Columbia River Gorge: April 15

April 15

Yesterday was a lazy rest-up day.

Today we decided to explore the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia River Gorge is a scenic river canyon that cuts the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range. The gorge is 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.



We weren’t sure just where to begin, but knew we wanted to see the Multnomah Falls, so headed in that direction.

Before we arrived at the exit for Multnomah Falls, we saw an exit for Bridal Veil Falls, and decided that we needed to check that out first. The sign said it was a steep switch-back trail, but it looked intriguing, so we started off.

We had noticed that many of the trees in Oregon were covered in green moss. This is not like Spanish Moss in the South. It not only hangs from branches, it wraps around limbs and trunks, until sometimes the entire tree is encased. We thought at first that it was parasitic and harming the trees, but a little research showed that was not the case.
On the way to the falls we passed some good examples of this moss growth.





It was sprinkling a little, but we persevered and continued on the trail. Soon we could hear the falls growing louder and louder, and after that we HAD to see them.

From a footbridge downstream from the base of the falls, you can see the spray and rush of water from the falls.

Rounding the bend at the end of the bridge, the falls were revealed in all their glory, the falling water thundering so loud it was difficult to hear Tom speaking next to me.

Also revealed was the final steep trail climb and the stairway to the observation platform just above the base of the falls

The hike was well worth it—the falls were glorious
The Upper falls:

the base of the falls:

On the way back up the trail we passed two men who asked if it really was worth trudging all that way. We assured them it was. Shortly afterward we wondered if they were saying bad things about us as they hit the worst of the trail.

We saw a sign for Crown Point Vista, and that sounded like a good place to visit, so we continued onward.

Soon we saw a sign for Shepherd’s Dell. The falls in Shepherd’s Dell were visible from a bridge and a short set of stairs.

The falls are in the back of a lush dell, overhung with ferns and plants of every shade of green imaginable. It looked like the setting for a fairy story—you almost expected to find little sprites flitting about.

Not far from Shepherd’s Dell is Latourell Falls. We could see the falls from the car. Concerned about my knees after the Bridal Veil trek, Tom asked if I wanted to see these falls closer and I told him that the path wasn’t very long and didn’t look too bad—I thought we should try it. It was longer than it looked, and far, far steeper than the trail to Bridal Veil. Looks can be deceiving. But the falls were lovely, especially since they were seen with a sense of accomplishment at reaching the view.

The road now became narrower and curved much more as it rose higher and higher. Glimpses through the trees promised something spectacular, and arriving at Vista House (Crown Point) we were not disappointed

Had it had been a clear day we could have seen 30 miles into the valley. But the clouds and mist that closed off the long range view also added a mystical air to the scene. We were not disappointed in the least. The angry skies and shades of silver and gray were beautiful in their own way.

Vista House:

Inside Vista House some great National Park Service volunteers gave us a map that showed the location of the various falls and scenic areas in the gorge. They got us oriented, since we had been doing it backwards. Most people start at Vista House and then see the falls in reverse order from our trip. They showed us the best places to see that we had not yet encountered. We were able to help with a first hand report of conditions at Bridal Veil Falls, as they hadn’t talked to anyone who had been there that morning (since most people do that after the information center).

One interesting piece of trivia we learned was that Oneonta (which they pronounce differently, with a soft “O”) Falls were named after Oneonta, NY, where our daughter, Rebecca, spends a good part of her working life. We were disappointed that due to the worsening weather, we were not able to hike into the Oneonta Gorge along the Oneonta Creek.

We found out a little of the history of the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area. Most of the sites have been donated by private individuals and are now protected and administered by the National Park Service. The Oregon side of the Gorge has 77 waterfalls. In addition to the major ones, there are a host of large and small falls all along the way. It is great! It seemed that every time we glanced up there was another water fall.

Returning back the way we had come along what we had discovered was the historic Columbia River Highway (route 30), we passed by the falls we had already seen, and stopped at Wahkeena Falls.

Storm clouds gathered over the mountains on the Washington side of the gorge opposite Wahkeena Ffalls.

Next on the agenda was our original goal, Mutlnomah Falls. Mutlnomah Falls are the second highest year round falls in the United States. The total height of the two section of the falls is 620 feet.

Unfortunately a heavy downpour started as we approached the falls, so we quickly took a couple of pictures, then sought shelter. We had intended to walk to the bridge, then decide whether to ascend to the top of the falls. In the pouring rain, neither one sounded like a good idea.

We called it a day, having seen some breathtaking waterfalls and wonderful stormy views.

Besides, I didn’t want Tom to be too tired to enjoy his wine blending evening tonight. Check out his blog for this date for details.