Ainsworth Loop Hike

Overview

This hike is a quick loop for those who want a brief trip in Douglas-fir forest that experienced only ground fire during the 2017 Eagle Creek conflagration. There are possible side trips on the Gorge Trail #400. The land for the state park here was donated by Alice H. and John C. Ainsworth, the latter the son of Captain J.C. Ainsworth, founder of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. From the pullout below a small restroom, take the first trail heading right (west) just above the highway. The Eagle Creek blaze of September 2017 scorched the lower trunks of the Douglas-firs here but preserved the canopy although the destruction of groundcover has resulted in proliferation of native blackberry (Rubus ursinus) as in other low-elevation areas fo the burn. Although you won't really see it, you'll pass above a drinking fountain alongside the Historic Columbia River Highway. You'll reach a second picnic area, signposted "Ainsworth State Park", where you can take the signed trail up through a recovering forest carpet of Oregon grape and sword fern. The invasive Eurasian weed herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum) is especially prevalent in this area post-fire. One switchback takes you up to a junction with the Gorge Trail #400 and a large, detailed sign that survived the 2017 fire. Bear left on the Gorge Trail under a Douglas-fir canopy. Essentially you're hiking on Gorge scree stabilized by hundreds of years of forestation. Big-leaf maple trees here became flaming torches during the Eagle Creek Fire but are resprouting from their lignotubers. Older fire-resistant Douglas-firs preserved their photosynthetic upper branches. When you reach the second junction with the Gorge Trail, bear left. (Here the large sign was significantly damaged by the fire.) You'll begin descending and pass a big five-foot (in diameter) Douglas-fir. Very quickly, you'll come to a picnic table and small restroom building above your car. (If the restroom has been closed, there will be numerous TP (toilet paper) "flowers" dotted around the area -

Trail Stats

Photos

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400px-AinsworthLoopMap

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250px-Vegetated_scree%2C_400_Trail_on_Ainsworth_Loop

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250px-Cascade_penstemon_%28Penstemon_serrulatus%29%2C_Ainsworth_State_Park

400px-AinsworthLoopHike1

400px-AinsworthLoopHike1

TKO put tools to trail here.png

TKO put tools to trail here.png

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