Category Archives: Outdoors

ANCIENT DREAMS AWAKEN BY FOSSILS OF THE JOHN DAY

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Sheep Rock with Picture Gorge to the right.

Thomas Condon, John Day and fossils all come together in the middle of Oregon.  The fossils came first.  Then, trapper and hunter, John Day, working with the Pacific Fur Company came west in 1810. He spent the final ten years of his life living in the Pacific Northwest.  He and fellow fur trader Ramsay Crooks were robbed and stripped of their clothes by Native Americans near the confluence of the John Day and Columbia Rivers.  History records four different dates for John Day’s death and posterity has left many geographic features named in his memory.

Sheep Rock from the John Day River near Cant Ranch.

The best known is the John Day River. Note – there is another smaller John Day River near Astoria close to the Pacific.  This river is the fourth longest river in the lower 48 United States without a dam along its entire length. It is the longest within Oregon and the Pacific Northwest – not that there have not been plans for one.  The section between Service Creek and Tumwater Falls is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

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REVEALING WHAT LIES BEHIND THE SHROUD OF BRIDAL VEIL FALLS

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The Bridal Veil reveiled.

Bridal Veil Falls is one of the more dramatic waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge. The falls was once the site of local industry, but now restored to natural magic. Walking to the falls is short and is an easy add-on to a more extensive day. Or, it is easy to just sit and watch the waters deep inside the forested canyon of Bridal Veil Creek.

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WIND MOUNTAIN, A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO THE DOG

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Looking across the Columbia River at Wind Mountain from Indian Point on the Oregon side of the Gorge.

Driving to the large trailhead at the bottom of Dog Mountain, Washington Highway 14 drives right around the base of another smaller peak with its own form of drama, Wind Mountain. A beautiful cone-shaped peak, Wind has a brother, Shellrock Mountain, on the opposite side of the Columbia River in Oregon. Both mountains are thought to be from the same volcanic intrusion which needed to be cleaved in half by the Columbia River.  Unlike Shellrock, Wind Mountain has a trail to the top.

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SEARCHING FOR HEAVENLY LIFE IN THE GORGE – WAHKEENA FALLS LOLLIPOP

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OR A BETTER WAY TO VISIT ANGELS REST WHILE SEEING THE DEVIL AT THE SAME TIME

View from below Devils Rest looking across upper Wahkeena basin.

Showing fire sparing where the winds blew hard.

Angels Rest is one of the most popular hikes in the Columbia River Gorge. The hike lies close to Portland. The climb is reasonably easy with views back down towards Portland. It is probably too popular at times. Weekends can find a hundred or more cars parked alongside the roads. Even during the week, it pays to get to the trailhead early in the day. Overall, that hike gains 1550 feet – 472 meters – over about 2.3 miles – 3.7 kilometers. Not far away lies Wahkeena Falls.

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CIRCLES IN THE SAND EMERGING FROM TIDES IN THE GARDEN OF THE GODS – BANDON, OREGON

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Final preparations for the first appearance of the Circles in the Sand at Face Rock Beach in Bandon. Haystack Rock is in the far distance looking not unlike an Easter Island statue with face peering upward.

The lyrics for the opening of Belinda Carlisle’s “Circle in the Sand” hit song from the late 1980’s are apropos for a public art event that takes part regularly between the summer tides on the beaches in Bandon, Oregon – “Circles in the Sand”.

“Sundown all around
Walking through the summer’s end
Waves crash, baby, don’t look back
I won’t walk away again”

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REDISCOVERING HIDDEN TREASURES OF GOLDEN AND SILVER FALLS

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Waters of Glenn Creek freefalling at Golden Falls.

Hidden away in the Coast Mountains of Coos County is a small state Park preserving two of Oregon’s more spectacular waterfall treasures – Golden and Silver Falls.  The two falls are among the highest and most dramatic found west of the Cascades.  Hiding at the end of a long road which gets narrower and wilder as you travel back into the mountains, the park is one of Oregon’s lonelier state parks.  Drive to the road’s end and magic begins.

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INDIAN POINT – COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE REVEALED FROM ON HIGH

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Indian Point and magnificent view down the eastern Columbia River Gorge, 3000 feet below.

Indian Point is a basaltic spire jutting out from the main cliffs of the Nick Eaton Ridge. The Point is just east of the Oregon town of Cascade Locks. To get here, you have to hike, gaining almost 3,000 feet in just under four miles. Your rewarded with one of the best views of the Columbia River from on high on the Oregon side. A local newspaper outdoor writer rated it as the Seventh best viewpoint to hike to in the State. The view of the eastern end of the Gorge is magnificent and well worth the efforts taken to reach the point. It ranks in among the best views of the Gorge with Dog Mountain, Wind Mountain, Hamilton Mountain and Table mountain all being on the Washington side.

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WAHCLELLA FALLS – MYSTICAL MAGIC EXPRESSED IN THE GORGE

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The glory of Wahclella Falls churning under springtime skies.

Wahclella Falls, like its close neighbor, Elowah Falls, is overlooked by many visitors to the Columbia River Gorge. That is not to say the waterfall does not have visitors. It does, just not as many as you might find a little further west in “Waterfall Alley”. On this stretch of the old US Highway 30, you find the Big Five – Lautorell, Bridal Veil, Wahkeena, Multnomah and Horse Tail. There are several other waterfalls to be discovered by short hikes off the highway.

“Magic” defined as “a quality that makes something seem removed from everyday life, especially in a way that gives delight.” The waterfalls encountered here along Tanner Creek easily satisfy the definition. Even after the horrible 2017 wildfire roared through here, magic certainly remains.

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MAGIC OF THE FALLS OF MCCHORD CREEK

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An antidote to the Multnomah Falls circus.

Above Elowah Falls view across the Columbia River to Hamilton and Table Mountains.

Many waterfalls await discovery in Oregon. Some of the best are found in the Columbia River Gorge. Some are out there obvious to all while some like to hide away from prominent view. Multnomah Falls is the tallest and one of the most majestic. A large car park built in between the lanes of the freeway tries to accommodate the many who come for a visit. It is a standard by which others are measured. The Northwest Waterfall Survey rates Multnomah at 89.92 points. The falls are enchanting, but some of the magic wears off with the crowds you endure to witness. McChord Creek calls.

Driving up the Gorge on a Thursday in April, the car park at Multnomah Falls was, as normal, completely full. Five miles further east on the freeway, I-84, there were two cars parked at the Yeon State Park lot just off the freeway. Granted, two of the three trails leading out from here were closed – one from a fire in 2017 and another from a recent landslide this winter – but the one trail still open was pure enchantment.

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WATERFALLS IN THE CASCADES OF NORTHERN OREGON

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WITH A FEW OTHERS LOWER DOWN THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE

North Falls
Inside the veil of North Falls.

After covering waterfalls I enjoy in Southwestern Washington and the Coast Range of northwestern Oregon, we move east of the Willamette Valley to mostly waterfalls in the northern Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Again, no way these lists are anything close to comprehensive and others may have other favorites. There is a two hour limit from Portland to help limit the number of waterfalling excursions. Also recent wildfires limit access to many waterfalls. Abiqua and Butte Falls in the foothills above Scotts Mill are prime examples. One waterfall making the list here – Shellburg – is also presently inaccessible. I included it only because I visited the falls just before the fires and wanted to show some of its former magic.

So, off to the northern Cascades – the name somehow appropriate – of Oregon to visit our first waterfalls. Links take you to the Northwest Waterfall Survey pages which give the waterfalls ratings 0-100. The highest rated waterfall in Oregon is Multnomah Falls with a rating of 89.92, so you have something to compare other waterfalls here to.

Many of these Northern Oregon waterfalls lie in the western foothills of the Cascades, best visited in winter or spring when they flow at their best.

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