Wandering towards Wauna Point

There are many viaducts still on the Scenic Hwy.

 For reasons that will become clear, I do not recommend this trail to Wauna Point.  But it is here because it is one of the 25 trails.  Go East on I-84 to exit 40 (Bonneville Dam).  Turn right after exiting and immediately left taking the short road to the parking area.  The trail starts at the East end of the parking lot on the paved bike trail that goes from Eagle Creek to Cascade Locks. 

 The bike trail is next to the highway and because of this, is not pleasant.  I am not sure why it was built.  Today's trail goes along the bike path for about 1/4 mile until you get to  . . .

this narrow side trail where Arrow is standing.  

A large Douglas fir recently fell over the trail

Basalt, ever present in the Gorge, formed this tiny cave.  I did not go inside - it was dark.

A Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) posed for us on a large fir.

Mr. Thornsby found the next turn off on the trail with this barely legible sign.  Now we were on a dirt road looking for a side trail.

We found this landslide, perhaps from last winter.

Here is the other side of the landslide.  Maybe this was where the side trail was?  We kept on walking the road. . . 

And found this Blue Grouse (Dedragapus obscurus)

We did not find the side trail we were supposed to turn onto and so we turned back, finding these marks on the way back.  Perhaps a bear?

Multnomah Falls (I-84 East to Exit 31)

 On a grey day in September, Arrow, Mr Thornsby and I went to Multnomah Falls.  One of Oregon's most popular tourist destinations, on this cool weekday, it was not crowded.  On hot summer weekends, the parking lots can be full.  The two tiers of the falls add up to 611 feet, the second tallest falls in North America.  The land was donated to the State of Oregon by Simon Benson (of Benson Hotel fame).  The trail to the top of the falls is something over 1 mile.

 These animal-proof trash cans were recently installed along the lower part of the trail.  You have to reach inside the small box and pull down
a lever, then the whole cover opens like a backwards book.  Will the local raccoons figure it out?
Mr. Thornsby is not amused.

 The upper falls -

















A big chunk of rock broke off the rock wall about here several years ago, disrupting a wedding party on the bridge below. (Gravity - it's not just a good idea, it's the law!)

 As you head up the trail, these signs appear telling you how many switchbacks to go.  I'm not sure that this is a helpful thing.

 When you get past the 11th switchback, and turn left you finally leave the paved path and can access the creek where your dog can get a drink and there are many good spots for picnics.

Staying on the paved path at the top brings you to this dizzying view

And this view of the parking lot below

A lovely small plunge pool right above the top of the falls

 The top of the falls area has this fenced in platform to keep you  and your friends safe.

The Lodge serves all meals, and also has a snack bar, gift shop and Forest Service information center.

Multnomah Falls Lodge, built in 1925

A native scorpion, found on the trail in May of 2009

Equestrian Wine Tours (Willamette Valley)

Meet your horses at a B & B near Dundee, Oregon

 I've taken a break from Gorge hikes for a bit (until the smoke of forest fires clears) and my sister and I went for an equestrian wine tour in Yamhill county.  Equestrian Wine Tours will take you out on Tennessee Walking Horses for a ride in wine country with stops for wine tasting - what a great idea!  Here are the two mares we rode -
Gracie and Rave.

A view near the start of our ride

 At each of the stops, there is a hitching post or corral for the horses, and it is just a few steps to the winery.  The Tennessee Walking Horses are very well trained and are very comfortable to ride.  They have a special gait called the running walk which is the speed of a trot but without the bounce.  The horses also carry saddle bags to carry your stuff (including any bottles of wine you may purchase).  If you want to buy quantities of wine, the wineries can deliver it to the B & B where you started the ride.

Looking down from one of the wineries (see horses at lower right)

 Here is our guide, Jake Price, who owns the stable, helping Karen mount up.  Jake has lived in the Valley for decades and gave us a running commentary about the wine country as well as keeping us laughing with stories about his guided tours. 

 Karen is smiling after the second tasting - we split two tastings.  We visited White Rose, Winter's Hill, and Vista Ridge wineries, riding on trails, through the grape vines, and over fields.

Happy Campers!

Angel's Rest - 8/9/11

Back on the trail to Angel's Rest: take I-84 East to exit 22 (Corbett) turn left at the top of the hill onto
the Columbia River Historic Highway and drive through Corbett, past Crown Point down the hill and past Latourell Fall and Bridal Veil Falls.  You may want to stop at Bridal Veil Falls for the excellent bathroom (as well as the short hike to the falls).   The next trailhead parking is for the Angel's Rest trail and there is no bathroom of any kind.

The Angel's Rest trail goes up almost from the start and soon you cross a talus slope (basalt, of course).  I usually hear the calls of pikas here, but I rarely see them.  It sounds like "eeeep!"  Ochotona princeps is a small rodent (related to rabbits but in its own family) that lives in rocky areas of Western North America usually at much higher elevations than here.  They eat green plants and store stockpiles of dried plants in rock crevices. 

Stonecrop is blooming on another talus slope

A glimpse of lower Coopey Falls from the trail.

The trail crosses Coopey Creek, this is the only water available on the trail (Arrow is not thirsty yet). You will want to keep your dog on a leash on this trail - steep slopes all the way up and hazardous cliffs at the top.

There was a fire in the area in 1991 which burned part of the upper trail and surrounding area (over 800 acres in size) and threatened nearby Multnomah Falls lodge.  This Douglas fir was scorched but the thick bark protected the tree and it survived the fire.  Traffic was stopped on I-84 as helicopters flew big buckets of water scooped up from the Columbia River to drop on the burning forest near the lodge (my parents happened to be on the highway at the time and witnessed this).

More of the burned area which has regenerated with lots of Red Alders and understory shrubs.  The dead, standing snags are providing food and nesting habitat for insect-eating birds such as woodpeckers.

Closer to the top, a view of the Columbia River and the burned area

At the top, (2.3 miles from the trailhead) there are piles of rock and shrubby areas.  Arrow and Mr. Thornsby look toward Washington and I-84 below.

Mr. Thornsby looks at snags left from the fire closer to Multnomah Falls. (which we shall be visiting soon)

On the way down, a peek at
Coopey Falls just off the trail.

Cascade Locks - Oregon - Exit 44 on I-84 East

 The site of the locks at Port of Cascade Locks Marine Park.  The locks were completed in 1896 in order to bypass the Cascade Rapids which were a major blockage to river transport.  The completion of Bonneville Dam in 1938 made the locks obsolete, and today they are the site of a boat launch and a popular fishing location.

It looks like he was catching a fish but really the line was snagged

Looking upstream at the footbridge over the lock channel.  The boom town that existed here because of the need for freight portage around the Cascade Rapids (before the locks) was known as Whiskey Flats.

We crossed over to Thunder Island and walked to the downstream end. 

 The Bridge of the Gods (a toll bridge that is a cash cow for Cascade Locks) is named after a supposed Native American legend about the nearby mountains (personified as young men) fighting over a beautiful maiden personified by another mountain.  I am not sure about the origin of this legend - it seems more like a white person's idea of a legend.  But there was a landslide here some 500-1000 years ago which did block the flow of the Columbia River for a time.

 Looking toward Washington

A barn swallow - the sky above and the earth below

                                                              Lots of goslings this year

At Cascade Locks you can buy salmon like this 40 pounder

 Here is another view - this is a big cooler with one big fish.  Too big for us, we decided to buy some fruit instead.

Mr. Thornsby reminds us that life is a bowl of cherries.