[pct-l] Columbia River to Panther Creek: Poison Oak, Other Issues?

[Maxine Weyant]

Hiked that area during late August last year.  By then the poison oak was much larger, encroached upon the trail more, and I had to do some evasive maneuvers in a few spots.  Some hikers were oblivious to it, but I tend to be hyper-vigilant because of multiple prior exposures working for the USFS many years ago.  I can get poison ivy for 4-6 weeks just from touching a dog or someone's pants cuffs that have been in contact with it.  

I think it was only bad in the last 2-4 miles of OR, after coming off the beautiful Eagle Creek Trail  (you could walk the road into Cascade Locks instead) but it was especially bad for about the first 6 miles of WA. Then it magically disappeared.  

One person suggested that the writer of the Wilderness Press Guide was in a bad mood when he described the first part of WA before Panther Creek. I think that section has probably changed a lot over the last decade as has the other "ugly" section in WA, the 60 miles south of Snoqualmie Pass.  They both were severely deforested by the Captains of Industry, but have started to regrow and have come around.  While they're not stunningly beautiful, they're not so bad either, there are some nice views, and TONS more blueberries.  The map hasn't changed so the newer editions of the Guide hasn't been revised much for those areas. 

Kudos to the PCTA and regulatory agencies for curtailing wanton logging and promoting more mindful, selective logging practices.   

Dys-feng shui-nal