FIONA

You’ve seen our beloved unicorn Fiona. You’ve heard how we got her and seen some of the places she’s been. But now is the story you’ve been anxiously waiting for – the very first legit hike that Fiona joined us on – our Pup Creek Falls hike on Aug 19, 2018. This hike was everything you could ever desire in a hike and more!

NATURE

Pup Creek Falls is such a beautiful hike parallel to the Clackamas River, and not overly crowded like some of the hikes in the outskirts of Portland, OR. We only crossed paths with a few hikers here and there. It gave us a chance to enjoy the fresh air and see the forest and views without all the distractions that come with civilization. Just fresh air. Nothing urgent calling us. (Photos L-R: Adam at start of hike; Clackamas River)

PREPARE

One thing we always like to do before going on a several hour adventure is to bring food and water. For this hike we stopped at Jimmy John’s and ordered tasty veggie sandwiches and some cookies (for most of our subsequent hikes we stopped at Grand Central Bakery). This became a recurring pattern we followed to prepare for future hikes. Hunger and dehydration can totally ruin a hike and our unicorns prefer that we have magical hikes. So for us sandwiches and cookies are necessary.

CHALLENGE

This hike has several narrow, steep ledges that are not for the weak of stomach. The end that we started on had the biggest challenge earlier in the out and back hike. During this section Amanda was feeling a little nervous about the width of the trail. Adam hadn’t noticed but offered to slow down so we could keep safety first and not make any hasty and careless steps. The ledge seemed like a foresty version of the scene in The Princess Bride where they fall down the side of the mountain. Adam said let’s go as slow as you need. That section last for about 3 miles (and then the last 3 miles on the way back), but for most of the hike we were back to our normal pace. (Photos L-R: Amanda on her super favorite section of trail, Fiona photoshoot, magical forest light & narrow trails for days!)

SURPRISE

We kept looking at our GPS watches and Amanda also had our hike pulled up on her All Trails App. We had expected our hike would be 7 miles round trip as per the Forest Service website. We began to realize that it was going to be much longer than planned. Good thing we had food, water, and our unicorns. It ended up being closer to 11 miles all in all.

BEAUTY

There’s nothing quite like being deep in the forest and able to truly experience peace and solitude. To hear birds chirping. Animals playing. The sounds of wind gently sending gusts of air through the trees.

LOST?

We had hiked well past the number of miles we had expected to go while looking for the left turn to our destination: Pup Creek Falls. Amanda had read several people’s blog posts about this hike saying they hadn’t noticed the sign or the turn off to the falls. Once you find that turn it’s not too much further. We just started wondering, “Did we miss the turn?” and “did we go too far?”

HUMANS

Just when we were starting to sweat it, we passed a few hikers. They said we were still headed the right direction but it would be about another mile before the turn off. We really kept asking ourselves how long this hike was gonna be and if we would have enough daylight to make it back to Adam’s car.

THE TURN

We found the sign. We made it to the falls!!! And… They were breathtaking. Fiona agreed. She hadn’t seen anything so beautiful. The water fell down a few levels before reaching as at the bottom of the falls. The water spread in a nice wide area which made for a beautiful visual landscape. We were speechless. And so hungry too! We devoured our sandwiches and took a plethora of pictures. We had to reapply the sunscreen and bug repellant at this point too. (Photos L-R: Upper falls, Falls full frame, Waterfall Usie & The SIGN!)

EEK!

This hike was on a warm day and while we had shade for most of the hike but we still got pretty hot and sweaty. On our way back we heard some loud snaps. We hadn’t seen any large animals but it sounded like it had come from something pretty big, and then we heard breathing. We imagined that something like a Moose was behind us. It helped us move a little faster and stop a little less for that section of our return.

SAFE RETURN

In the end we made it back to Adam’s car before losing sunlight. It reminded us that we should always bring a flashlight just in case though. As for the surprise of doing closer to 11 miles we were both lucky enough to have gone further distances on plenty of occasions before this hike. We were also extremely lucky to have packed more food and water than we were planning on needing. In the end, Pup Creek Falls was a challenging hike but very much worth every step. Also, we were able to form a deeper bond with Fiona, the unicorn! (Photos L-R: Sunset on the drive home; Amanda super wanting to get back to the car)

COVID-19: Check the Mt. Hood National Forest website to up-to-date COVID related closures and restrictions.

12/31/20 UPDATE: Due to Oregon’s wildfires, Pup Creek Falls is closed indefinitely. Make sure to check the US Forest Service website before you venture out for this hike.

About us: We live by the motto, “My unicorns made me do it.” Subscribe if you like to smile. And. Thanks for reading our blog! ~ by Amanda & Adam