Sunsets seem to pop out the colors even more at the Painted Hills.
The Painted Hills can be magical. Geological stratigraphy on display. Reds, tans, blacks, browns all laid out in layers slightly tilted. Of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, this one attracts the most visitors. The Hills are closest in distance to large cities of any size – one and half to two hours from Bend (90 miles) and four to five from Portland (a little over 200 miles depending upon your route) – while the other units are another hour further on.
Triglav rising with the Krma valley on the left and the Kot in the middle. Peak to Triglav’s left is Rjavina. View is from Jerebikovec.
My route on Triglav one-day climb attempt. Foiled because of popularity.
There are not many countries thinking enough of their mountains to emblazon them on their national flag. Slovenia is an exception. Triglav, the highest, represents the strength of the Slovene soul. On a summer weekend, the goal of every Slovene seems a whack on the ass – the reward for a climb of Triglav. “Thank you sir. May I have another!” Afterall, Milan Kucan, the first president of Slovenia said, “It is the obligation of every Slovene to climb the mountain at least once in one’s lifetime.
The next to last switchback before the summit of Dog Mountain is reached. Indian Point is the tall rocky point in the sunshine on the Oregon side to the right center with Wind Mountain further to the right on the Washington side of the river.
Ahh, Dog Mountain. This seven mile, 2800 vertical foot gain hike is one of the most popular in the Columbia River Gorge. I would guess it to be number three after Multnomah Falls and Angels Rest, both on the Oregon side easily accessed from the freeway I-84. Dog Mountain is on the Washington side in between the towns of Stevenson and White Salmon-Bingen with the trailhead right on Washington Highway 14. The hike is a workout, but the views over the eastern sections of the middle Gorge during the wildflower season of mid-spring are what brings the crowds out.
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.
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.
Fort Walla Walla Cemetery holds the dead of some of the last Indian Wars, the close of the Frontier.
FORT WALLA WALLA CEMETERY
The cemetery was established soon after Lieutenant Edward Steptoe organized the first Fort Walla Walla, a few miles east of downtown, in 1856. The fort moved two times in the immediate years following and the cemetery ended up presently just to the west of the last fort, the present-day Veterans Administration Medical Center. The cemetery holds graves from the different eras of the fort’s existence, 1856-1910. Civilian graves are separated from the soldiers by about thirty yards. Three monuments reflect some of the major battles during the 1877-1878 Nez Perce War in which soldiers who spent some time in Fort Walla Walla lost their lives.
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.
OR A BETTER WAY TO VISIT ANGELS REST WHILE SEEING THE DEVIL AT THE SAME TIME
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.
Of the three Army posts erected around the periphery of the Oregon Coast Indian Reservation, Fort Umpqua is the most forgotten. The State has made Fort Yamhill into a Park. Benton County has done the same with Fort Hoskins. Fort Umpqua lies hidden on the wrong side of the mouth of the Umpqua River, hidden by sand, vegetation and time.
Original Fort Walla Walla trading post at the confluence of Snake and Columbia Rivers.
Today’s fort is the fourth to go by this name. The first fort was a fur-trading post opened by the North West Company. The post was built at the confluence of the Walla Walla and Columbia Rivers. Established in 1818, the post ran until abandoned and burnt down during the 1855 Yakima War. A steamboat landing settlement sprang up a few years later. The remains now all under the waters backed up from the McNary Dam some miles further down the Columbia.
