake together for a campfire in the woods before Wes left for work for most of the year.  I picked a spot kinda mid-way for both of us, but on public lands: halfway up Walker Creek in the headwaters of the Nestucca Watershed.  It was good to get together, socially distanced, have a campfire and just catch up on everything.