TRIP 16 Northern Gales Creek Trail

      HIGHLIGHTS Starting beside a lovely stream, this trail climbs through second-growth woods to a road atop a high ridgetop. The route has no spectacular scenery, but it provides good exercise and is fun to hike. Beware, however, that parts of this trail, especially in its upper reaches, are rather unattractive, with some logged areas and many new logging roads. Even so, it is a pleasant hike, and provides relatively quick access to the upper reaches of Gales Creek, where there are some excellent options for both anglers and overnight backpackers.

      DIRECTIONS Drive U.S. Highway 26 west from Portland to a junction a little past milepost 38. Turn left (south) on Timber Road, drive 3.1 miles, and then turn right on Cochran Road, which starts as pavement but soon changes to good gravel. At 2.5 miles from Timber Road and 0.1 mile past the turnoff for Reehers Campground, turn left into the signed parking area for the Reehers Campground Trailhead and day-use area.

      From the east side of the parking lot, pick up the Gales Creek Trail as it curves downhill and to the west to a meeting with the clear waters of the small Nehalem River. From here the trail meanders upstream, through a bottomland ecosystem of deciduous trees and some surprisingly large specimens of western red cedars. The understory is a tangle of thimbleberry and other thorny shrubs, which effectively discourage any off-trail travel. At about 0.4 mile you reach the road, where you turn left and cross the river on the road bridge. Just 20 yards after this crossing, bear left onto an unsigned road, walk 10 yards, and then turn left onto an obvious foot trail.

      This winding path gradually makes its way uphill through a tangled forest with numerous large, moss-draped vine maples overhanging the trail. In late October the fall colors from these maples are a real treat. At about 0.8 mile the trail crosses the tracks of the Tillamook Railroad and then twists and turns in a slow ascent of the forested hillside. Look here for numerous ancient stumps with old logging springboard holes and fire scars from the massive Tillamook Burns of the 1930s and 1940s. The trees planted after those fires are now large enough to harvest, so don’t be surprised if you hear chainsaws (especially on weekdays) and encounter brand new (usually unmapped) logging roads crossing the trail. As of early 2007 there were two such new roads that you must cross in the next mile, but more can be expected in the future.

      At about 2 miles you cross gravel Round Top Road and then wind uphill along the edge of a recently thinned area that still shows many logging scars. The remaining forest is an open mix of Douglas firs and western hemlocks with an understory featuring the Coast Range’s usual “Big Three,” Oregon grape, sword fern, and salal. Although the uphill grade is sometimes moderate, it is rarely too steep. About 0.5 mile above Round Top Road you cross a rarely used logging spur and then switchback uphill through another selectively cut area. Near the top of this logging scar you cross the end of another logging spur road, walk 0.2 mile, and then cross a final logging road. This entire section is rather unattractive, but the scenery will improve in the future as time heals the logging scars. A final 0.6 mile of uphill hiking through partially cut timber takes you to a ridgetop junction with Bell Camp Road, 3.4 miles from the trailhead.