The less you know, the more you can get to know. That pretty much sums up my mantra in life.
First, I believe I only have enough room in my brain for so much information, so I’m very selective. Or lazy, I can never figure out which.
Second, I believe I’ll live to 130, so, dang, I have a lotta time to get to know more, so I focus on being patient and taking my time in learning more. Or I’m just lazy, I can never figure out which.
Oh, I know Aristotle said, “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” That’s an intriguing concept to consider, but, you know, I’m too lazy to start down that rabbit hole.
All this comes to fruition in manners like this: We’ve made countless journeys to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon’s best state park.
I’ve praised it endlessly as the best one-day natural outdoor adventure a family can have. The Trail of Ten Falls will blow you away! Even though it’s only for hiking and no dogs are allowed, it is not to be missed.
Just about every trek to Silver Falls involved driving past the simple brown sign that reads “214 Trail” at the top of the hill before you wind your way down to the main entrance.
Of course, there are maps to be had everywhere at the park and online. So if you want to know more, well ….
As our stay in Oregon moved into its 18th year, my less you know mantra leaves me with plenty of fresh options left to explore. So in mid-winter without too much snow around, I turned at the 214 Trail to check it out with my Golden Lab.
Whatdayaknow!
The first thing you run into is a Bike Skills Trail, with a number of nifty little challenges to help you enhance your bike handling skills. Given my immense lack there of, you think that would be a lure.
But no, we were hiking that day, and snow pretty much cut off other trails, but I kept it in the back of my mind earning that special place that I save for occasions just like this.
When we returned months later and looked at the map at the trailhead, ohmygosh! Who knew Silver Falls had 35 miles of backcountry trails for mountain biking? Please don’t answer that because the answer is simply anyone who isn’t lazy.
As I pondered a route looking at the map, I noted some numbers here and there. Oh, I know they refer to elevations, but plotting my course filled my brain input quota for the day, not to mention I didn’t have my reading glasses, so let’s just hit the trail.
The Catamount Trail opens with super fine needle covered singletrack weaving through Old Growth stumps and an occasional survivor. Lost in the silent embrace of the forest dotted with these giants, I did note it felt as though I was going down more than up. That’s information I always log immediately: Remember you’ll have to climb back up this if we have to!
There were some stiff climbs and some jumps that made it apparent I might be heading in the wrong direction, but hey, it was a Wednesday and I had the entire trail to myself. Literally, I never saw anyone else over two hours.
When I did hit a crossroads I looked again at the map and found it mind-boggling that I had climbed about 500 feet in less than 5 miles. So much for my instincts.
The rest of the day was sweet, and primarily downhill until I had to climb back up to the 214 Trailhead. By then I looked at enough maps to realize my next challenge: Buck Mountain Trail.
Back at it for day two, this time with my Golden Lab in tow, we chugged up Buck Mountain from the Howard Creek parking lot, enjoying the long, easy grade climbing on well worn trails.
Again, we glided back on our return, with just enough technical riding tossed in with the beauty of the forest to make it a wonderful day in the saddle.
Day three I hit the Rackett Ridge Trail heading up to a connection with the Perimeter Trail. By now the cat was out of the bag thanks to my endless stops at the maps, not to mention my reading glasses checking out those tiny numbers.
Rackett Ridge would be more climbing than Buck Mountain and sure enough, it was. While Buck Mountain offers a number of reprieves for rest and reconsideration if you want to climb your ass off all day, Rackett Ridge does not.
This climb is pretty much an endless suffer-fest. Most definitely skip this climb if the trail is saturated. There will be no traction.
When you do hit the Perimeter Trail you’ve climbed about 800 feet in less than three miles, and some rather serious downhill rewards those who love it, and have skills. In other words, well, the climb was the highlight for me.
That pretty much puts me “in the know” with the major trails, but every glance at a map showed a seemingly endless array of offshoots and tangents one can explore.
I won’t bother with those until I’ve milked Catamount and maybe Buck Mountain for a few years. Probably had my fill of Rackett Ridge for a lifetime. Gotta long way to go to 130 and, well, you know my mantra now.
Time to ride
