As of 9/23/09, the North Mountain hikes will start at 6:00 p.m. sharp on Wednesdays. The Friday night hikes at Shaw Butte have not happened regularly for quite a while.
We hike up a steep, rocky trail, down a paved road, and then go up
and down the paved road at least one more time. The hike is probably
3.5 to 4 miles long, taking about an hour and a half for the regular
hikers to complete.
Our route starts at the North Mountain Ranger Station, heads over
to Trail 100, goes up one side of Shaw Butte, down the other, and back
around to North Mountain. The usual route is 6 miles long, taking about
two hours for the regular hikers to complete, and the total of all the
uphill parts is 1170 feet. Parts of the trail are steep and covered
with loose rocks.
WARNING: Don't leave at all visible in your vehicle anything that might contain something valuable (in a thief's eyes) and can be grabbed quickly! We had three vehicle break-ins from 1994 to 1999 at Shaw Butte, so now we park near the North Mountain ranger station for both hikes. (See this link if you'd like to see a few more details.) We haven't had any break-ins at North Mountain.
Meet in the parking lot near the Ranger Station in North Mountain
Park. The entrance to North Mountain Park is at the traffic light at
7th Street and Peoria. Turn west into the park. The road in the park is
a loop; follow the road to the far end, almost at the high point, and
park. (The Ranger Station is in the middle of the parking lot we use;
we park south of the Ranger Station.)
The Shaw Butte hike is easier (not so much steep up and down) but longer. You can bail out at certain points on our North Mountain route. Be prepared to do the whole Shaw Butte loop once you start. The gravel on the road at Shaw Butte is quite slippery in places; hiking shoes with lugs might help. The road we hike on at North Mountain is paved nicely. However, part of our route on both mountains is on loose rocks.
You'll probably do fine on the weekly moderate hikes if you are:
Otherwise, you should probably try some easier hikes before you do these.
Hikers must bring water at the very least during the
summer. Flashlights might be handy, especially during the winter, and
handkerchiefs are handy year-round. (Keep flashlights pointed down so
you don't destroy other hikers' night vision.)
ARRIVE EARLY! We will start hiking promptly at the scheduled time. The meeting time changes regularly (later in the summer, earlier in the winter), but here's a guesstimate at the hike start times: