I took a study/grading break and K and I went for a little walk/hike around the Gettman Loop Trail. This one really only counts as a walk (since it’s short and doesn’t really get out in un-manicured areas for most of the time), but it was fun, especially since it’s right here in town. It goes around the south side of the Chehalem Glenn Golf Course. There are actually several trails over there, though the others are on the north side of the golf course. The Gettman Loop is 1.6 miles. We parked in the parking lot of the golf course to the south of Fernwood Rd., then walked a short ways east to the trailhead. It’s clearly visible from the road, so I saw it when driving by.
The trail ranges through gravel at the beginning, packed dirt, wood chips, and paved sections, and there are a couple of nice wooden bridges. Gettman Loop winds around the perimeter of the golf course, so for a good portion of the trail you can see the golf greens and paths, but at the south side of the trail there’s a great forested area that feels more like a “real” hike.
K said, “I bet we’ll find some snakes!” Lo and behold, we did find snakes. We saw three: two sunning themselves, and one that slithered off when we approached. That added a sense of adventure! The first one (at left) just sat there and let us get pretty close. The third one, after sitting there for the picture (at right), slithered down a nearby hole. It was pretty interesting seeing it go down a hole, but then also we
weren’t sure what was in all the other holes we saw. Usually I think there are just gophers and moles down such holes, but now I have to admit that some of them may house snakes. Well, none of them seemed poisonous. I think these were all garter snakes, but I didn’t let K touch them because I don’t really know my snakes, and these ones were bigger than your garden variety garter snake that I’ve seen hanging out around our house from time to time. We’ll have to take someone “hiking” there with us who knows about snakes sometime.
Overall, this was a fun place to go to just get outside and not have to drive far. One could bike, although we drove because we were already out getting groceries. It took us about an hour, although it could have taken longer at 5-year-old pace, which includes many stops to look at curious items and entities, such as lady bugs, seeing if there were fish or salamanders in the creeks, and spotting animal footprints. We’ll definitely go back again when we have more time to explore, and also go check out the other trails on the north side of the golf course. We had a great Saturday afternoon adventure on a beautiful spring day.
Cherice Bock 