Camas, Washington
Only 8 Miles from home and a 15 minute drive it’s a perfect substitute mid week for a trail run when I can’t make it out to the gorge. My spot is almost always open. I park my car under the huge maple trees and stow away the valuables. Before I even get out of the car I can smell the Camas paper mill. Luckily that smell disappears once you hit the trail and it’s replaced with the smell of warm blackberries. Depending on how hot the day is…I’ll bring my pack. I don’t always need it since the 7 mile out and back trail has water at both ends. This trail has its regulars. There’s a woman who is always there. She walks back and forth for hours ---always on a mission and never makes eye contact. But, still I smile and try to catch her eye. I always wonder what’s on her mind…if she is hurting or just focused. The older very fit gentleman with the black lab waves every time. On cool days I see him get his run in and then go back for the pup and then they run together. Some residence from the mansions bordering part of the trail 2 miles in- carrying cups of coffee in hand for a morning stroll with a golden retriever. A woman …maybe late 40’s who every time I see her, she is faster and thinner. She always smiles and waves. And my favorite regular is a man in his late 80’s who walks the trail…he smiles big and tips his hat to me every time. I don’t know that I have ever seen a happier man. There are the people who smile in response to a smile and then the people who ARE the smile. That’s him. You’ve got the nodders, eyebrow lifters, wavers, smilers, grunters, and the ones who don’t seem to see anything but the trail. Depending on my effort level at the time…I am the half smile gal who does a 3 finger lift as a wave.
I’ve run this trail so many times…I know each hill, turn and dip. I know what miles have the tree roots breaking through the ground and which parts have water running off the side. I know that if I go 2 miles in I should be able to get a good view of Mt. Hood and at 3 miles you can find blue herons chilling among the lily pads. After all of the hours I have put in on this fairly “easy” trail…it still amazes me that sometimes I crush it and other times it throws humble pie in my face. This trail offers 2 sections. Both are relatively mild on the difficulty scale. There is the Lacamas Heritage out and back trail and then the Lacamas Round Lake Trail that has several intersecting trails with a good size climb and some beautiful waterfalls. Coming here feels like home. The ground is squishy and the rocks are mossy. The trees shade me from the heat and the lake glitters. I can spend a whole day chasing mountains but still feel like I am not completely home. When I step onto the trails at Lacamas I feel it. It’s comfortable. No awkwardness. Like coming home for Christmas or sitting in your favorite spot at your favorite coffee shop. Your family may drive you nuts and the coffee may not always taste great…but it’s familiar. The person I was the first time I stepped on the trail at Lacamas Lake is a very different person than I am now. I am strong now….I now know how to push myself and though Lacamas Lake is no longer enough to fill my adventure cup…I still love to revisit that feeling of relief…the feeling of coming home. This is where my journey of trail running began. It opened a door to something I didn’t know existed. It didn’t prepare me for what is out there in the mountains but it did light a much needed fire in a cold room. I showed up on this Lakes doorstep almost 4 years ago broken, tired and feeling alone. It took me in and as it slowly created a foundation to bigger things…I became a stronger person. Snow, rain, sun and fire season….I’ve been here for all of it. I’ve been 3 miles in and caught in a down pour with only thunder and lightning to keep me company. I’ve watched the sunrise against a lake clouded in forest fire smoke. I’ve been there before the sun…and woken up a family of deer resting to the left of the trail…not to mention knocking down every spider web along the way. I have drenched my calves and shins in mud and taken a plunge in the lake to avoid an over enthusiastic bicyclist. I have ran the down and back over and over again to reach a mileage goal. I’ve welcomed runners into this place of relief and seen that for some it means just as much to them as it does to me….and others who don’t see its beauty. Growing up I was a foster kid. It was difficult to feel “at home” anywhere. Rejection filled every corner of every possible ally. But the day I stepped foot on this trail I only felt welcomed. It wasn’t a track with 5 minute mile racers. It wasn’t the road where people stared and gawked. It wasn’t a mountain that I wasn’t equipped to climb. It was a soft path with small challenges complete with runners, walkers and strollers of all levels. I’ve experienced all season of this amazing underrated trail. My favorite will always be fall. The air gets crisp and the trail gets covered in beautiful maple leaves. The air is sweet from the last breath of the blackberry season and fog draped across the lake. This is my home trail…I love it because this is where it all began.
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