Category: Beer And Hiking

Hike & Brewery pairings: Where to Trek and Toast

8/20/2015

Thunder Island Brewing Co. offers one of the best views of the Columbia River Gorge. The business offers both indoor and outdoor seating along with food from the in-house kitchen. It’s a great, post-Gorge hike refueling station. Photos by Andi Prewitt

By Andi Prewitt
Of the Oregon Beer Growler

The first time I made my strained ascent of Dog Mountain, the winds were howling, thick fog obscured the trail just several feet ahead and chilling temperatures kept me shivering every time I stopped to rest. The lauded wildflowers and breathtaking view? Nonexistent. But I still kicked that mountain’s ass that day and the post-trek beers at nearby Walking Man Brewing in Stevenson, Wash. never tasted so good because I’d earned them.

There’s something profoundly rewarding about completing a hike. The activity is beautifully simple. Hiking, after all, is walking. And to be stimulated for hours by nature alone is particularly noteworthy these days. Moreover, a hike is a physical and mental effort that you alone complete. It’s up to you to muster the courage to cross that logjam when the bridge has washed out. You rally to make it up those switchbacks. And when you’re soaked with sweat, walking on wobbly legs back to your car — breweries abound in Oregon, even near rural trailheads, and that rewarding pint awaits. Even when you’re far from the heart of the city, you’re usually just minutes away from really good beer.

Below is a guide of just some of the state’s stellar hikes along with the best brewery pairings.

Levels of Difficulty Key:
Easy: Paul Blart, mall cop
Moderate: Bear Grylls, notorious faker
Difficult: Indiana Jones
Strenuous: Ron Swanson, would rebuild trail himself to improve it before hiking

The Drift Creek Falls Suspension Bridge, outside of Lincoln City, offers an impressive view of the canyon below. The span is also worth admiring itself at 240 feet long and 100 feet above the ground.

Drift Creek Falls: One Sweet Suspension Bridge
Distance: 3-3.5 miles
Difficulty: Paul Blart
Trailhead: At the Highway 101 and Highway 18 junction, travel east 4.5 miles on Highway 18. Turn onto Bear Creek County Road for 3.5 miles. Continue 7 miles on Forest Service Road 17 to the trailhead.

When I was a kid, I dreamed of fighting off attackers on a treacherous rope bridge like Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” The Drift Creek Falls Suspension Bridge is the closest thing I’ve found in Oregon and while it can’t be cut in half with a sword, you can get it swinging from side to side to up the excitement level. Most impressive, though, is the view — not just from the bridge, but of the bridge as well. It’s an impressive span at 240 feet long and imagining the construction process is awe-inspiring. Materials had to be helicoptered in to the remote site. One-hundred feet below lies the canyon floor and a 75-foot falls, which served as the bridge’s namesake.

The hike to reach the span is relatively easy. The forest is thick with towering alder and maple trees that provide plenty of shade throughout. Giant ferns carpet the ground and a stream winds near the path from time to time. To add a bit of length to this hike and a slightly moderate climb, take the North Loop trail when you reach the fork. The approximately half-mile trek is thick with plants that are starting to grow over the trail in some areas. This side trip can also serve as a respite on more crowded days, as most follow the direct route. Once you’ve completed the loop, you’re almost to the bridge. Cross it and continue down to the water for a front-row seat on a rock to an amazingly new perspective of the waterfall and bridge. It’s a peaceful place for a snack, provided there aren’t any parents bellowing down at their children from the bridge because they’re too lazy to make the hike down and back up again to retrieve them.

At the bridge’s entrance, you may notice a plaque honoring Scott Paul, a Forest Service construction foreman. He died in a rigging accident while working on the project. The co-owner of a company dedicated to construction of swing bridges and trails, who was one of Paul’s associates, stepped in to help finish the bridge as a tribute.

Post-Trail Ale: You’re almost to Lincoln City, so might as well make a full day of it and head into town. Rusty Truck Brewing Co. (4649 SE Highway 101, Lincoln City) might be easy to miss because it’s tucked into the same property as Roadhouse 101. Just look for the old red pickup in the parking lot and you’ll know you’re in the right place and the beers are worth seeking out. The dining room tends to be packed with tourists, so to steer clear of the crowds head to the bar. There’s live music in the evenings and typically locals at the bar. And with all of the neon and auto-themed decor, it’s like hanging out in your drag racing-obsessed uncle’s dream garage. With a stage. And taps set aside for craft beer.

Saddle Mountain: Giddy Up for a Great View
Distance: About 5 miles
Difficulty: Indiana Jones
Trailhead: Travel west on Highway 26 until approximately milepost 10, where you take a right turn heading north after a state park sign for Saddle Mountain. From there head 7 miles up a mostly paved road to the trailhead at the road’s end.

It’s hard to miss Saddle Mountain and you don’t even have to be in the area to catch a glimpse of it. The massive rock off of Highway 26 can be seen from coastal cities and Gorge-area mountaintops. Lewis and Clark even made note of the peak in their journals. Given that it’s so visible, you know it’s going to have a killer view. The question that remains is whether your legs or your lungs will give out before you get there. Most of the trail is challenging and steep. Keep in mind that you don’t have to enjoy every second of the 1,640 foot rise in elevation over 2.5 miles. You won’t. But there’s enough scenic variation along the way to provide some much-needed distraction.

Early on, you’ll be clambering up the mountain through a thick forest setting. Eventually, you’ll reach open fields that are exploding with colorful blossoms during the right time of year. A fun fact overheard while passing three aging hippies — who were not only discussing the plant life but also smoking it — was that many of the flowers in that swath of land are quite rare because they’re leftover from the Oregon Coast Range’s Ice Age. What had once been mostly grassland has now given way to the forests we’re familiar with.

One of the trickier parts of the trail is negotiating the metal grating covering the rocks. However, once you reach this section you’re nearing the saddle or dip in the mountain. With one final, vigorous push uphill, you’ll have arrived at the summit. Spend some time catching your breath and just observe. On a clear day, the ocean stretches out in front of you on one side. The mighty Cascades arise from the horizon on the other. Before you head back, remember: it’s all downhill from there (mostly).

Post-Trail Ale: Cool off at the coast, which is only 35 minutes away. Seaside Brewing (851 Broadway St., Seaside) has a second-story patio and, of course, plenty of indoor seating in what used to be the building that housed the drunkards, among other lawbreakers. The old City Jail was completed in 1914 and you can still see the remnants of a cell behind the bar.

Sauvie Island may be known for its nude beaches, but the area also boasts Oregon’s smallest lighthouse and an out-and-back hike that leads to the structure on the Columbia River.

Sauvie Island Warrior Rock: Beyond Nude Beaches
Distance: About 6 miles
Difficulty: Paul Blart
Trailhead: Take Highway 30 west to Northwest Sauvie Island Road/Northwest Sauvie Island Bridge and turn right. Take a left on Northwest Gillihan Road and then right onto Northwest Reeder Road, which you’ll follow for 6 miles until you hit a dead end at Collins Beach.

There are two things Sauvie Island is best known for: its clothes-free sanctioned spaces on the shoreline and the bountiful U-pick farms that the crowds descend upon regularly in fall like migrating birds. But this chunk of land also boasts Oregon’s smallest lighthouse and a lovely out-and-back hike that offers a close-up view of that structure at the turnaround point of the route.

At the trailhead, do your best to ignore the trash bins, which are likely overflowing with city beach bum detritus: empty cans of light beer and fast food wrappers. Set out toward the sandy beach where you’ll stand out not only because you’re sober; you’re also fully clothed. While this isn’t one of the nude-optional areas, topless sunbathing isn’t an uncommon recreational activity here along with binge drinking flavorless lagers.

Rest assured, you won’t be mingling with the beachgoers for long. Shortly after spotting a giant bird nest on some pilings and the weathered remains of a boat, you’ll head inland to the trail that will take you to the lighthouse. Much of the hike is shaded, but you’ll find a few clearings and, in late summer, sections of the path nearly swallowed by thick, tall grass. The Warrior Rock lighthouse is at the north end of Sauvie Island and serves as a great place to snack while sitting on some logs and watching river traffic. Before heading back, explore a clearing near the lighthouse where you’ll find an old fireplace and chimney that are now sprouting plants. You can play archaeologist by investigating other scattered signs of what was likely a farmer’s dwelling.

Post-Trail Ale: On the way back into town on Highway 30, head across the Fremont Bridge to Widmer Brothers Gasthaus Pub (929 N. Russell St., Portland). The smell of the grains from the nearby brewery will hit you from at least a block away. It’ll then be impossible to resist the stop.

Hiking through Oneonta Gorge is like visiting the coolest natural water park around. The trail is actually the river, so be prepared to get wet! This is an excellent hike to pair with nearby Triple Falls.

Triple Falls/Oneonta Gorge: Oregon’s Natural Obstacle Course
Distance: About 6 miles
Difficulty: Bear Grylls
Trailhead: From I-84, take Exit 35/Ainsworth and head west on the Historic Columbia River Highway for approximately 2.9 miles to the trailhead on your left/south. Parking is on the right/north.

We’re all familiar with those runs where you scramble over walls and plunge into ice baths. You also pay a ridiculously large participation fee to be tortured. Well, some of the same experiences await with these two hikes for the cost of the gas to get there. Triple Falls and Oneonta Gorge are easy to combine because they’re so close together. You’ll actually pass over the gorge on the first hike. And while Oneonta Gorge is a short trek, there’s nothing else like it because the trail is a river. That’s right: you get to walk through what’s essentially the coolest natural water park around.

Start with the dry hike — Triple Falls, where the first falling water you’ll see is actually Horsetail Falls at the trailhead. Leave the crowd behind and make a gradual climb among the trees and make a right onto the Gorge Trail. At about .2 miles in, you’ll reach Ponytail Falls, an 80-foot powerful blast of water that you can walk behind for a refreshing mist.

In the middle of the hike, there are moderate elevation gains and about halfway through you’ll find yourself on a bridge overlooking the water-filled Oneonta Gorge. There’s one additional waterfall, Middle Oneonta Falls, before you get to the turnaround point at Triple Falls. The unique-looking water feature is created by a cliff that separates the creek into three streams. Another bridge leads to the creek above the falls, which is a perfect place to refuel before you return.

A short walk down the Historic Columbia River Highway brings you to the Oneonta Gorge entrance. You’ll head off the road once you see a bridge and almost immediately run into a giant logjam, which is the giant jungle gym on the hike. After you’ve traversed it, and do so carefully when it’s slippery, begin your wade. The water gets deeper as you progress and the canyon walls, which are thick with emerald green moss, tower above. Sometimes the gorge is wide enough for several people to walk down and then minutes later it will narrow to the point where you can almost touch both sides. Fallen logs crisscross the gully floor. Depending on how tall you are, the final pool before the waterfall could put you in over your head, so carry any packs above you. The water is cold — as in make-you-scream-if-you-could-catch-your-breath cold. But once you’re acclimated, the dip won’t seem so bad going back.

Post-Trail Ale: A brewery with one of the best views in the Columbia River Gorge is Thunder Island Brewing Co. (515 NW Portage Road, Cascade Locks), and it’s always busy but never too crowded. The team there is constantly making improvements to the venue, including upgrading the outdoor seating and adding a kitchen. There are even stadium-style benches facing the Columbia River where you can sometimes catch the Sternwheeler docking next door.

Ramona Falls sits in the Mount Hood Wilderness and is the pinnacle of a 7-mile hike. Once you’ve finished the trek, beers await at Mount Hood Brewing Company, which is about 15 minutes from Zigzag.

Ramona Falls: Basalt Water Beauty
Distance: About 7 miles
Difficulty: Somewhere between Paul Blart and Bear Grylls

There’s no shortage of waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest. Whether they gently cascade across the rocks or powerfully thunder off a cliff, we’re never bored by moving water. Yet some tend to stand out more than others, like Ramona Falls.

Not far into the trail in the Mount Hood Wilderness, you’ll be walking above the Sandy River and signs of the deep gash it can cut into the cliff sides when running at full blast. In fact, the swift current washed out a hiking bridge about a mile in last year and is hasn’t been replaced. Currently, there are a few logs that are wide enough to inch your way across, but this could all change next season. Be careful to watch your footing and avoid the distracting view of a giant mountain in the background. On a clear day, this is a perfect location for a beautiful vantage point of Hood.

After crossing the river, stick to the left and look for sticks and rocks that fellow hikers have turned into signposts along the trail in a large, sandy area. About .25 miles later, the path splits. The better scenery is to the left, so save it as the reward on the return. Veer right to join the Pacific Crest Trail and you’ll begin a gradual climb in a forested area that looks more like Central Oregon with shorter, dried-out pines and little shade. Once you reach a horse gate, you’ve arrived. Ramona Falls spills across the wide span of a jagged rock face and there’s plenty of room to sit down nearby and eat. You might also run into some PCT hikers who are hungry for conversation and new people. They’ll stand out because of the abundance of gear on their backs and hair on their faces.

Cross the bridge in front of the falls to head back. You’ll be following what looks like a babbling brook that Disney animators might use for inspiration. Giant andesite cliffs suddenly emerge on your right, the colors of which change from pink to tan to gray, depending on the lighting. This backdrop also looks like it’s part of a movie set — like someone could yell “Cut!” in the middle of your hike.

Post-Trail Ale: Mount Hood Brewing Company (87304 E. Government Camp Loop, Government Camp) is the perfect place to cool down after a hike or warm up after snowshoeing in this area. There’s a roomy patio and a cozy fireplace along with hearty food that is a few notches above the average pub fare. The business, which has been brewing on site since 1992, has been renovated fairly recently and is only about 15 minutes east of Zigzag.

Silver Falls, known as the “gem” of the state park system, offers a trail with views of 10 different waterfalls. When you finish, head to Silverton’s Seven Brides Brewery for a beer break.

Silver Falls State Park: Chasing Waterfalls along Silver Creek
Distance: About 9 miles
Difficulty: Bear Grylls
Trailhead: From I-5, take Exit 253 in Salem, drive 10 miles east on North Santiam Highway 22, turn left at a sign for Silver Falls Park, and follow Highway 214 for 16 miles to the park entrance sign at South Falls.

If one waterfall isn’t enough to impress you, a trail of ten should satisfy your hunt for falling water. Most people have heard of Silver Falls and plenty will go to the park to photograph the easily accessible South Falls. However, the hike across the parking lot is about all of the exercise many are willing to put into the experience. For a view of nine more falls, continue on a series of trails that loop through the area.

The waterfall naming committee was really on its game when it came to this state park as you’ll see an abundance of wildly creative titles like “Lower North,” “Middle North,” and “North,” just to name a few. But the variation among the waterfalls themselves make them much more memorable. Some make dramatic plunges into deep pools, others have created damp grottos you can walk into and then there are falls that split in two or create a curtain of water you can walk behind. As you make your way between the waterfalls, you’re often following a stream surrounded by towering Douglas firs, western hemlock and a thick floor of vegetation that thrives in the temperate rainforest.

It might sound a bit odd to say there’s a dull part of this hike, but if you take the traditional loop starting at South Falls, there isn’t much worth noting on the trail after you’ve visited Upper North Falls, the last in the circuit. There’s one great view back at North Falls across the forest, but otherwise the route doesn’t feature any spectacular visuals unless you consider Highway 214 easy on the eyes. To get this section over with earlier and end at a swimming hole, park at the North Falls lot and hike toward South Falls using the Rim Trail. You’ll then finish at Upper North Falls, which has a large pool. And since you’ll be near your car, you don’t have to worry about making a final long slog in wet shoes.

Post-Trail Ale: While at Silver Falls, it only seems appropriate to refuel and relax in Silverton, which is less than 30 minutes away and known as the “gateway” to the great state park. Seven Brides Brewing (990 N. First St., Silverton) has a sprawling bar top and beers named after the brewers’ daughters. The brewery’s title actually arose from those kids. Between three of the founders, they have seven daughters. The men noted that the rising cost of weddings meant they needed to sell enough beer to pay for all of those ceremonies. Therefore, every time you buy a pint, you’re contributing to the wedding fund — unless they all end up eloping.

Honorable Mentions:
Neahkahnie Mountain/Cape Falcon and Bill’s Tavern and Brewhouse
Tryon Creek State Park and Sasquatch Brewing Company
Tamanawas Falls and Solera Brewing
Opal Creek and Vagabond Brewing

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A Beer Walk in the Woods

8/6/2015

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In June, more than a dozen people joined brewers from three Portland breweries and a homebrew club for a guided hike through Forest Park to hunt down ingredients for beer. The outings are designed by Beers Made By Walking and The Forest Park Conservancy. Photos by Peter Korchnak

By Peter Korchnak
For the Oregon Beer Growler

On June 13, more than a dozen people, including brewers from Hopworks Urban Brewery, Lompoc Brewing, Ecliptic Brewing, and the High Street Homebrew Club, joined a guided walk through Forest Park to identify plants to use as beer ingredients. The brewers will each make a beer inspired by the walk, and the four creations will be revealed at a tapping event at Belmont Station on October 10.

The Springville Hill hike on a sun-drenched Saturday was part of a series of monthly hikes open to the public and coordinated by Beers Made By Walking in partnership with The Forest Park Conservancy.

The Conservancy's trails and restoration coordinator Cody Chambers led the relaxed 4-mile stroll on a historic trail — formerly used by market vendors from Portland's outlying areas to access the Willamette River — and the Wildwood Trail. Along the way Chambers stopped to point out many edible plants, from madrone berries to stinky Bob to oxalis.

“Forest Park Conservancy participates in the program to encourage people to explore nature through the lens of beer making,” Chambers said. “By educating folks in a fun way, we hope to inspire them to be stewards of Forest Park.”

Eric Steen, founder of Beers Made By Walking, provided additional information about historic uses of various plants in beer making.

Place-Based Beer
Steen founded Beers Made By Walking in 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colo. where he taught place-based art at the University of Colorado. Initial inspiration struck him on the Yukon River, where the leader of a weeklong canoe trip described how various plants had been used as ingredients in cooking.

“Beers Made By Walking teaches appreciation for the landscape we live in,” Steen said. “Learning about the natural world around us also suggests the environment matters, which then translates into the beer itself.”

Steen has been connecting his passions for art, beer and nature in projects for many years. The highlights include underground pop-up pubs in New York, Michigan and Scotland and the Beer Inspired By Art event at the Portland Art Museum, where five breweries created beers inspired by 18th-century painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze's piece, “The Drunken Cobbler.”

Cody Chambers, the trails and restoration coordinator for The Forest Park Conservancy, helped lead people on the relaxed, 4-mile hike while pointing out what plants were safe to go into beer.

In the four years of running the Beers Made By Walking program, Steen has worked with more than 45 breweries to create more than 55 unique beers that “give drinkers a sense of place.” This year walks take place in eight cities in five states, all along the West Coast, Colorado and North Carolina. “I've been approached by breweries from all over the country,” said Steen. He has now hired his first employee, a project manager in Denver, Colo. “The program can easily be replicated.”

Since March, Steen has worked as communications coordinator at Hopworks, whose brewers, following a hike last year, made the first beer in the world with salal berries, which lent their Berliner Weisse a pinkish hue.

Ecliptic Brewing's Jameson Morr had met Steen at “The Drunken Cobbler” event and jumped on board the hike without hesitation. Morr said he enjoyed getting outside the brewery and doing something new. “It was a great way to meet other brewers and kick around ideas for beer,” Morr said. “I usually don't pay attention to the landscape this much. I learned a ton.”

Like the other brewers, Morr is still in the planning stage for the beer he will make for the October 10 tapping event. “It will be awesome to see what others will come up with.”

Facing fewer logistical limitations than breweries, the members of the High Street Homebrew Club have already picked their ingredients. While Bizzy Gross was inspired to use goji berries in a Belgian ale, Heather Egizio, the club's unofficial coordinator, said members are now collaborating to brew three different ales using spruce tips, Northwest cedar tips and juniper. In late August, they will make the best recipe at a local brewery and contribute the result to the tapping event at Belmont Station, which will also raise funds for the Conservancy.

Will Hike for Beer
At the conclusion of the hike, the brewers gave away bottles and cans of seasonal beers from their respective breweries, helping to cap the outing in the most appropriate way: a cold one.

The next hike takes place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 22 and will host brewers from 10 Barrel, Hopworks and Widmer Brothers. Learn more and sign up at www.BeersMadeByWalking.com.

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Hike & Brewery pairings: Where to Trek and Toast

A Beer Walk in the Woods

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