Calendar

Past Activity

Constitution Grove/Shale Ridge

  • Start date: 11/01/2020

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 11/01/2020

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

This is an old-growth forest hike. There are no lakes, raging rivers, waterfalls, or mountain vistas. But it is shady, fairly flat, quiet and peaceful, with many huge Douglas-firs (6'-7' diameter) and Western Red Cedar trees. We'll begin our hike at Constitution Grove along Aufderheide Highway and take North Fork Trail #3666 (Segment 5) eastward about 2.8 miles where it joins Shale Ridge Trail #3567. This heads south, and in about 2.6 miles we'll reach a grove of giant cedar trees, which is our turnaround point. Shale Ridge trail has some very shallow stream crossings which are easily navigated by hopping along fallen trees and large rocks. Hiking poles are very helpful for balance. Note to drivers: there's no driving on gravel roads! Participants will manage their own transportation. Obsidian protocols for social distancing will be observed on the hike. Refer to main website page for information. ALSO NOTE: Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 a.m. on Nov. 1, so you'll get an extra hour of sleep!

  • Event Leader: Greer Joel

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: South Eugene High School, 19th & Patterson

  • Rating: Moderate

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 132

  • Season: 2020

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Hiking poles, supportive shoes. Bring lunch, water, snacks, face covering, and hand sanitizer.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 10.8

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 350

  • Non-Member Fees: 5

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

We began at Constitution Grove and admired the huge cedar and fir trees which were young when the Constitution was signed in 1787, noting wooden plaques honoring the signers. We continued east on North Fork Trail #3666 (Segment 5) for about 3.4 miles (trail signs said it was only 2.25 miles!) to the trailhead for Shale Ridge. There have been numerous tree falls on Segment 5 since early August, and we had to slowly work our way around and over numerous obstructions. This trail is very lightly hiked, and faint in a few places. We met one other person the entire day. There were many varieties of mushrooms, and the autumn leaf colors were beautiful. We had lunch at the north end of the Shale Ridge Trail, then walked about 1.5 miles south on Shale Ridge Trail before turning around. We did not reach the grove of giant cedars due to time constraints, but it was a very enjoyable hike on a sunny, mild autumn day, and we managed a total of 10 miles.

Members & Guests signed-up & waitlisted

  • Number of spots on trip: 10
  • Number of spots available: 0
No. Status Full name Phone Transportation Needed? Trip Fee # Can Take?
1 Signed-Up Greer, Joel 281-701-0205 N 5
2 Signed-Up Sojak, Darko 541-799-9199 N 1
3 Signed-Up Ruzicka, Angie 541-521-6840 N 1
4 Signed-Up Greer, Esme 281-701-0206 N 5
5 Signed-Up Carpenter, Kathie 541-505-2370 N 1
6 Signed-Up Whitfield, Nancy 541-520-0450 N 1
7 Signed-Up Krentz, Holger 541-868-7792 N 1
8 Signed-Up Wolling, Sue 541-345-2110 N 1
9 Signed-Up Dinn, Diana 281-450-4080 N 1
10 Signed-Up Dinn, James 713-557-2682 N 1
11 Signed-Up Randall, Kathy 541-844-5916 N 5
12 Signed-Up Frank, Victoria 763-843-6436 N 5
13 Signed-Up Christiansen, Lynda 541-912-9952 N 1