The snow, illness and other issues have prevented us from doing much hiking this winter. The Gorge is apparently
still a mess beyond help till at least spring, so hiking options are very limited since neither of us own microspikes or winter snow hiking gear of any sort.
But I finally managed to get out last weekend for a short hike with the wife in forest park, and then again on Friday to deal with
unfinished business.
Last year I went out of my way to explore as much as
forest park as I possibly could. I took every trail I could find, some trails that weren't on a map, and some trails that may not have actually been trails to begin with. My proudest moments in the quest were when I found secret old abandoned trails and roads, because it felt like I was an explorer discovering ancient ruins, even though I was actually just an asshole poking around in the woods for old paths that nobody walks anymore for good reason. For the most part, I came away satisfied. But one particular thing nagged at me.
Where the hell was Firelane 6?
Firelanes 6, 11, and 14 are not labeled on modern maps.
Despite this, I found an old map confirming firelane 14, and probably discovered firelane 11 on my own. But I never found Firelane 6. I emailed the Forest Park conservatory, no response. I searched old maps, no dice. Firelane 6 was a giant mystery. I never found it, and by the time I figured out a way to possibly find it, the real hiking season started and I left Forest Park alone. Until now. Until I found it.
I found firelane 6.
Sort of. I found it, but I'm still unsure
where it actually is. Allow me to explain.
My method for locating firelane 6 started much the same way as how I found firelane 11. Looking at google maps' terrain view showed a hidden flat, roadish surface that was unmarked where a firelane would presumably be. Firelanes (with the weird exception of 12) are located, in order, going north. So to find firelane 6, I would have to look for flat sections of terrain between Firelane 7 and 5. It's a big area, and a lot of it is on private land. But the map showed promise, and it only had two major ridgelines to choose from:
The ridge showed a flat, road like section going north to south, which was weird as all firelanes bisect east west, but this was still very promising. I decided to set out for the tip of the ridgeline when the WW would cross it, then head up the ridge looking for evidence of a firelane.
I parked at firelane 7, walked down the Trillium trail, fought my way through some storm damage blowdowns (It's going to take a year to clean up this winter mess) and found the ridgeline. Before I walked west, up the ridge, I walked east, down the ridge on a small user trail to what looked like an old campsite and former location of a powerline tower. Then I set up the ridge, looking for an old roadbed.
I didn't have much luck. There was no evidence of any old roadbed on the ridgeline or just off it. I was determined to walk up the ridge anyway and with the undergrowth low it wasn't too hard. But then I found it. I came across an old roadbed coming from a different, side ridge, and there was a legit trail in front of me. It was marked with petroleum signs. I found an oil-line access trail through the park. This was firelane 6 alright. Maybe it wasn't abandoned like the other 2, maybe they took it off the map to prevent people from walking on an oil-line and eroding it away or something.
 |
| The oil road |
I reached the "intersection" where the north-south road crossed. I walked through and continued up the oil line road on the hill (Which isn't visible on google) to a power line clearing, and a big gate at the back end of someone's property, and turned around and went back to the intersection. Now to find out where these side roads went.
I went south first as the road was more visible. It was clearly abandoned and incredibly squishy, each footstep creating a disgusting slurp of mud. The road was pretty clear but difficult to navigate in spurts that had washed out or overgrown. I walked maybe a 5th of a mile upcreek, and I could see the roadbed on the other side of the creek, but I hit a wall of brush and squish that I didn't have the motivation to push through, so I turned back. I think I know where the road ends, so in the future I might seek the opposite end out.
I got back to the intersection and went north to abrupt disappointment. Overgrown and the roadbed immediately vanished in ferns. Looking back at the map, I think I took an offshoot I shouldn't have, so returning to here might be in order as well. I headed back down the ridge and followed the signs along the road I had missed on the way up. When I reached the intersection with the wildwood, I saw why. Outside an oil line sign on the side of the WW, the way up was completely indistinguishable from a normal hillside. Hidden in plain sight.
I headed back towards the car, satisfied that I had found F6. When I rounded the top of the wiregate trail, however, I saw it. Another old roadbed, heading uphill west off of the WW. I sighed, and up I went.
The Wiregate trail is a weeny steep connection between Leif Erikson and the WW. It follows an old oil-line (The same oil line as what I just found, actually) roadbed for most of the route, then curves up north and the old roadbed goes another 80 yards to the WW. I never noticed that it actually
crossed the WW here. But it does. For whatever reason, I never noticed the grade. It's been there the whole time, and I never saw it.
It was steep and covered in difficult to navigate blowdowns. But past the mess it opened into a nice meadow with just hints of Mt. Hood to see, and then it became an obvious roadbed. The road went up another 6th of a mile to another gate and private property sign. It also had a short offshoot to a former powerline location. So what was this mystery road. Was I on firelane 6? Or was Firelane 6 the oil road?
I think F6 is the former. I think I found it by accident and the oil line is just an oil line. One thing has me convinced. Gravel. The oil line had no gravel on it. It resembled more of a trail in most places, which isn't a giveaway, but it didn't have gravel. Firelanes have gravel. Some have less, some are covered, but the gravel is there. The Wiregate extension had gravel on it. You had to dig a little bit, but it was there. The lower wiregate trail has gravel and follows a roadbed. So I think that Firelane 6 is now the wiregate trail (half of it, anyway) and the top half was abandoned due to the land being privately owned, providing no upper access point. But this is a guess.
The point is, I walked on Firelane 6. But I don't know if it was the first or second secret I found. So I know where it is and have walked it, but I also
don't know where it actually is.
Schrodinger's Firelane.
