2012 Edition
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Hike the Crown-Zellerbach Trail
An approximately 34 mile round trip hike
done in segments that started on December 16, 2010
Part one -
Chapman Landing to the Nahalem Divide Summit
Part two -
Nehalem Divide Summit to Pittsburg
NOTE: The "official" CZ Trail does not go to Vernonia
Part three -
Camp 8
Part four -
Crown Zellerbach Nahalem Divide Train Tunnel (East Portal)
Crown Zellerbach Nahalem Divide Train Tunnel (West Portal)
Part five - Camp 8 to Vernonia, linking up with the
Banks-Vernonia Linear Park Trail
I've been wanting to document this last couple of mile stretch for quite some time.
Although the official Crown Zellerbach trail runs from Chapman Landing to Pittsburg,
it would make a lot of sense (at least to me) to connect the CZ Trail to the Banks
Vernonia Linear Park since Pittsburg truly is in the middle of nowhere. Whether this
happens in my lifetime remains to be seen... and, in fact, the CZ trail needs a LOT
of work before it could come even close to being equal to the BV trail. Still, doing
so would certainly be a worthy undertaking especially since the trail already exists!
There's lots more pictures of this segment and "GETTING THERE" information
HERE.
GETTING THERE: When you get to the Camp 8 clearing, you can either continue straight
ahead towards Pittsburg or you can turn left. The trail is a very wide, very easy
to follow logging road. Go left and cross highway 47 which will be just a few
thousand yards away. Stay on this trail, which will ascend slowly, for several miles.
Alternately, you can park at the Elk Creek Salmon Passage Improvement Project and
start your hike there.
Here's the bridge you go over if you turn left at Camp 8 and head towards the
Scappoose-Vernonia Highway.
They've made some improvements since I was here last year. For one, they've put
up signs indicating that the CZ trail now goes to Vernonia and not Pittsburg.
And this area by the S-V highway used to be nothing more than a mud pit...
it's still pretty muddy but at least now it more clear that you are actually on the
trail and not just wandering around. There's now room for quite a few cars at this
impromptu trailhead.
As soon as you cross the highway you'll see this newly constructed bridge. Part of
the Elk Creek Salmon Passage Improvement Project, I'm assuming.
They've also added signs at every trail fork so going the wrong way is now highly
less likely. When I was up here last year, I explored most of these trails and
all of the wrong ones are dead ends or trails to nowhere.
It was snowing pretty hard up at 1,100' elevation.
In about 2 1/2 miles you'll come up on this berm that is way too big for vehicles
to get over. You can just walk around it though. You'll go downhill for the next
half mile and come up on a gate that's at the end of Knott Street. Knott Street is about
a half mile long and ends at Highway 47. From this gate you are about
a mile and a half from Vernonia Lake and the start of the Banks-Vernonia Linear Park.
The view from the other side of the Knott Street gate.
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