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      TRIP 4 Soapstone Lake

      HIGHLIGHTS Of the several recently completed trails in the Clatsop State Forest, this one to Soapstone Lake is the best. The hike’s most noteworthy feature is its variety. While most Coast Range hikes travel exclusively through dense forest, this trail explores an attractive and relatively open second-growth forest, visits a small meadow, crosses a lovely stream, and ends at a pretty lake that would be worth the hike all by itself.

      DIRECTIONS Drive west on U.S. Highway 26 to the junction with State Highway 53 near milepost 9.5. Turn left (south), drive 4.8 miles, and then turn left on a gravel road signed Soapstone Trailhead. Proceed 0.4 mile on this narrow road to the well-signed trailhead and parking area.

      The wide, smooth, and gently graded trail travels through a second-growth forest dominated by western hemlocks towering above a thick mat of oxalis, various ferns, and thimbleberry bushes. Several huge stumps with old logging springboard holes attest that the forest here was once composed of much larger specimens. The trail crosses two often-dry creeks on wooden bridges and then at 0.3 mile gradually loses a little elevation before crossing a small grassy meadow. In late summer this meadow delights the visitor with lots of ripe blackberries and blooming goldenrods. At the far end of the meadow is a bridgeless crossing of clear Soapstone Creek. This crossing can be wet in winter but is an easy rock hop the rest of the year. After the crossing, you climb a rather steep set of wooden stairs and then wander uphill through a lovely forest of impressive old Douglas firs before coming to a T-junction near the north end of Soapstone Lake.

      For a clockwise tour around the lake, turn left, cross a large bridge over the outlet creek, and pass several inviting picnic sites along the north and east shores of this alder-lined 10-acre pool. The water is 20 feet deep in places, but the shore is often muddy and has lots of logs, so it’s difficult to reach the bank. If you can get to the water, it is fun to spend some time watching the lake’s thousands of roughskin newts or to toss in a line hoping to catch a cutthroat trout or two. Keep an eye out for wildlife, because also snacking on those trout are belted kingfishers and great blue herons. The best swimming spot is along the east shore at a small rocky beach with easy access to deeper water and relatively little mud.

      The up-and-down trail goes all the way around the lake, passing through forests, beside several grassy areas, and over a skunk-cabbage bog on a boardwalk spanning the inlet creek at the lake’s south end. Above the northwest corner of the lake is a junction with a side trail to a nearby road. Turn right, almost immediately pass a nice campsite above the lake’s north shore, and soon return to the junction near the outlet where you close the loop around the lake. Turn left and retrace your steps to the trailhead.

      TRIP 5 Bloom Lake

Distance		2.7 miles, Semiloop
Elevation Gain		450 feet
Hiking Time		2 hours
Optional Map		USGS Elsie (trail not shown)
Usually Open		All year (except during winter storms)
Best Times		April and May
Trail Use		Good for kids, backpacking option, dogs OK, fishing
Agency		Clatsop State Forest
Difficulty		Moderate
Note		Good in cloudy weather

      HIGHLIGHTS Until recently, the Clatsop State Forest, a major public landholder in northwest Oregon, had no maintained hiking trails. In 2004, however, the forest managers belatedly embraced the idea of “multiple use,” which necessarily includes nonmotorized recreation, and constructed several fine paths for local pedestrians to explore. The most easily accessible of these routes is this trail to shallow but very pleasant Bloom Lake.

      DIRECTIONS Drive west on U.S. Highway 26 to milepost 24.5 (exactly 4.2 miles west of the Sunset Rest Area), and park in the large gravel pull-out on the south side of the road.

      The trail starts by crossing a wooden hiker’s bridge over South Fork Quartz Creek, whose waters are banked by stands of red alder and a low-growing assortment of ferns, mosses, coltsfoot, horsetails, bleeding heart, and various other water-loving plants. The moderately to steeply graded trail then leads uphill past several old stumps and through a second-growth forest filled with vine maples, salmonberries, and April-blooming wildflowers such as trillium, wood violet, and oxalis. Winter wrens, varied thrushes, and chestnut-backed chickadees bring music to your stroll, helping to drown out the sounds of traffic on Highway 26.

      Bloom Lake

      At 0.3 mile the path meets and follows a long-abandoned logging skid road, which now serves as a wide trail. Although the surrounding woods contain a few western hemlocks and Douglas firs, deciduous trees dominate, giving this area a pleasant open feeling, especially in winter and early spring. At 0.8 mile, the trail levels off for 0.1 mile and then comes to a junction marked with a small brown plastic post.

      The old road goes straight here (a possible return route), but you turn right on a winding trail that goes downhill under the shade of large vine maples. After 0.25 mile you reach the outlet of shallow, 4-acre Bloom Lake. Although not wildly scenic, this pond makes a very pleasant lunch spot, surrounded as it is by white-barked alders and marshy areas that support a profusion of skunk cabbage, which blooms in March and April. The lake is popular with anglers, looking to snag some of the water’s small cutthroat trout. Wildlife enthusiasts will enjoy looking at the old beaver dam

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