Saturday "Extreme" Skating Adventure?

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Skate Adventure I
Old Columbia River Hwy, Mosier

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John McDaid, Todd Phillips, Nancy Hartman
and Kurt Lesser at the Mosier trail head

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Top of the hill break,
(front to back) Todd, John, Nancy and Kurt "resting"

 

Could this be it?  Could this be what we’ve all been waiting for?  To leave more skin on the pavement than brake marks?  A chance to skate right off a cliff? Perhaps if we were trying to get on MTV sports! 

Actually, a few of us decided to brave the Gorge this past weekend and had a wonderful time.  After braving the hills around Mosier (the Mosier Twin tunnels are really cool!), we made our way back west to The Bridge of the Gods to try a different section of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail.  Although the path was much flatter, the wet pavement held us back from going too far. The hills were a little much for some (yours truly had five wheel skates with ABEC 7 bearings and no brakes, yikes!), but the scenery was beautiful and future plans are in the works.  Watch your email for announcements regarding next weekend.
John McDaid johnstretching.jpg (13272 bytes)

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A 20 foot power slide! Go Kurt

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Maria cruising through the awesome
twin tunnels

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Trail Log- "PISA was here"
you'll have to skate up to read it!


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Maria Sworske, takes in the view from
the rock wall railing along the Mosier trail

Bridge of the Gods (left to right), Kurt Lesser,
John McDaid, Todd Phillips and Nancy Hartman

bridgeofgods.jpg (14193 bytes)Ok wait, now "extreme" to me on this trip was the time we had to get up on a Saturday morning, now that is extreme!  The hills were challenging but in a real good way.  When you join us be sure to wear you skates with a brand new brake! 

The scenery was beautiful, the sun was out, it reminded me of the old days when I would go up skiing with my dad, and our motto was sunshine and powder snow, in skater terms its Sunshine and dry smooth pavement.  That is definitely what the Old Columbia Historic Hwy had to offer.  I don't think I have ever been on a more beautiful skate!  Skating down the Twin Tunnels in Mosier was beyond description, I can't wait to take in some of those beautiful waterfalls on other parts of the road.   The hard part about this area is, there is so much of the Old Highway to explore and so little time.  So we decided in order to find that "Sweet Spot" we all know is there, we are going to continue on in a series of Saturday "Extreme Morning" Adventure Skates. 
Nancy Hartman

 

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Jerry Simone heading "up" the trail

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John's new invention, a braking boot

 
Skate Adventure II
Old Columbia River Hwy, Eagle Creek Trail
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It just so happens that the Eagle Creek Trail is not the skating spot we were looking for.  We picked up the Old Columbia River Hwy (OCRH) just below Multnomah falls and drove east until we found the trail head for Eagle Creek.   Maria, Jerry, Matt, John and Nancy met up at 9:30 Saturday with another adventure in mind.  Maria, Jerry and Matt biked the trip this time. I'll have to admit that was a good choice.  The trail was, of course,  beautiful, scenic and the weather cooperated.  The threatened rain held off until long before we had all gone home.
                                             MattJerrysm.jpg (11351 bytes)The trail itself was nice, and come summer I'm sure all the moss will have dried up and someone will have come by and scraped the fine carpet of green off the trail.   Until then I think I will wait on going back up there.  Moderate hills combined with the slick moss made skating a challenge.  The trail itself couldn't have been more then a  mile long and ended at a steep stone stair case that led down to Interstate 84.  A deep groove lined the side for bikers to walk their bikes down, and John and I side stepped down the four flights to the hwy shoulder where we picked up the trail, (scattered with the winters "dusting" of traction gravel).          

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bikeskatetrialsm.jpg (12879 bytes)The skate ended just below Lookout Park where Eagle Creek meets up with the Columbia River.  A steep pot-holed trail led up to the lookout point where Maria and Jerry biked on.  Matt, John and I turned around to retrace our "STEPS" through the gravel up the staircase and skated gingerly through the moss patches back to our car.

I had a great time, believe it or not, we got a lot of skating in and just as much adventure!  We crossed a portion of the OCRH off the map for skaters.  We WILL find that perfect spot.

Cleaning off my wheels and bearings for the next Saturday Adventure Skate, it is much better then cartoons!  Nancy

gorgepathsm.jpg (10243 bytes)The sun in our eyes, the wind in our face. Saturday was a little brisk, but still alright for skating on the old Columbia River Highway (the part closed to vehicle traffic). The Columbia river gorge was a picturesque backdrop for this skate adventure. Smooth pavement underway and gentle slopes led the way as we retraced part of the road taken by early travelers in their horses and buggies, and later. Model T's.
Maria Sworske