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Trip Report    

CHS 2 Hike - Poo Poo Point via High School Trail

6 of us from CHS-2 enjoyed a brisk 2.4 mph trip to the foggy top with clearing on the descent. Great conversation and a marvelous kick-off to 2026.

Courtenay Schurman Courtenay Schurman
April 02, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • At 8 AM I returned from an impromptu solo birding trip around Park Pointe (24 species in 40 minutes) to find masses of high school students, some parked illegally in the fire lane, and the hike leader without anyplace to park. That meant diverting participants to City Hall and starting the hike at 8:35 rather than 8:15 but nobody seemed too bothered by that.

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    Unless it's a weekend or school is not in session, I strongly recommend avoiding parking near the gun club (go to the community center instead, it adds a nice warmup walk by the troll AND there are restrooms) unless you arrive WELL before high schoolers. I'll stick to suggesting the community center or alternate trailhead starts to minimize our effect on local traffic flow.

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6 of us from the Mountaineers CHS-2 cohort enjoyed a wet start to the morning but dry and clearing on the way down. I arrived early to avoid downtown rush hour traffic and birded in the Park Pointe area (markers 13, 10, 9, 6, 5, 4, 2, and 12 including the trail leading to the Adventure Trail and back) for 40 minutes / about 2 miles, enjoying a raven, purple finches, red-breasted sapsucker with its syncopated drum, and a yellow-rumped warbler among the 24 species. Rain and breezes and constant conversation meant very few birds on the trip itself (raven at the trailhead, Pacific wrens and robins on the hike), so I was grateful for my pre-hike birding session.

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The trail is in pretty decent shape, especially given the previous day's deluge; a bit muddy in places but NOTHING like the high-winds, high-rain trip I co-led on March 8. Evidence of tree removal but no clambering over or under required. No paragliders and, sadly, no view at the top except a tiny peek at houses briefly as the fog sifted in and out.

We kept a 2.4 mph moving pace with a brief break of 15 minutes at Poo Poo for bio and snacks, with total moving time for 7 miles and 1652 elevation gain at a brisk 2:46. Strong group of women. CHS-2026 is off to a great start!