Oregon 2024: Arrival & Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls
7/23/24 & 7/24/24 – 6.7 Miles
Planning a visit to Oregon was a puzzle from the start – so many natural wonders to explore! The days kept adding on, Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, Crater Lake National Park, everything on the coast, Astoria, don’t forget Lewis & Clark, and a big finish in weird Portland. Wine! Food! Believe it or not, other adventures got squeezed onto the itinerary (one got deleted).
Jim and I flew from Charlotte (CLT) to Portland (PDX) and took a 10-minute taxi ride to a car rental place that saved us hundreds…Avoid car rentals at airports.
We left Oregon immediately, crossing the I-205 bridge into Washington for a scenic drive along the Columbia River. Eating? Drinking? Hiking? All of that can wait until Jim (a career mechanical engineer in power generation) checks out the Bonneville Lock and Dam, a major run-of-river hydroelectric facility, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1930s.
At the Washington Shore Visitor Center we were just in time for a plant tour. Jim was a-tingle with geek excitement. For an hour we walked up and down stairs and catwalks as a National Parks ranger enthusiastically explained the technology. Jim knew it all but kept quiet and thanked the ranger for a great tour. (Have you ever been on a tour where that one participant “knows” more than the guide? Don’t be that person.)
We crossed the river back into Oregon via the Bridge of the Gods. A milestone for hikers on the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) is walking across this bridge. (You can Google the legend behind the name or read here and here.)
Thunder Island Brewing Company in the town of Cascade Locks
In Hood River we stocked up on food, coffee and adult beverages at Safeway (our go-to brand for the rest of our Oregon trip, in case they want to contact us for an endorsement.) Our Airbnb for the first few nights was a couple of miles outside of town. Our favorite type is a studio apartment over a detached garage, quiet and private, and this was a gem: a deck with a double swing, wifi, amazingly comfy bed and pillows, blackout curtains…we were asleep before the sun went down.
Of course we were wide awake before 6:00 a.m., 55 degrees, sipping morning coffee on the deck in that cushy double swing. Our view was the definition of pastoral: a small field with a little barn, flower gardens, giant evergreen trees. How about a second cup of coffee?
Waterfalls in Columbia Gorge: Do we need to get parking passes, book a tour, or just take our chances driving? Social media makes you think that the area is much too congested and you MUST pay somebody, so I booked the 9:00 a.m. Waterfall Trolley from the town of Corbett that drives along Scenic Highway 30, dropping people off at waterfalls.
Live and learn: The parking lots of most of the waterfalls had plenty of space and we could have walked between some of them. So…we could easily have driven and saved ourselves some time, since we had to take the trolley back to our car in Corbett. I’m sure crowds often occur, just not today.
Wahkeena Falls was like that – Wow!
We hiked further up the trail to Fairy Falls. My confidence wavered on the steep climb and I questioned my stamina not for the last time. Meanwhile, we were surrounded by every shade of green green green and purple blossoms.
We checked our timing for the best route to Multnomah Falls and decided to backtrack to the parking lot and take the Return Trail #442. Hindsight: continuing on the Wahkeena/Multnomah Falls loop would have been a bit longer, but more interesting - next time!
Behind the Visitor Center, Jim and I merged with the multitudes for the Disneyfied photo op of Multnomah Falls. The sun was in the exact wrong spot for photos and I deleted most of my attempts. I couldn’t fit the entire drop in one frame. Yet, our enchantment with the 620-foot waterfall (the tallest in Oregon) was undiminished. Come on, look at the scale of the teeny-tiny people on the teeny-tiny Benson Bridge!
But wait, we can hike the Larch Mountain Trail #441 to the “top” of Upper Multnomah Falls! Another steep climb, lots more people, and more reasons to stop and appreciate the thunderous power of falling water.
The trail turns left at Multnomah Creek and continues on, while a short walk to the right leads to a viewing platform at the top of the falls.
the Columbia River in front of us
for one full length shot
We hopped on the trolley to return to our car, then drove eastward on Scenic Highway 30 with time for another stop at two waterfalls: Horsetail Falls and Ponytail Falls.
Horsetail Falls is viewable as a drive-by, but unless you’re on the way to an emergency room should park and walk up close to appreciate this beauty. It is an exquisite cascade that narrows, then spreads out again. The framing of illuminated leaves was perfect.
Ponytail Falls is a freefall plunge into a pool with an amphitheater carved out behind it. I was so delighted I ran out of words! Little did I know that we would see more waterfalls of this type during our Oregon adventures.
Satisfied with a beautiful first day in Columbia River Gorge, Jim and I returned to Hood River. We found beer and cider at Full Sail Brewing, a great stop for an early dinner.
Still not ready to call it quits, we also stopped at Cider Crush Café, a funky spot with awnings and picnic tables and a space for salsa lessons! We chatted with an elderly couple, and when her husband got up to dance, the woman commented that she used to dance too but “my body doesn’t work anymore.” Still, she likes to watch others have fun.
“Just let go – and fall like a little waterfall.”
~Bob Ross
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