Jean and I drove along the Historic Columbia River Highway to
Wahkeena Falls, about a half hour's drive east of Portland, Oregon.
The small lot, holding about 20 cars, was almost full. There's
a picnic area on the other side of the road with restroom facilities
and lots of pamphlets with useful info about the gorge area.
Wahkeena Falls from the trailhead
Wahkeena Falls is practically right next to the roadside, tumbling
over 200 feet, though not in one fell swoop. Near the bottom the
water meanders left and right before being directed underneath
the roadway. Tree partially block a complete view of the falls.
Wahkeena Falls as seen from the bridge
The trail starts off to the right and begins climbing immediately.
It's a paved trail which switchbacks up and around to a foot bridge
over the falls. From here, there's an up-close and personal view
of the main portion of the falls above the bridge, and yes, you
will get wet. At least in the spring, when flow is near its peak.
There's a bench near the bridge, but I'm not sure why it's placed
there, since you can't get a good look at the falls from the bench.
Shortly after the bench we found the intersection with the Perdition
Trail, which leads off to the left. We'd planned to come back
via the Perdition, but unfortunately it was closed du to hazardous
conditions. We'd have to either make it an out-and-back or make
it a longer loop, going all the way down to Multnomah Falls. We'd
decide later.
Jean heading up the switchbacks
The trail continues past the bridge and begins another series
of switchbacks, this one with walls made of placed rocks. At some
point here the pavement ends and the real trail begins. I was
surprised to see so many families with children coming down at
this point -- I was surprised they'd made it up this far (it's
a reasonably hard climb).
View from Lemmon's Viewpoint
The switchbacks bring the trail up to Lemmon's Viewpoint. From
here, we could look north across the Columbia River. After enjoying
the view we turned around and continued up the trail into the
lush green forest. This is the best part of the trail. It follows
the creek which feeds Wahkeena Falls. Around each corner of the
trail is another little waterfall, a cascade, and all the while
it's like walking in a lush rain forest.
Jean at Lemmon's Viewpoint
Trail leading from Lemmon's Viewpoint
The main waterfall on this section of trail is Fairy Falls, which
tumbles perhaps a modest 30 feet. There's another bench here where
you can sit and enjoy the atmosphere. It's also much more peaceful
here, as most people apparently turn around at Lemmon's Viewpoint.
Still, we did run into hikers every few minutes.
Fairy Falls
Above the falls there's a spur trail toward Angel's Rest. We kept
on the main trail, which eventually crosses the creek, levels
off, and begins heading east. The scenery here changes, as we're
no longer engulfed in the forest. But there are still trees everywhere.
At the intersection with trails 419 and 420, concrete trail markers
lie flat on the ground. It took a bit of time to decipher them.
It helped when some hikers came from the opposite direction and
told us where they'd come from. It seemed we weren't all that
far from Multnomah Falls, so we decided we'd just make it a loop
hike.
Water clinging to a spiderweb next to the trail
We avoided the spur trail headed up toward Devil's Rest and continued
on the low road. It starts a gentle descent toward the creek which
feeds Multnomah Falls. We would not be disappointed when we reached
the creek. Compared to the creek which feeds Wahkeena, the Multnomah
feeder is huge. Instead of being directly next to the creek like
we were at Wahkeena, the trail here looms dozens of feet above
the water level. Massive signs of erosion are seen on both sides
of the creek, with sheer cliffs and broken, battered trees.
Jean on the trail
The air was moist and in places the earth above us dripped water
on us. We began to see more and more hikers as we descended toward
the falls. Along the way we were rewarded with numerous waterfalls,
each beautiful in its own right, and some of them very powerful,
as well.
One of several waterfalls along the trail
A closer look
After crossing another foot bridge the trail turns to pavement
again. We knew we were close to the end now. At this point, a
spur trail leads shortly to an overlook at the top of Multnomah
Falls. It consists of a circular wooden platform with railings,
but there's really not much to see. There's somewhat of a view
looking over the Columbia River (though not as good a view as
Lemmon's Viewpoint). And you can see the falls begin to tumble
over the cliff. But you can't see the whole thing. You aren't
missing anything if you skip this spur trail.
We then started the long descent on the paved switchbacks leading
to the Multnomah parking area. Here I wished I'd brought the rubber
tips for my trekking poles. The pavement was slippery and steep
and I slipped (though didn't fall) several times. I used one trekking
pole to help steady myself. I'm sure some people must fall on
this part of the trail, though.
The switchbacks arrive at Benson Bridge. The falls consist of
two parts -- a long drop into a pool, followed by a shorter but
wider drop to the the bottom. The bridge goes over the end of
the pool near the second drop. Here we saw the falls as tourist
trap, as we could see the huge parking lot and people gathered
around the bridge and the bottom of the falls. Multnomah Falls
is the 4th tallest waterfall in the United States, dropping some
620 feet over the two stages, and people flock to see it.
Multnomah Falls
After weaving through the sea of humanity, we went to the west
end of the parking lot and took the Return Trail back to our car
at Wahkeena Falls. It was much more peaceful here, and I actually
like Wahkeena Falls better. I was never very much for large falls
-- smaller ones have more character. The only large or powerful
waterfall I enjoyed was Mist Falls in Kings Canyon NP, because
we could stand practically next to the falls and be amazed at
its sheer power. Other powerful falls, you can't get close enough
to appreciate them. On this hike, though, you can get close to
a lot of beautiful small falls.
|