Lower Macleay Trail, Portland

One of my favorite short hikes in Portland is the Lower Macleay Trail which starts at at the end of NW Upshur. This hike exudes tranquillity despite the many visitors it gets on a weekend afternoon. I started out in mid-afternoon on March 15th. The trail hugs Balch Creek, gradually ascending up Balch Canyon. The waters were rushing along that day although the creek itself was not nearly as full as it undoubtedly was after some of the heavier rains later this month.

Lower Macleay Trail

Balch Creek

One of the visual pleasures of hiking the Lower Macleay is the tangle of mossy branches and the ubiquitous ferns. This particular fern, below, seems to be 'jumping the falls.'

Fern o'er the falls

Eventually, I reached the end of the trail along the creek and followed the switchbacks to the park near Cornell Road and the Audubon Society of Portland's headquarters. There I was treated to the beautiful site of an imprinted raven that was in the care of the Audubon Society. Poor thing -- having been handled by humans before it was able to be cared for by its own mother, it now lives its life in captive, but loving, care in the Society's Care Center.

Before continuing my hike back down the Lower Macleay, I stopped for a break in the Audubon's gift shop/bookstore and was delighted to see that one of my favorite Oregonian/naturalist writers, Marcy Houle, has written a revised edition of the book that I used as a guide to Forest Park in my first few years in Portland: One City's Wilderness. If you visit Forest Park even on occasion for it's natural beauty, I can't recommend any highly a book to educate and guide you.