Klickitat Trail near Lyle, Washington (May 30,2011)

 Go East, young man on I-84 cross the Columbia River at either Cascade Locks or Hood River and proceed Eastward on SR-14 to Lyle, Washington.  At the mouth of the Klickitat River, you will find this new trailhead with a fine bathroom.  The mouth of the Klickitat is a good place to see Osprey and Bald Eagles (they do not like to have their pictures taken).  The Klickitat trail is over 35 miles long and is a former rail bed.

Wild roses

 The trail is wide and gravelled - suitable for biking.  The anonymous hiker thinks it is too civilized.  Perhaps he does not appreciate the lupines blooming next to the trail.

Blue Dicks (named for it's genus - Dichelostemma)

 We left our dogs at home.  Certainly it is an on-leash trail - steep drop off to the river below and more poison oak here than I have ever seen in my life!  It was a bit cool for rattlesnakes today.

 Love that Oregon Sunshine!
(Eriophyllum lanatum)

 Views of the Klickitat River - a wild and scenic river which has a Native dip net fishery - they were not fishing today.

the river rushes through a narrow chasm

Garry Oak and Ponderosa Pine trees along the river

 On the way home, we stopped at Catharine Creek Natural Area to check out the flowers.

 Mr. Thornsby wanted to see the Bitterroot blooming.

And stop at the Solstice Cafe in Bingen, Washington (on SR 14) for some excellent pizza.  They have a wood fired oven there and a full dinner menu.

High Water and Dry Creek Falls on May 18

 The lower Columbia River is as high as it has been since the '96 floods as can be seen here at the Sandy River Delta.  This is usually a dry meadow, now a slough connected to the Columbia.  The Confluence Project installation can only be reached by boat now.  (As I post this a week later, conditions are unchanged)

 Nice view of Mt Hood - usually this is dry land.

We proceeded on to Cascade Locks - had a burger at the Pacific Crest Pub

 Cascade Locks is exit 44 on I-84 East and is the home of the Sternwheeler,
among other things.www.cascadelocks.net/

The new bridge over Dry Creek as seen by Mr. Thornsby

 Hike up to Dry Creek Falls on the Pacific Crest Trail from Cascade Locks (trailhead near bridge).  You can also drive up the undeveloped road to the Falls, but only if you have 4 wheel drive and high clearance - a bit too narrow for the school bus, I think.

Mr. Thornsby meets a Giant Stonefly

 This old water diversion was the source of the name, Dry Creek, I think, because when the water was diverted in the past, the creek became dry.  Today it is no longer functional.  The creek looks much better with water in it.

 

 Dry Creek Falls

Mr. T with Streamside Violets

Stop!  Don't drive into the river! (Dalton Point)

Elowah Falls and a Tiger

A Tiger Salamander that is, under my barn door in Corbett

To get to Elowah Falls -

 Drive East on I-84 to exit 35.  Turn left after you exit, stay on the frontage road for about 2.5 miles, until you see the sign for John B Yeon State Park, pull into small parking lot. Go up the trail a short distance, when you see this sign, turn left to go to Elowah Falls.  John B. Yeon made money cutting trees back in the day and built the Yeon Building in downtown Portland.  He was famous for being the Roadmaster of the Columbia River Scenic Highway, a job he did for almost no pay for 5 years.  In 1935, several years after his death, the park was dedicated to him.

 Star-flowered False Solomon's Seal is blooming now - it loves shady places in the forest, as do the ferns below.  Will the real Solomon's Seal please stand up?

 A rare sight below - the Calypso Orchid

Scouler's valerian was all along the trail.

 The lower falls - high flow today.

The bridge was quite slippery with all the spray

I got soaked here

McCord Creek from the base of the falls

Large pizza at the Pacific Crest Pub in Cascade Locks

Latourell Falls

A few miles East of Corbett, Oregon on the Scenic Highway

 Latourell Falls, like several other state parks in the Gorge, was donated to the state of Oregon by a wealthy landowner, AKA "robber baron".  Thank you, Mr. Talbot.  What was "The Birthday Club"?  Latourell Falls is my "most often hiked" in the Gorge because it is close to home, about 2 miles in a loop, beautiful, and mostly because most visitors only walk about 50 feet from the parking lot, take a picture and leave the trail uncrowded even on a hot summer weekend.  We went today, because we may never have a hot summer weekend this year.
 (it did rain this afternoon)

 Margaret Henderson opened the Falls Chalet in 1914, one of many roadhouses found along the Scenic Highway in the past.  Most, including this one, are long gone.

Mr. Thornsby in front of the Falls, with Fringecup and Bleeding Heart - native wildflowers

Fairy Bells hanging over Maidenhair Fern

 There are some big trees along the trail here - Arrow poses for scale by a  Douglas Fir.

The trail goes right next to the upper Falls.

It's always good to hang out at the bottom of a waterfall.

This trail is always cool and shady as it goes through a narrow canyon made by the creek.  You can see that moss is happy here.  In the winter the trail can be muddy and slippery.

A small diurnal moth, Rheumaptera subhastata, sat on the trail

 Western Baneberry - the name tells you that the    berries are toxic.

Another poisonous beauty - Larkspur - is finally blooming here

Latourell Falls again

A bonus - on the way home, a Turkey Vulture contemplates a dead mole in the road.