Hike #2

We purchased two books for a friend's birthday present, and ended up keeping one that seemed like it would provide us with unexplored hikes in the Gorge.

And because of that book, I have seen the most beautiful waterfall that I have yet to see in the Pacific Northwest. While Multnomah Falls might be higher, it is a mere pencil thin leak in a rock compared to this one that has three tiers, two visible from the main trail. Besides, we only saw one other group of 3 people the entire time, whereas Multnomah Falls is like being at the mall.

The hike was so wonderful that I was banned from posting photos on this blog, for fear that others might take the hike. However, you know where to find my photos, don't you?

The name of the book is Curious Gorge. I am unable to give exact directions or details because the book has been hidden from me so I won't expose its treasures.

But I'll tell you about the first hike (#14 in the book). A beautiful walk in, some of the last remaining old growth trees in the Gorge. Huge Douglas Firs that remind you why you live here. Millions of ferns and a wonderful hike. We didn't take the more strenuous 2,700 elevation gain hike to a lake, because frankly after 10 minutes on that detour, I was winded and we wanted to stay near the river. We hiked the 3.5 mile loop, though the second half was a bit lame. We did get a good look at a cabin for sale, however, and oh how wonderful it would be to have a vacation home there. The hike followed the river for the first half, while the last half was on the road, another good reason to turn around at the halfway point.

Oh, and this book is small enough and detailed enough that you want to take it with you on the hike. It became VERY important on the second hike.

The second hike was #15 in the book. This was the hike to the waterfall that I keep gushing over. Seriously, look at the pictures. A great hike, that you need to pay attention to in order to not get lost. You follow the river and increase elevation quite a bit, which made my calves ache something fierce. Well worth it when you finally hear the falls, look up and see it peeking through the trees. The hike continues to the base of the Falls, where the roar is deafening and the power of the falling water scary. Look at the pics.

We stopped there for a snack and a beer. The trail continued up to the level of the middle tier of the Falls. That part of the trail was rather difficult and sheer will power kept us going. We almost turned around. But it paid off after a bit more scrambling, allowing alook over the edge of the Falls into chaos.

Then the decision had to be made: take the trail back to the car, or climb what the guide book declared as the extremely dangerous path up to the top of the Falls, to see the top tier (the bottom two would be out of sight from there). The scramble up would also allow us to join another trail and loop back to the car. However, the route that we were supposed to take entailed climbing straight up, using roots for steps. There were too many loose rocks and no way Fife could make it up there. I tried and was too scared to continue. If there was a false step, the fall would have been several hundered feet.

So, we decided to scrap it. Unti we came to another, more wooded area that looked like it might be a viable alternative to get to the top and pray that we could reconnect with the trail. At least here a tree could break our fall. Straight up. With the first few steps, there was no option of going back. I believe we made it up with sheer willpower. And found the trail. And felt like we had climbed Mt. Everest without the snow. The view was lovely and my legs are scratched all to hell. The trail down from there was mostly flat, pleasant and made us clip back to the car at 4 mph. We moved faster than we likely should have at the end of an exhausting 8 mile hike because it was getting dark, and fast (9:00). Further, we didn't know exactly where we were supposed to turn left as the book told us to do at an unmarked path. We never would have found it in the dark. Nor would we have made it without referencing the book many times.

The book is a good one, allowing us to expore areas that even the roommate hasn't seen. Highly recommended. We got it at New Seasons. I'll not say any more.