Walk 49: Milwaukie/Oak Grove Trolley Trail (8 miles)

This long walk sounded pretty cool at first: It traveled a former trolley line that existed from 1893 to 1968 (the last 10 years as a freight service), and I could trace the history of the trolley as I made my way along the 4 miles each way from Milwaukie to Oak Grove.

The trail began at SE McLoughlin Boulevard and Park Avenue, getting off to an inauspicious start by passing an auto body yard with some trashed police cars and an unmarked narrow trail that I wasn't sure was the Trail or not...





But before long I came to a sign that assured me I was on the right "track."



The trail soon led out onto Arista Drive (no relation I assume to the record label which brought us the Alan Parsons Project, among others). The road was under construction, so no sidewalk along this section, and I had to alternate from side to side to avoid various large equipment and traffic.

The book explained that I was passing by various historical landmarks like notable trolley stations, a sanitarium and a general store, but little evidence remained of these interesting spots now.



Unfortunately, as the Trail picked up again, things didn't improve much, as the ground was somewhat muddy and chewed up.



At Rupert Drive, an approximately 15 foot stretch of trolley tracks surfaced. It turned out that this was the only visible evidence of the actual tracks along the entire trail. That was a bit of a letdown!



It was there I discovered that the ground was being actively dug up, which I soon realized was part of a major construction to convert the entire trail into a biking/pedestrian path. Bad timing on my part! At this current moment it was a long, rocky and muddy terrain, forcing me to move off to the side roads for long stretches. Judging by this artist's rendition, it will be quite lovely when it's completed. Can't tell if it'll be paved or not, though.



The road however eventually came to a stop and I was back on the path, which then passed between some closely packed housing (and trailers), then leading to a narrower, but nicer, gravel/grassy path, and finally again out to paved streets with, for the first time, a sidewalk, although this one was a little wobbly.







The turnaround point came at Glen Echo Avenue, at Camp Fire USA. (Headquarters? A quick Google search just turns up "Retreat Center."



Well, this walk was more than a bit melancholy. Eight miles total and only about 15 feet of the original tracks still visible. As the line has been discontinued for only 43 years, I would've thought more of it would still be apparent. I felt like the boy from Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, who asks "Where are the Martians?"

The truth is, the trolley trail isn't really here anymore, and when the construction is complete, the trail will be something new and different; something of the 21st century.

Walk 40: Milwaukie Downtown & Riverfront (3 miles)

There should be a tourism bureau ad that goes "You think you know Milwaukie? Let us show you our wild side."

This walk started at the brick-fronted City Hall, went past Clackamas County's Ledding Library (where I found a really cool out-of-print Midnight Oil CD single), the Waldorf School (sorry, no picture, but I hear they teach you how to make a really nice salad there), and by Milwaukie High School (home of the Mustangs). I believe Mom went here a few years back...?







I then left the downtown area and crossed McGloughlin, heading into the riverfront section, along the Kellogg Creek Trail. This is where it got interesting.



After walking on the trail for a while, with good views of the Willamette River, I came to 19th, a narrow back road between some beach-type houses, before approaching the tiny (and new) Spring Park, notable for an odd mound of soil and large chunks of concrete.



My inner kid told me to step up to the top of the mound, where I saw a path leading down into the Spring Park Natural Area. Turns out the little park was just a front for a well-kept secret (from me, anyway).



Again with the mud! I had to walk along some small logs that had been laid out to make it over some of the wetter areas. I hoped the view would be worth the trouble.



And it was! The north end of the natural area, nearest to Elk Rock Island, was heavily moss-covered with many large rocks and streams of River water running in and around, with a close-up view of the Island. I had the place to myself, and tromped around for awhile, using my imagination to pretend I was in some far off place, like the UK's Isle of Man. (Hey, I was listening to long-time resident of that mystical place, Rick Wakeman, on the iPod!)



From here, I had a nice view of the Island and a big waterfall across the river. This is another place I'll come back to later in the summer, when the water level is lower and I can actually walk to the Island, when it will be more of a peninsula. For now the Willamette made that goal impossible.



Walking back up the riverfront toward downtown, as I entered Milwaukie I was treated to one more interesting sight: These four lifelike statues in a display window at the famous Dark Horse Comics, one of the country's largest comic book publishers. Pretty cool!



One last stop before leaving town: Main St. Soda, where I purchased (for the first time ever) a New York egg cream (chocolate syrup, half & half, soda water). Yummy! I don't see soda fountains like this very often anymore, but this is the second one so far on this 50 walks tour (the other in Hillsboro).



Another lovely day; a nice combination of city fun and outdoorsy fresh air.