Bonanza, Boulder Ridge, and Boring Brewery

Young and John are excellent trail companions.  Not only are they always up for a challenging trek, they also love a post-hike brew.  So when I hatched a plan to hike from the Bonanza Trailhead across Boulder Ridge to the Wildwood Recreation Site, my friends were all in.

Sign-eating tree!

I'd been wanting to do this hike for sometime, but being one-way it required a car shuttle.  So we took separate vehicles to the first trailhead at the Wildwood Recreation Site, a mere 15 miles from the town of Sandy.  I left my car in the Wildwood's spacious parking lot, and while we were at it, Young and I took advantage of their nice restroom (hot running water and a flush toilet!)  Then we both jumped into John's truck for the short drive to Bonanza Trailhead.

Lush forest

Using directions from both an online hiking site and my Sullivan book, I attempted to navigate John to the little-used Bonanza Trailhead.  It turned out to be hidden in a very rural residential neighborhood at the end of a primitive grassy goat path (I wouldn't even call it a road).  I'd heard parking was extremely tight, with only a small area to the left of a closed road designated as a permissible spot.  Luckily, John's was the first vehicle that day, so we claimed what appeared to be the only legal place to park.  At least I hoped so!  As my friends and I stepped onto the Bonanza trail, I crossed my fingers that his truck wouldn't get towed.

Moss was plentiful!

The first mile and a half of the Bonanza Trail was fairly flat, easy hiking.  We ambled through alder woods paralleling Cheeney Creek, a beautiful brook boasting some nice looking swimming holes.  But it wasn't warm enough yet for a dip, and besides there wasn't time for swimming.  We had some serious miles and climbing ahead of us - 6 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain to the top of Huckleberry Mountain.

Stonecrop flower

At 1.6 miles, we left the creek for good and our climbing began!  The trail switchbacked through a drier forest.  I began to notice a few wildflowers, mostly yellow stonecrop.  I was really hoping to see rhododendrons, and hoped I hadn't missed the bloom.

Bonanza Mine tunnel

Another mile of climbing brought my friends and I to the long abandoned Bonanza Mine.  The only visible sign of mining activity was a tunnel blasted into the side of a hill.  John was curious enough to wander in the cavern, but Young and I stayed safely outside, snapping photos from the tunnel's entrance.

Beautiful forest

My friends and I marveled that someone once hauled equipment into this area which was now roadless and quite remote.  Back at home, I did an internet search of the Bonanza Mine, but didn't find much information.  In the mid 1890s there were apparently a hundred mining claims in this area, mostly looking for gold.  Hard to imagine this quiet forest full of mining activity.

John spotted this unusual flower

From the mine entrance my friends and I climbed another 2.5 miles through the woods.  Although it was mostly thick woods, with no viewpoints, the forest was brightened by a few wildflowers.  Eagle-eye John spotted an unusual tall, candy-striped plant (whose name I've since forgotten).

Beargrass

And I found a few straggler poofs of beargrass blooming nearby.

I was happy to find blooming rhodies

Near the top of Huckleberry Mountain I was delighted to spot several bright pink rhododendron flowers next to the trail.  Although the lower elevation plants were done blooming, the higher elevation rhodies appeared to be still going strong.

Plaza Trail junction

After a long, sweaty toil crashing through wet brush (it had rained the night before) Young, John and I finally reached a sought-after junction with the Plaza Trail.  We'd now be following the top of Huckleberry Mountain for a mile before intersecting with Boulder Ridge.  We'd follow its spine for another two miles before descending another steep 2.5 miles down to the Wildwood Recreation Site.

Huge larkspur patch

Rambling across Huckleberry Mountain, the forest cleared and my friends and I were finally able to get some views.  Not only that, we came across a few wonderful patches of wildflowers.  Such as this huge field of purple larkspur.

Young gets the money shot

And more bushes full of bright pink rhodies.  Absolutely stunning!

More lovely rhodies

Last year Young and I had hiked across Boulder Ridge from Wildwood Recreation site to a wonderful viewpoint and lunch spot (see my post here.)  Of course it was decided we had to have lunch here again.  Approaching from the other direction, both Young and I tried to guess how far until we reached that same place.  Each bare spot got our hopes up that it was the one.  However, we hiked another half mile before finally reaching the clearing we remembered. 

Fantastic lunch spot

And, as lunch spots, go I'd say it was definitely in the top five!  A large bare spot in the ridge afforded amazing views of Mt Hood and the surrounding foothills.  Sadly, cloudy skies prevented us from seeing much of our favorite mountain.

We had the place to ourselves

Despite the hidden scenery, it was still a grand spot to rest and enjoy a leisurely lunch.  The sun came out, enabling Young and I to dry out our soggy boots and gaiters.

Back through the forest

Refreshed and refueled, it was now time to head downhill across Boulder Ridge to a reunion with my car.  Our trail led through lovely Douglas Fir woods, the forest floor covered in bright green foliage. 

Ultra-green forest floor

It was so pretty!  Young and I joked it was like following the "yellow brick road" but instead it was green.  My friends both agreed it was hands down the loveliest forest of the entire hike.  Photos just don't do it justice so you'll have to trust me.

This was prettiest forest of our hike

All day the sky had threatened rain, but reaching one final viewpoint before our steep descent, it appeared the wet stuff was imminent.  A huge misty cloud hung over the nearby hills.  Time to beat feet down the trail!

Rain threatened, but we never got wet

The final 2.5 miles were steep and long.  My knees and feet began to complain, so Young and I repeated our mantra that we say when things got tough - "Think of the beer!"  Promise of a frosty post-hike brew always gets me through the difficult final miles.

Ho-hum, time for a beer!

On our drive to the trailhead, I'd noticed a sign along the road for the "Boring Brewery."  Intrigued, I told my friends we had to check it out.  So upon completion of our hike, after hitting the restroom, and fetching John's truck (whew, it was still there!) we headed to this pub with the funny name.

The brewery's unusual name was due it's proximity to the nearby town of Boring, Oregon (The town has a sense of humor about it's name.  Apparently Boring has a sister city in Scotland named Dull - true story!) 

Post hike reward

Young and I couldn't resist a photo op in front of the sign - ho-hum!  And the beer wasn't bad either.  The place had a nice outdoor seating area so we pulled up a table and enjoyed brews and some snack items.  My friends and I liked the pub so much we'll for sure return again.

Exploring an old mine, climbing to amazing viewpoints, photographing wildflowers, trekking through the land of green, and drinking beer at a not-so-boring pub.  Just another wonderful outing in this beautiful Pacific NW!


Stats:  12 miles one-way, 3100 feet elevation gain - and we beat the rain!