Gales Creek Trail
In mid-summer I drove to the Reeher’s Camp Trailhead west of Timber, a great name for a small logging town in Western Oregon.
The trail follows the Nehalem River for a ways before crossing the river on a bridge. Then it begins the three-mile, 1,500-foot climb to Bells Camp Road.
Gales Creek Trail heading toward the Summit
Young Blacktail Buck
Hydaspe Fritillary Butterfly
Bell Camp Road
The trail is not for beginners. It is poorly marked, crosses many logging roads and has suffered some significant damage in its upper sections. Although, the last quarter mile of the trail is one of the prettier stretches. Here the trail flattens out and passes through an open meadow before reaching Bell Camp Road.
The road is on the top of the Coastal Mountains. On one side is the Nehalem River that flows into the Pacific Ocean. On the other side is Gales Creek which flows into the Tualatin River on the east side of the Coastal Mountains.
After taking a break for awhile, I began the hike back to the trailhead. All in all, a nice outing indeed.
Devil’s Club (It can grow over my head and has many woody stems covered in noxious and irritating spines)
Trailhead on Bell Camp Road
Got the Hoof
Gales Creek Trail
Salal
The trail crosses the long-abandoned Tillamook Railroad track
Gales Creek Trail with the Summit far in the distance
Upper Teailhead
A nice stretch of the lower trail
Easy to get lost within the maze of logging roads
Blacktail Deer
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