Flying along Interstate 84, you might catch an ephemeral glance at a waterfall or two. If you know when to look.  Traffic speeds along well above the speed limit of 65 mph. The number of cars and trucks seem to exponentially increase with the years.  Pity the traveler who finds themselves stuck behind one of the giant propellors heading to the wind farms just south of the east end of the Columbia River Gorge. Road travel has come a long way since the first road was put in over 150 years ago. Basalt columns occur in many areas along the way. So, the columns and cliffs jutting up to the south of the freeway just west of the Bridal Veil exit – exit 44 – might not garner an extra glance from a speeding car.  You have just missed noting the Pillars of Hercules.

PILLARS OF HERCULES OR THE NEEDLES

Ok, these pillars are probably not as wide ranging as those announcing the entrance into the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean (or vice versa). But they seem more dramatic at a human level.  Here, the opening looks more like something Hercules could fit into as opposed to the Spanish Moroccan version.  Taking away from some of the vertical splendor, however, the pillars, and the lava cliffs drifting off to the east are overgrown with vegetation.

With the huge amounts of dredged material taken out of the riverbed, the original geography is easy to overlook.  The riverbank lapped at the foot of these columns and cliffs with only the elevated railbed intervening.  Much of the vegetation in the early 1880’s (when the railroad was first constructed) appeared as a mere shadow compared to today.  Old postcards give hints upon how the landscape looked in the 1880’s when the rail line first appeared.  Rail lines do not occupy the same position as when first built. Dams appeared on the scene to raise the river level.  Yet, the course of the rails does come closer to the original route, especially downriver from Bonneville Dam.

RAIL LINE THROUGH THE COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE

The rail line – owned and operated by Union Pacific – lies single tracked for the most part. Except for areas of double tracks every mile or two used to separate trains moving in opposite directions.  Unlike the rail line on the North Bank – owned and operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, BNSF – passenger trains are a thing of the past.  The last Pioneer (The name of the former route from Portland to Boise and onto Salt Lake City) stopped service in 1997, though there are a few political discussions to attempt to restart the line.

 On the North Bank, Amtrak runs a daily Empire Builder section between Portland to Chicago. The Portland section connects with another section from Seattle in Spokane after midnight going east. The westbound the train splits after three in the morning in Spokane. It arrives in Seattle and along the North Bank to Portland late in the morning – when on time.  The trains from Portland and Seattle leave around five in the afternoon.

south bank

The South Bank line – as was the latter case of the North Bank – overcame many engineering obstacles in creating the near water-level line.  Marshes, fluctuating river levels and the vertical basalt cliffs were especially troublesome in this area.  Oregon Railway & Navigation Company – OR&N – built the line through the Gorge opening the line in 1882.  The line connected to the Northern Pacific tracks at Wallula – near the Oregon-Washington border along the river. This gave Oregon its first transcontinental link via Spokane to St. Paul, Minnesota.  OR&N went on to connect to the UP’s Oregon Short Line at Huntington, Oregon, in 1884, on the Snake River. This produced a second transcontinental link through Salt Lake City.  OR&N eventually wound up in the orbit of the UP.

HISTORY DREDGED INTO THE PAST

Curves and uphill grades are the nemesis of railroads.  Straight and level is the railroad engineer’s ideal.  Over the years since the rails first went in, the rails have changed course slightly as dams went in.  Dredges used in bringing up material for the newer river level highway also gave rail banks a more solid base than the many original wooden trestles used.  The dredged materials taken from the river’s bottom changed the course of the riverbanks, as well.

The path of the rails between Troutdale and Bonneville Dam still courses along not far off the old course. The route follows the river before massive dredging filled in lands east of Rooster Rock. Dredging made the earlier bay east of the Rock created by Latourell and Young Creeks into a large marsh.  The Rock, itself, used to jut out into the river. There was a fish cannery lying just south of the base where the freeway runs today.  The cannery was long gone by the time the highway came through. The riverbed silted up making the docks a no go.

Just past the Rooster Rock-Latourell marsh, the rails approached the lava cliffs near Bridal Veil Falls.  Here, several pillars jutted up next to the riverbank with a couple smaller ones rising out of the water during high periods.  The dam upstream and the extensive dredging for the highway made it possible to alter and straighten the rail line in this section.  Originally, as shown in many photographs from earlier days, the rails actually lay right in between two particularly giant basalt columns.  Originally, the two columns were known as the Needles with the OR&N tracks threading in between. 

VISITNG THE PILLARS

The cliffs and the Pillars of Hercules are not easy to photograph.  Besides the freeway presenting a major obstacle for possible photographs, the Union Pacific line creates another major boundary.  Vegetation has grown over much of the old line here which stayed closer to the cliffs as it weaved through the Pillars of Hercules.  Trees have grown up between the old Needles themselves though it is still possible to make out where the passage ran – especially notable if you are a passenger in the car instead of driver.

Climbing the Pillars used to be a popular outing for the local Portland climbing club, the Mazamas.  The Pillars, along with nearby Rooster Rock, offered easy fifth class climbing outings.  From climbing friends who have done the Pillars of Hercules, they say the climbs were made more exciting by the close passage of trains rolling by at speed.  The basalt concretions making up the columns are not as solid, however, as Rooster Rock.  Climbing basalt is never as sure a thing as on granite.  It can be unnerving to have a big handhold come off as you make a move – not only to the person grabbing the rock but for all below.

CLIMBING THE PILLARS

As described on the Summitpost.com website, there are three columns in question:  the main 120-foot tall column – Rooster Rock is 180 feet high in comparison; Pinochle Pinnacle is another tower attached to the main basalt cliffs a hundred yards to the east; Cigar Rock sits out closer to the freeway rising about 30 feet.  Cigar Rock used to jut out of the river while the river lapped along the bottom of the main column.  Climbs of the main column shown listed in the middle fifth class range – 5.4 to 5.8 – while Pinochle Pinnacle offers a 5.5 route.

ACCESS IS ONLY FOR THE low key

Access is the main difficulty in visiting the Pillars of Hercules.  One can walk the tracks west from the former town site of Bridal Veil – used as a parking lot in the summer for a visitor’s shuttle bus service running along the old highway.  One can also thrash their way down from the State Park above or take the Bridal Veil Falls trail down to the bridge and turn left instead of right. Go around a gate and make your way to the rail tracks. Turn left – west – taking extreme care for trains.  Probably all routes are frowned upon by someone, hence no more Mazama outings to the Pillars of Hercules.

Cigar Rock sticks up from the grass between the freeway and the railroad with the Pillars sticking up beyond. Walking into the old gap between the Pillars is probably best done in winter or early spring when the blackberry vines are at their least problematic. Making your way through the vegetation in the old gap and looking up at the Pillars is an amazing sight. The noise from the freeway is loud, though not as bad as when a train goes past.

Amidst the pillars

Standing in the middle of the Needles looking up at the main column had me wishing I had brought some climbing gear – and a partner – along. The climb and rappel look fun – similar to Rooster Rock. Low to middle fifth class climbing exhilarates while educating. The same easy climbing takes on a different perspective when instead of 120 feet below you have a 3–4000-foot drop. Then, while the climbing is just as easy, the risks become much more in your face.