We arrived at Stub Stewart State Park on May 3rd and have been busy ever since. We had the first 2 days off and since the weather was awesome we spent those days on our bikes and hiking. After meeting with the Boss on Friday we took off on a hike to check out what was happening in the park. Dizzy found and caught up with one of his Host Pug buddies and as we started hiking back down the hill we came across 2 guys setting up telescopes at the Day-use area. We hiked back up after dark to check out the night sky, the guys really enjoyed being able to show us a few different and amazing things.
The next day we hopped on our bikes and rode to Vernonia, 25 miles round trip, and stopped for coffee at the Black Bear. Dizzy had a much better day in the trailer this time, I had it on my road bike so it was a much smoother ride for him, he was a much happier Pug. But, the trailer tires continue to give us problems, even with brand new tires. As we were sitting in the courtyard sipping on coffee we heard a very loud BOOM that made everyone jump. No one could figure out what it was though. It wasn’t until we started getting ready to pack up that I looked at the trailer…CRAP! we blew another tube, #6, I think… Lucky for us the hardware store across the street was still open so I ran over and bought 2 more tubes. We still don’t quite understand what’s wrong with these but it’s become quite annoying and expensive. We’ve spent more on tubes than we did on the trailer. It was a great ride though and, overall, a relaxing day. We spent at least 2 hours just hanging out in the new cushy grass at the coffee shop.
At the Black Bear Diner in Vernonia, at the end of the Banks-Vernonia Trail. The coffee and food is all good, the people are super friendly and they always have good music playing.
On Sunday we finished getting the rig set up then went for a 9 mile hike. Also a great day and for the 3rd day in a row we came home in the dark.
Finally, Monday came and it was time to work. Our first assignment–using a backpack blower to clean the trails of the Disc Golf course (Dave) and trimming where it’s needed (Me). It took us 2 days to do the entire course (18 holes, about 3 miles or so) but it looks so much better. We also “Ninja’d” a few shortcut trails to give the vegetation a chance to grow back and to prevent further damage and erosion to the trail.
Also on the Disc Golf course we’ve been wood chipping piles of limbs and trees that have been cut and stacked over the last few years and are unsightly, in the way and a fire hazard. Today we had a group of volunteers out to move the wood chips to different areas of the course, mostly under the baskets and in front of the tee box. The work goes by fast with 30 teenagers running around with buckets full.
We’ve also been doing some major corridor clearing on a new section of mountain bike trail. It’s not an open trail yet, but when we’re done we will have a 10 mile mountain bike only trail here at Stub. From what we’ve heard this will be the very first Mountain Bike Only trail ever to open in an Oregon State Park. Right now it’s just waiting on us to finish cleaning, no pressure or anything… We need some volunteers if anyone’s interested!! Come on out and work with us! We’ll be nice! It’s just me and Dave and about 4 more miles of dense forest trail…. What we’re doing is cutting the lower dead limbs off the trees so that they’re not harmful to bikers and it allows a lot more light to reach the ground which will help to relieve some of the problematic muddy areas of the trail.
So, we’ve been really busy and in high demand, we’re sore, bruised and exhausted but we love it here for just that reason! This is still a fairly new park with a lot of growing left to do. It’s also becoming a very popular park due to its proximity to Portland and the multitude of recreational opportunities. We have mountain bike trails (Freestyle and Cross Country), a competition level 18 hole disc golf course, a 21 mile long paved multi-use path, miles and miles of hiking and equestrian trails, 2 full service campgrounds, a hiker/biker and walk-in camp, horse camp, cabins, 2 meeting halls, the Discovery Center and a large day-use area. Phew….It’s an awesome park! Come out and see it!! You won’t be bored!
