Introduction:

Trails Club of Oregon is a Portland, Oregon  based outdoor club with a rich tradition and history. Trails Club members have enjoyed outdoor activities on Mt Hood, in the Columbia Gorge and many other Northwest areas since 1915! Some third generation hikers and campers are enjoying the efforts of our founders that built a hiking lodge, "Nesika" with a view of the Columbia River. Volunteer members joined together years later to build a ski lodge, "Tyee", on Mt Hood. We now have many gatherings to enjoy winter sports and incredible gourmet meals with a view of the peak of Mt Hood. We ski and snowshoe out the door to trails from Government Camp to Timberline on Mt Hood. There is a great sledding hill next to our lodge, this also can be used for a snowboarding.

Trails Club of Oregon is for the hearty. Nesika can be reached by hiking four miles up from Multnomah Falls.  Generous skilled volunteer members greet hikers with home made cookies and meals cooked on a wood stove. Our rustic lodge is very cozy when the fireplace and kiTrails Club hen stove get fired up. Dorms can sleep many members and guests for overnights at Halloween parties, star gazing, 4th of July Bar-B-Queue and work weekends. It is a great place to take off on hikes and backpack trips in the Columbia River Gorge. Our lodges are not for rent, guests are welcome to come to activities, to spend the night non-members must be with a member.

Outdoor activities include snowshoeing, skiing, hiking, biking, backpacking, and canoeing. Trips include Alpine outings, Senior Outings, trips to Bend to ski, resorts, European hiking trips and whatever our members volunteer to lead.

Social activities include Pic Nights (slides and speakers), picnics in Portland Parks in the summer, Hike and Dine (usually at Tyee), Wednesday lunch after the Wed. morning hike in Forest Park, Halloween Parties, New Years Eve and work trips at the lodges.

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Membership Requirements:

Guests

Non-members are invited to take part in Trails Club activities, however for overnight lodge visits must be accompanied by a member. The Trail Blazer (monthly newsletter) is sent upon request or after attendance on a scheduled trip. Please read the information below on Dues, Requirements and Club Principles. Further information and membership application forms are available by sending emailing to mail@trailsclub.org.

Requirements

Prospective members must complete an active published scheduled trip such as a 4 mile hike or snowshoe, visit at least one of our lodges on a scheduled, published opening, get 2 sponsoring members to sign the membership application and submit to Trails Club board with membership cost within one year. Please sign the application completely. Jr. members may apply at the age of 12.

Scheduled events are published here on the Events Calendar and in our monthly newsletter, Trail Blazer. Come hike with us and let us get to know you. Click on membership for more on membership requirements, benefits and an application form.

Any person of good moral character, and in agreement with the objectives and purposes of the club shall be eligible for membership as a regular member if 18 years of age or older, or as a junior member if 12 through 17 years of age.

Dues

Membership requirements include participation in one approved trip and a scheduled lodge activity within one year period. A prospective member must be recommended by two members in good standing, be approved by the Board of Trustees, and pay an initiation fee of $15.00 and annual dues of $35.00.
 

Club Principles

For safety and practical reasons, and to avoid possible ill feelings, alcoholic beverages, pets, and political or sectarian demonstrations are not permitted at Trails Club activities or lodges. It is expected, of course, that persons participating in hikes will be physically able and properly equipped to enjoy them.

The committees that plan and direct club activities are under the supervision of the elected Board of Trustees. All club officers and committee members are non-paid volunteers.

Hike and Trip Fees:

All day trips have a fee of $1.00 for members and $2.00 for non-members.

Carpooling is practiced with a suggested donation of $.10 per mile to the driver.

Group camping trips have a fee, and deposits are required.

Lodge Usage Fees:

The following rates for both Nesika and Tyee were approved in October 1988:

• Adult member $5.00
• Junior member (Age 12-17) $3.00
• Child of member (Age 12-17) $5.00
• Child of member $2.50



• Adult non-member $10.00
• Child of non-member (Age 12-17) $10.00
• Child of non-member (Under 12) $5.00
• Child of non-member $5.00

During the period from November 1 through April 30, there is a minimum charge of $25.00 per night for unscheduled openings of Tyee Lodge. A day-use fee of $1.00 is charged for all members and guests staying at either lodge during the day. Drop-in hikers are exempt from this fee.

Each person visiting a lodge is required to sign the register. Payment of fees should be made to the person hosting the lodge, or be sent to the lodge chairperson at P.0. Box 1243, Portland, OR 97207.

No lodge fees are charged on work trips, which are generally scheduled every second weekend from April through October. Meals on work trips are subsidized by the club. See the Club newsletter, the Trail Blazer, for more information about work trips.

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Club History Summary:

Trails Club History: The First Years
On Oct. 3, 1915, twenty-six men of the Progressive Businessmen's Club gathered at Larch Mountain's top to dedicate the newly completed trail. Capping the ceremony was the announcement of the formation of the Trails Club of Oregon, with Sam Lancaster as its first president. A patriarch of the Trails Club, Samuel Lancaster is famous for building the Columbia River Scenic Highway.

Well-known local residents eagerly joined and actively supported the club. They included department store scions Julius Meier and Aaron Frank, Oregonian publisher Henry Pittock, clothier Charles F. Berg, and Amos Benson. Benson's father Simon, more than any other person, made the Gorge Highway and the Larch Mountain Trail possible. At the time, the first leg of the scenic highway, running from Corbett to Multnomah Falls was nearing completion.

Early in 1915, the Larch Mountain trail was conceived. Henry Hayek, who was to become the Trails Club's second president, moved that the Progressive Business Men's Club sponsor construction of the trail. A total of $1,000 was immediately pledged. All rights of way were secured at no cost. Simon and Amos Benson donated additional cash and invested considerable time in the project.

A few years later a group of members conceived a lodge home for the Trails Club on their own property. While gathered around the camp fires and at weekly luncheons, they talked about a home for the club. Because the Trails Club had its inception on the summit of Larch Mountain, its territory was selected as the logical place for a mountain home. More than a year was spent searching the area before the spot in the Columbia River Highlands upon which Nesika now stands, was found. Our club is grateful to Herman Erren, George Bickel and Fred Steeble, who formed the first Lodge Committee, for their far-reaching vision in choosing this spot.

First Trails Club cabin at summit of Larch Mountain from book Lancasters Road by Oral Bullard 1982.

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Nesika History:

Nesika Lodge was built in 1923, a rustic log cabin located on the club's own property in the Columbia River Highlands, between Multnomah Falls and Oneonta Creek, at an elevation of over 1800 feet above the Columbia River. The original lodge was replaced with a log and stone lodge that was dedicated in 1997. Sleeping quarters for 32 women and 32 men are provided.

	Picture to left is Nesika, our lodge in the Columbia River Gorge, taken 2003.
Above are pictures of the first cabin at our Nesika site. Picture on the left was taken at the dedication in 1923. Picture on the right was take in 1989 before being torn down to make room for rebuilding our Nesika lodge.

Nesika is normally reached by trail. The more scenic approach starts from the Columbia River highway at Multnomah Falls just 30 miles east of Portland. The route follows along Multnomah Creek with its many waterfalls. There is another access trail from Palmer Mill road near Larch Mountain.

Nesika Lodge is an ideal spot for large or small parties with the opportunity to take numerous hikes in the surrounding area, or just take an easy stroll out to the viewpoint to enjoy the spectacular view of the Columbia River Gorge.

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Tyee History:

Tyee Lodge was officially dedicated on September 28, 1952, with the kiTrails Club hen and dining room addition being built in 1958. The lodge is situated on forest service land about two miles above Government Camp, and sixty miles from Portland. It is close to Summit Ski Area and the Alpine Ski Trail, with other ski areas are readily accessible. The terrain surrounding the lodge has a gentle slope, making it an attractive area for beginning skiers and snowshoers. The lodge serves as an overnight headquarters for many hikers and snowshoers.

	Tyee lodge picture taken Thanksgiving 2003.
		Photos by Merv Murphy 1999

During winter months the lodge is open each weekend. Sleeping accommodations for 22women and 22 men are provided. Provision is made for storing skis and other equipment.

Trails Club Trivia:

• The viewpoint at Nesika is called Bickel's point for an early Trails Club President.  It is where Waespe's wall was later built.

• The first building built on Trails Club  land was a tool shed.

• The first Trails Club  cabin was atop Larch Mountain.

• Mr. Bickel built his own small cabin where the Franklin Ridge trail heads up from Nesika.

• Tyee was built in one season from snowmelt to snow fall with a work trip every weekend.  One woman cooked for every weekend.  The first building built there was a tool shed/cook house.

• The pencils sold to fund the Larch Mountain trail were blue.

• The name Trail Blazer did not appear for many years, but long before the basketball team.

• Tyee lodge was early called Nanitch.  The Club voted down the motion to build it at the first meeting.

Continue reading to learn about the Trails Club of Oregon, its history and joining our group. I hope to see you on one of our scheduled events.

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Membership Requirements

Club History Summary

Nesika History

Tyee History

Trails Club Founding

History Bytes

TC Trivia

New:
Tyee Construction