Category Archives: Pacific Northwest Outdoors

MIST FALLS – GAINING THE SECRETS OF THE GORGE’S DIAPHONOUS PRINCESS

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Mist Falls turned down - from Hartmann Pond in Benson State Park.
Mist Falls turned down – from Hartmann Pond in Benson State Park.

In Scott Cook’s wonderful round-up gem of places lesser known in the Columbia River Gorge, Curious Gorge, Mist Falls is uncovered and revealed. This waterfall moods changes dramatically with the seasons, from a solid waterfall after a rain to one with mists dancing in the wind. Mists never seeming to be in any hurry to settle back on the ground as they enjoy their brief moment of freedom. It sits as a nearby neighbor to the king, Multnomah Falls. The waterfall is most visible to the motorists ripping along Interstate 84. Those motorists – the drivers, anyway – only get a fleeting glance. Their attentions quickly focus on cars using the left-hand exit for the nearby huge parking lot at Multnomah. Mist Falls is a true overlooked gem in the midst of Waterfall Alley.

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LINNTON TRAIL – ASCENDING INTO THE PRIMEVAL MAGIC

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As Portland grew during the 19th and 20th centuries, smaller towns were annexed along the way.  Some of those towns were substantial, like East Portland.  Others were much smaller, like the little town of Linnton across the Willamette River from St Johns. The last post touched on the Lower Columbia River Highway. This time we will come back closer to the beginning of that road.

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LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER HIGHWAY – MAGIC IN THE REMAINS

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Dogs water in the plunge pool beneath Beaver Falls.
Dogs water in the plunge pool beneath Beaver Falls.

After posts on Samuel Hill, Samuel Lancaster, and Henry Bowlby it was time for me to revisit some of the projects they inspired and oversaw.  The Columbia River Highway remains the magic the three men. That magic best shared along the Upper Columbia River Highway, known today as the Historic Columbia River Highway.  A couple fine books have been written on this road.  And while in the future, I may hit upon some of the highlights (Shepperd’s Dell is one such case), today it is the Lower Columbia River Highway.

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HENRY BOWLBY – FLYING BISCUITS TO THE COLUMBIA

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The two Samuel’s – Hill and Lancaster – get all of the attention for the building of the Columbia River highway in the Gorge where the mighty river bores through the Cascades Range. The highway project proposed by Sam Hill included a highway from Portland downriver to the ocean at Astoria. Enter Henry Lee Bowlby.

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SAMUEL LANCASTER – CREATING THE FRAME TO THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURE

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Samuel Lancaster plaque on the Vista House.
Samuel Lancaster plaque on the Vista House.

Samuel Lancaster established himself one of the pioneers of modern American highway construction with his connection to the Columbia River Gorge highway project in 1915.  That highway was only one of a myriad of programs involving Lancaster over a busy lifetime.

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SAM HILL – NEW WORLD STONEHENGE DREAMER

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An appropriately masked guitarist makes music at the altar stone of Stonehenge

To say Samuel Hill lived a fascinating life is almost an understatement.  A frenetic Quaker, Sam’s life is magnificently on display online where you can find his excellent biography Sam Hill, The Prince of Castle Nowhere written by John Tuhy.  Among his many interests was his participation in the Good Roads movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Hill was instrumental in the development of both the Pacific Highway, a route linking the three Coastal States to each other from Canada to Mexico.  He pushed for the development of a true coastal highway paralleling the Pacific Highway – today’s US 101 – as well.  But Hill is best known for his role in the development of the Columbia River Gorge Highway, now over a hundred years old.

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SHEPPERD’S DELL – MAGIC, AWE, WONDER BUT, NO SHEEP

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Falls and bridge at Shepperd’s Dell.

Magic is a word overused in the Columbia Gorge.  Magic, awe, wonder all terms liberally employed by visitors and writers when trying to describe the majesty of the Gorge.  One of those sites spectacularly earning such accolades is Shepperd’s Dell.

Shepperd’s Dell is one of those places I never seem to have time to stop for.  There is very little parking – always full on the weekends – and only a small waterfall to be fleetingly glanced at as you cross over a bridge.  The Dell lies along one of the most scenic stretches of the Historic Columbia River Highway – HCRH – a true highlight between Multnomah Falls and Crown Point.

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APPLICATION OF FULL THROTTLE IN WATERFALL ALLEY

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multnomah falls
King of Waterfall Alley – Multnomah Falls.

Seasons change. Fall brings a return of rains seeming endless, at times. Late summer streams replenish aggressively. Waterfall Alley resumes its magical aura. Falls dwindled by summer drought flash into prominence once again. Where you once could get a photo easily at the bottom of a falls, now means getting very wet from the same spot.

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MAGIC DEEPENS WITH FALL COLORS AT ELOWAH FALLS

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Exposure challenges from the ledge trail above Elowah Falls.

Ollie and I last visited the waterfalls on McChord Creek – Elowah Falls and Upper McChord Falls – early in the spring. We live in the shadow of the Columbia River Gorge, a region of true natural magic. Within twenty minutes, we can be deep in the woods, hiking to an overlook or behind a waterfall. Many of the trails are short – 1-2 miles – translating to the ability to discover the magic again and again.

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LATOURELL FALLS – waterfall magic and a primeval canyon

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The main Latourell Falls dropping 224 feet in one long plunge over basaltic cliffs.

Latourell Falls is an easy hike.  At only 2.4 miles with a gain of 625 feet, the hike is one for the masses.  And the masses do hike.  Come early.  Come late and there will be no parking.

Here, the first of a series of waterfalls seen from the old Columbia Gorge Highway US 30 in an area known as “Waterfall Alley”.  Technically, it is not the first, but it is the first seen from the old highway heading east from Portland.

The hike being short can easily be an add to other short hikes or even longer, more technical endeavors.

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