Hike - Falls Creek Falls

Falls Creek Falls

The hike to Falls Creek Falls is one of my favorite waterfall hikes in the Pacific Northwest. The falls and Falls Creek are spectacular, especially in late winter or spring when the water flow is high. The falls are made up of three tiers starting with an upper tier at 109 feet, a second tier at 135 feet and a final tier at 91 feet that plunges into a narrow amphitheater gorge. At high-water levels, the falls are pretty loud and surrounded by a refreshing cloud of spray.

Falls Creek

The trail to the falls is a relatively easy 1.7-mile hike that parallels Falls Creek and includes two bridges, one of which is a cable suspension bridge that spans a spectacular rock gorge. 

Cable suspension bridge

The road to the falls had a lot of pot holes but was passable. The pit toilet at the trail head was one of the worst I’ve ever experienced. 

Falls Creek from suspension bridge

Falls Creek cable suspension bridge

Hike - Wahclella Falls

Wahclella Falls

Wahclella Falls is one of my all-time favorite hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. It’s a very popular hike and the parking area fills up fast, especially when the weather is nice (Note: overflow parking is available). The hike is relatively easy and follows a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) loop trail that parallels Tanner Creek. The beginning of the trail passes within a couple feet of Munra Falls on a short footbridge. 

Munra Falls

Further along, the trail crosses over Tanner creek on two wooden footbridges. The first footbridge provides a great view of the steep canyon walls. The last footbridge is just below Wahclella Falls and crosses above a huge logjam which is the result of the 2017 Eagle Creek fire.

Logjam

Wahclella Falls are split into an upper and lower segment. The upper falls are somewhat hidden however the lower falls are quite spectacular with water gushing through a narrow basalt gorge into a beautiful plunge pool.

Munra Falls

Wahclella Falls

Footbridge over Tanner Creek

Portland - Bridge Stride

According to the Internet, the “Providence Bridge Pedal is a celebration of bridges and bicycling—a non-competitive, community bike ride over Portland’s Willamette River bridges. Beginning in 1996 when 7,500 people biked across the Fremont and Marquam bridges for the first time since they were built three decades earlier, Providence Bridge Pedal has become a signature event on Portland’s summer calendar.”

Today was my 4th time participating in the Providence Bridge Pedal. The first three times, I rode my bike, but this time Carol and I decided to do the Bridge Stride. The Bridge Stride is for pedestrians only and crosses two bridges, the Fremont Bridge and Steel Bridge.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the stride was standing on top of the Fremont bridge drinking free coffee and munching snacks while listening to the sound of Taiko drums.

Hike - Burnt Lake, Mt Hood NF, Oregon

Hiked with friends and Buddy Boy (the dog) to Burnt Lake on the Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon. The hike began in second-growth Douglas-fir Forest with huge stumps and evidence of fire all around. Not too far up the trail however, we entered the Mt. Hood Wilderness where the forest turned into lush old-growth Douglas-fir forest.  

According to sources, Burnt Lake got its name from a fire that burned through the area in 1904. Since then there have been other fires including the “Clear Creek Fire” that burned through the area back in August 1906. While the forest has grown back there was still a lot of evidence of the fire such as large, burned out trees, snags and logs. 

 Except for having to climb over a few large logs and fording a few small streams, the first half of the hike was pretty easy. The second half however was a bit steeper with a few difficult rock scrambles and more stream crossings where my shoes got soaking wet. 

I think the streams were running higher than normal due to recent rains and snow melt. Burnt Lake was beautiful and included a spectacular view of Mt Hood from the southern side of the lake. 

We also saw a fair number of wildflowers on the hike including pacific trillium, stream violet, calypso orchid & skunk cabbage. I hoped to see some flowering pacific rhododendron, but apparently it was too early and the only flowering native rhododendrons we saw were at lower elevations near the trailhead.

Burnt Lake (360 degree photo)

Pacific trillium (Trillium ovatum)

Stream violet (Viola glabella)

Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa)

Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)

Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum)

Hike - Catherine Creek, Columbia River Gorge, Washington

Trailhead

The Catherine Creek Arch loop trail is one of my all-time favorite springtime Columbia River Gorge hikes. It’s a relatively easy hike with beautiful views of the Columbia River Gorge and Mt Hood in the distance on clear days.

Buddy

On this day (May 7, 2024), it was partly cloudy and clouds hid Mt. Hood but the views were still spectacular. We saw lots of wildflowers including bitterroot, arrowleaf balsamroot, triteleia, lupine, lomatium and others.

Looking south

Things seemed a bit drier than the last time I hiked here (May 3, 2017), which may have limited the number of wildflowers this time. I also think there were more ticks last time. The trail was in good shape, and we had no problems crossing the creek on a make-shift plank. 

Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva)

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Catherine Creek Arch

Hike - Augsburger Mountain, Washington

Trailhead

According to multiple websites, the Augsburger Mountain trail is a difficult 12.5-mile hike with a 4,400-foot elevation gain. That being said, we opted for a shorter 3.7 mile hike that starts from the Augsburger Mountain trailhead and loops back on the Dog Mountain trail.

 Buddy Boy

The lower section of the trail was moderately steep hiking through Douglas-fir / White Oak forest with hardly any understory. The only wildflowers we saw were a few Nuttall's Toothwort (Cardamine nuttallii).

Nuttall's Toothwort

Not too far up the trail we came to a sign saying, “Old Loggers Trail” that we assumed was the trail that connected to the Dog Mountain trail. We followed the “Old Loggers Trail” to the east hoping it was the correct trail.

Old Loggers Trail

This section of the trail was fairly level and offered a few glimpses of the Columbia River Gorge to the south. Thankfully the trail did connect to the Dog Mountain trail where there was a sign showing two options to reach Dog Mountain, “Difficult” and “More Difficult”. 

Dog Mountain trail

Having hiked to Dog Mountain before, I knew the sign wasn’t kidding. All in all, it was an OK day hike but I don’t think it will make my top 10 list. 

Looking south towards Columbia River from Old Loggers Trail

Hike - Rodney Falls & Pool of WInds

Hiked with friends to Rodney Falls and Pool of Winds on the Hamilton Mountain trail. According to the trailhead sign, the hike to Rodney Falls is a moderately difficult hike of only about 1.25 miles. The Pool of Winds lies at the foot of Rodney Falls where there's a small natural viewing area that makes it possible to look into the narrow opening where the pool is. 

The water falling into the pool pushes the air out of a narrow opening resulting in a rush of wind; hence the name, "Pool of Winds". The water then cascades down a long slope sounding similar to a jet airplane taking off. Both Rodney Falls and Pool of Winds are awesome and well worth the hike. Going on a weekday worked out

nice since the trail is quite popular and can get crowded. The trail was a bit muddy in places with a down tree in one spot. Otherwise, easy peasy. 

Hike - Warrior Rock Lighthouse

Warrior Rock Lighthouse

Took advantage of a short break in the rain & hiked with friends & my pooch, Buddy to the Warrior Rock Lighthouse on Sauvie Island, Oregon along the Columbia River. The lighthouse wasn’t real impressive but according to Wikipedia, it’s Oregon's smallest lighthouse & one of only two lighthouses still operating in Oregon which is not on the Pacific Ocean.

The lighthouse currently operates with an automated beacon and bell. Nice hike and the fall colors were super! We also lucked out & got to see the "Oceanus Leader" car carrier ship cruise by.

Hike - Angels Rest, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

Hiked with friends and Buddy Boy (the dog) to Angels Rest located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and Columbia River Gorge. The trailhead is located near Bridal Veil just off the Historic Columbia River Highway about 30 miles east of Vancouver, Washington (my home town). 

The first section of the 4.8 mile out-and-back trail was relatively easy and passed through beautiful Douglas-fir forest with an understory of vine maple, sword fern, Oregon grape, thimbleberry, etc. 

Upper Coopey Falls

Not far up the trail, we passed a couple waterfalls where there was a small fork in the trail leading to a somewhat precarious viewpoint of the 150-foot Coopey Falls. A little further, the trail crossed Coopey creek on a small footbridge. 

It then paralleled the creek for a little way and became steeper with a few switchbacks. At this point, the views became much better, partly because there were fewer trees due to the 1991 Multnomah Falls fire and the 2017 Eagle Creek fire. 

Looking north towards Columbia River Gorge

The trail eventually crossed over several talus slopes that required a little agility, especially when hiking with a young energetic dog.

Not knowing what to expect further up the trail, we found a somewhat level area where we had a little picnic before our final attempt to reach the summit of Angels Rest. Getting to the top required some rock scrambling and agility. However, the view from the summit was spectacular and well worth the effort.

Looking north from Angels Rest summit

Hike - Cape Horn, Columbia River Gorge, WA

Steve, Larry, Buddy, Carol & Petrina

Hiked the Cape Horn Trail in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area with friends and pooch, Buddy. This was my second time hiking this trail. The first time was ten years ago on October 15, 2013, not long after the trail was first opened. On that hike we did the full loop trail which is approximately 7.5 miles long. On todays hike however, we decided to take a shortcut that began from an unmarked pullout on Highway 14. From the pullout, it was an easy walk to the main trail and saved a few miles of switch backs and steep slopes. The trail has three main vista points with amazing views of the Columbia River Gorge. Without a doubt, this is a must-do hike for anyone looking for a memorable and moderately challenging hiking experience in the Pacific Northwest.

Looking east from Nancy Russell Overlook

Looking east from Oak VIew Overlook

Buddy Boy hiking Cape Horn Trail

Nancy Russell Overlook Cape Horn trail sign 

Closeup of Nancy Russell Overlook Cape Horn trail sign