I believe that during the time of his involvement with the cabin, it was fully functional, and later burned down under mysterious circumstances. I can certainly appreciate his love for this remote cabin. I have not been able to discover more about Bob Johnston, but one can almost feel the presence of an unseen caretaker, even as the Sword Ferns and Oregon Grape reconquer their space in the quiet that has reclaimed this beautiful spot. Looking about one it is easy to understand why Bob “loved this retreat”. But in any case “Hock” as he seems to have been called loved this place he called his “Hilton” and his Boy Scout Troop 221. He was just 55 when he died – maybe one of those whose lives were shortened by a lifelong habit of smoking Chesterfields and Marlboro’s? Were he alive today to tell us about the cabin, he would be a frail 91 years old. It commemorates Bob Johnstone, whose age would make him a late WWII vet or a participant in the Korean conflict if he served in the armed forces. Near the ruined log cabin, a plaque stands embedded in a concrete block. Just out of sight around the end of Rocky Point is, of course, Mt. Lined up like white capped sentinels you can count off the snowy peaks from Mt. To your left, looking eastwards is a magnificent view of the Pacific Northwest skyline. Standing next to the cabin you can look out from the trees that surround the cabin site and see a small valley that is no doubt heavily populated with deer every evening and dawn. Humble as it may seem to day, this place has history! No more than a half mile onwards you will emerge onto a level area, and on your right inside a copse of older Douglas Fir trees you will discover an old ruined cabin. Follow this graveled route and you’ll soon be looking at one of the most idyllic little spots along the entire range of the Tualatin hills. Eventually the trail diminishes and leads to private residences and shooting ranges – not a route that I would recommend.īut the right hand turn will immediately delivery you to the base of a clear cut slope, where a rough road begins to wind its way up the hill to an elevation of about 1200′. The left hand option leads along the north face of the heights that comprise the Rocky Point headlands. A well traveled path crosses your track from right to left. Eventually you will emerge at an intersection in the woods. This track ascends the lower slopes of Dixie Mountain, staying within earshot of Jackson Creek on your left as you ascend. Scramble through the blue gate and beyond it you will discern a narrow track that clearly ascends what was once a logging access road, but which has long since been reclaimed by Mother Nature. On the right you sould see a forest gate partially obscured by the tall grass, ferns and many branches crowding the entrance to this track. Now down Gilkison Road as it descends in a Southeasterly direction. Proceed down Gilkison Road, past the big yellow gate that marks the entrance to the Hindu retreat. Follow this track uphill to reach the main graveled road (an extension of Gilkison Rd) and turn left, and left again following the forest road back out to the paved portion of Gilkison Road. Staying on the high ground between the two creeks the trail eventually reaches a forest track located on land owned by the Vedanta Society, a Hindu religious order. Today, Callahan Road climbs this slope from an elevation of about 100′ where it begins just behind the Fairview Cemetery in Scappoose. The slopes were not as densely populated with Vinemaple and were mostly covered in Sword Ferns, Salal bushes and Oregon Grape. For horsemen this route offered distinct advantages. In comparing the rough route sketched by Robert Benson with the current USGS maps, it appears that the route Jason Lee and his guide Thomas McKay took climbed up the high ground between Jackson Creek and Raymond Creek. Benson did publish a map of sundry Indian trails, including the Jason Lee Trail. To date, I have not found a detailed map of this trail, but in 1981 R.L. What interests us is the route that he helped establish to cross the formidably dense Tualatin Range. Helensįor the purposes of this dissertain on early travel routes, I will not digress to explain the importance of Jason Lee, the Methodist circuit-rider that founded Willamette College in Salem, the Indian School in Chemeketa, and the various outposts of Methodist gatherings Hillsboro to St. Jason Lee Road from “Hillsborough” to St.
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