We do have our favorite hikes. And we have our favorite training hikes. A training hike is not always our favorite, maybe because of the effort needed to complete. Maybe the training hike has no real wow factor, just a lot of sweat and strain. In recent years, one of my first major hikes of the season has centered on the Wahkeena Basin and Devil’s View high above.
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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.
Continue readingShowing 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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