The "big" loop in the Catherine Creek - Coyote Wall area is best done east to west in order to get the views coming down Coyote Wall. In the spring, this is a prime wildflower hike, and there are great views of the Columbia River, the east end of the Columbia River Gorge, and Mount Hood. Wet weather over Portland/Vancouver often breaks at about Hood River, so on many spring days, you will get blue skies at least part of the time. Also in the spring, however, the poison oak is leafing out, ticks can be an issue, and rattlesnakes are starting to be active. Note that dogs must be kept on leash throughout the area in the spring months, and you will be sharing trails with mountain bikers between Rowland Creek and Coyote Wall. There are numerous variations to this hike.

Link for more details: https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Catherine_Creek-Coyote_Wall_Loop_Hike

Activity Notes

If you couldn't make it to yesterday's Mt. Tabor exercise, never fear, this hike will be our main Navigation Session for the BCEP class.  Please be sure to bring your compass with adjustable declination pre-set, a paper copy of your map, and a pen/pencil. 

This will be a hike in which you (the students) will be completely in charge of route-finding.  This area is known as 'the Labyrinth' not because we expect to find David Bowie lurking around (would be epic), but rather there are many pathways we can take to reach our objective.  How we do so will be entirely up to you. Each student IS REQUIRED to take ~30min turns leading the group so everyone will gain some experience leading via map and compass.  We will also practice teaching you how to take a bearing in order to calculate your position on a map, and also how to follow a bearing in case you cannot see due to poor weather conditions/lack of light, etc.  You will learn what it is like to become lost, and how to troubleshoot to find where you are on the map again.  These are necessary skills that can save your life so we want to make sure each and every one of you feels comfortable with navigation basics by the end of the day. Our goal is to give you the maximum amount of navigation practice as possible on this hike, so no climbing gear necessary this time (shocking, I know).

Warning: ticks are often located here so please wear gaiters and do not set your packs down in the tall grass. We will meet at the Catherine Creek Trailhead (https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Catherine_Creek_Trailhead)

Other Information
Driving Distance from Portland 126 miles
Distance - Round Trip 10 miles
Expected Duration Car to car in one day
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