Clackamas Country: Wild yet Tamed
The spongy moss of the forest floor seemed to hush the freight train sound of the river. The muffled silence of the forest was soothing enough to make want to prowl the woods even further and continue my photographic quest. The 100 inches of annual precipitation on the windward side of the mountains provides more than discomfort to an ill-prepared cross-country hiker. The temperate rain forest ecosystem contains a denser biomass than the tropical forests of Brazil. A wealth of ferns, lichens, mosses and mushrooms make rotting logs and old fire-scarred stumps home.
I headed southeast from my apartment in Milwaukie, an old blue-collar suburb of Portland on State Highway 224 into the Cascade foothills towards Estacada. Green fields of various fruits, veggies and grasses glowed vibrantly under the soft sun filtered by low-lying clouds. The transition from valley to timbered mountains is no longer gradual just a few miles past Estacada as I ascended a steep grade above North Fork Reservoir. A thick cloudbank hovered over the rounded summits of the western Cascades in the distance. This sub-region of the volcanic chain stretching from Canada to northern California is unlike the high plateau punctuated by famous white volcanoes a few miles to the east. Here there is a more complex topography of deep river canyons, sharp ridge tops and a myriad of streams that gather strength and merge into many major and important rivers, such as the Clackamas. During the spring months of 1996, devastating floods re-sculpted the river’s course in places but brought millions of dollars in damage to the highway resulting in closures for almost a year and restricting access to Ripplebrook, a U.S. Forest Service community and guard station for the Mt.Hood National Forest.
The next several miles of the river contain a series of day use and overnight campgrounds in the ever-steepening canyon beginning at Lazy Bend. Roughly 50 miles of the mainstream Clackamas are classified as wild and scenic and the reasons will become evident during the tour upstream. After rounding one of many more “bends” is the popular Carter Bridge put-in where I saw four hearty kayakers carefully balancing in the swift current below towering green walls of moss and ferns. It apparently is a favorite spot for practicing for serious rapids. The river is considered a class III to IV but by late summer it slows down to calmer flows. Lockaby, Armstrong and Fish Creek Campgrounds seemed literally smashed together in the next half mile but nevertheless sport scenic riverside camping.
Fish creek contains the northern head of the Clackamas River Trail which meanders about 8 miles through the maze of delicate vine maple and Pacific yew understory. The trail is well-hushed on the opposite side of Highway 224 traffic as pine marten and spotted owls share the ancient forest with you. At three miles, the sound of more water confronts you as Pup Creek’s 100 foot cascade plunges over a basalt cliff and splashes into the river. Those with suction cups under their boots can climb through the moss better close-up views. In another mile, you’ll come to The Narrows, where the river squeezes through a deep gorge only 20 feet wide, making for a challenging obstacle for rafters. It was here on another hike that I saw a pair of river otters tempting to dive off the mossy rocks. The final mile or so of the trail before Indian Henry Campground and trailhead passes through interesting geology including rock pinnacles, slides and a cross-section of a cave draped by a lacy waterfall. For an interesting loop, just turn around and head back the way you came.
The Clackamas corridor is also rich in history. Nearly 13,000 years ago, a band of people called the “Clovis” settled in the lower stretches near present-day Oregon City. The Clackamas people, the source of the name for both county and the river that cuts diagonally across it, lived on the east bank of the Willamette and in the valleys of the Clackamas and sandy rivers. They belonged to the Upper Chinook language division. People of the Chinook culture dominated the region from near the mouth of the Columbia River eastward to The Dalles and included such groups as the Multnomahs and Wasco/Wishram(at Columbia River’s Celilo Falls). Early American and European explorers noted large villages of Clackamas at the Clackamas Rapids and at Willamette Falls, both prime trading and fishing sites. The region may have been populated by a million throughout the following centuries after the last Ice Age and before the Euro-exploration era.
The first slash and burn activities of forest and prairie in the basin region began approximately 4,000 years ago by the Clackamas people and amateur and professional geologists today can find flint and arrowheads in rock slides and pits. Many severe wildfires and floods have reshaped the forest cover at least a dozen times evident in many rotting and burnt stumps still standing in the forest floor. More importantly and closer to present was the fishing industry. Near the end of the 19th century, a commercial fishery stood near the confluence of the Willamette and Clackamas near Oregon City. At the time the river was home to the highest succession rate for Chinook salmon in the Pacific Northwest where harvest numbers reached 12,000 at one point. Hatcheries were constructed to help the declining spring Chinook runs. The 1950’s introduced large populations of salmon and steelhead to the lower miles of river to aid passage from the hydro power plant near Estacada.
As a Forest Service employee based at the Ripplebrook Guard Station just a few miles further, I always enjoyed the solitude of the little town after a hard days work in the woods. Nearly a hundred homes are scattered throughout the trees and are for mostly full time employees and senior citizens. Nearby is the Timber Lake Job Corps Work Center, which caters to special young people and provides a second chance with vocation training courses such as carpentry, cement masonry, cooks, forestry aide, painter, plasterer and welding. I had the opportunity of fighting forest fires with the and they are quite the worker bees! Nearby are the rotting homesteads and buildings of Three Lynx, a failed power facility.
Ripplebrook also marks the end of state highway 224 and beginning of Forest Road 46, which is part of the Western Cascades Scenic Byway. The river starts to turn into a wide creek from here on as well. The forest route becomes less traveled and other than an occasional log truck grinding up a steep grade, it is at times a “one lane with turnouts” drive.
After another clumping of more rustic campsites at the Collawash River confluence, another crystalline stream, privately owned and managed Austin Hot Springs emits steam from near the frigid river. It is not accessible without a permit and is on the opposite side of the highway making it even more of a challenge to get to. If you’re into hot springs, try Bagby. Located at the end of a two mile romp through old growth, the forest service has converted large steel tubs for soaking in the 100 degree water.
Many scenic side trips fan out from and well above the Clackamas providing quiet forest trails to abandoned lookouts and Cascade views. Finding the actual source of the “Clack” is not easy. Depending on which source you’d like to track, most of the high lakes in the Olallie Lake Scenic Area spill into small streams that eventually begin as the course of the Clackamas. One of Oregon’s favorite and scenic rivers is only a short drive from bustling Portland. Tame or wild, the Clackamas is worth discovering for the first time.
GETTING THERE
To reach the Clackamas River Recreation lands, head southeast from the Portland metropolitan area along Highway 224, which can be accessed from the Clackamas/Johnson City exit off I-205. Wind through suburbia and eventually wooded foothills about 17 miles to Estacada. Information on the Mt.Hood National Forest is at the ranger station south of town across the river. Follow the route another 20 miles to Ripplebrook Ranger Station. Forest Road 46 winds another 45 miles to Detroit on the Willamette National Forest.
For maps and brochures contact the Estacada Ranger District at 595 NW Industrial Way, Estacada Oregon 97023, (541)630-6861. For information on whitewater and paddling visit Destination Wilderness Outdoor Adventures at http://www.wildernesstrips.com/oregon.htm.
