Climbing out of the fog in the Columbia Gorge

We've hiked the Columbia River Gorge many times, but until this month always on the Oregon side.

While in Portland, Ore., for a holiday visit in mid-December, we decided to spend a foggy day hiking to a couple of waterfalls in Beacon Rock State Park, on the Washington side. We didn't expect to find sun, but we did.

The trail to Hardy Falls, Rodney Falls and the Pool of Winds begins by climbing steadily northeast through the forest, the fog thick among the mossy limbs on the day we visited. After a little less than half a mile, it passes a clearing where another trail merges, then re-enters the forest and continues north.

The waterfall area begins at about one mile, where a side trail provides limited views of Hardy Falls spilling over a cliff and back into the forest. Here, we found mist clinging to spider webs as the sun began to burn through the fog.



A short distance back up the main trail, another side route climbs to a railed-off overlook where Hardy Creek carves through the rock into the Pool of Winds on one side and cascades over Rodney Falls and down a cliff on the other.



The main trail continues down a short distance, crossing a bridge over the creek, and back up into the forest again.

With the hike to this point only a little more than a mile, we decided to continue up the trail to Hamilton Mountain. At two miles, it passes a junction with a trail that continues above the creek.

Past this junction, the main trail steepens and begins swtichbacking northeast up to the first in a series of rocky cliffs that provide some of the nicest views of the hike. When we arrived, we found ourselves above an inversion and could see the ridge on the Oregon side, out the gorge to the east and west, and the top of Mount Hood to the south.



Past a saddle below the rock side of the mountain that overlooks the Bonneville Dam, the trail begins switchbacking steeply through the trees again. At four miles, it leaves the forest at the brushy, 2,455-foot summit of Hamilton Mountain. The view at the top is somewhat obscured by bushes, but Hood can be seen to the south, as well as Table Mountain and Mount Adams to the northeast.

From the top, a loop trail continues northwest then south, returning to the main route lower down along Hardy Creek and adding a little less than 1 1/2 miles to the out and back distance. We returned the way we came, however, then stopped at a viewing platform at Franz Lake National Wildlife Refuge on the drive home.



See more photos from Hamilton Mountain here.

Distance: 8 miles round trip.

Trailhead: Beacon Rock State Park is about 35 miles east of Vancouver, Wash., on Washington Highway 14. The trail begins at the lower picnic area.

Rain, and more rain

Last week, we spent most of our vacation in Olympic National Park in Washington, one of the wettest places in the continental United States - ideal for a spring vacation.

We went into the trip knowing we would probably see a lot of rain, and we were right. Our tent got soaked twice, and we were forced to bail out on camping and seek shelter in a cabin and with relatives. While camping was a bust, we still got out on foot in the Hoh Rain Forest, Sol Duc Valley and on the Pacific Coast. We did see some sun during our day at the beach, but a trip up Hurricane Ridge was pretty much a bust due to clouds.

See pictures from the entire trip here.

Hoh Rain Forest



This classic Olympic hike tracks through temperate rain forest along the Hoh River. On the way, see dense, mossy forest and wildflowers. We hiked a short section after setting up camp the evening we arrived. We cooked and ate under a tarp rigged to the side of our car, and awoke to a soaked tent.

Distance: 17.5 miles one way to Glacier Meadows. (We hiked about 3 miles round trip.)

Trailhead: The trail begins at the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center, 13 miles south of Forks, Wash., on U.S. Highway 101, then 16 miles east on Upper Hoh Road.

Sol Duc Valley



Our second and third nights in the park were spent in the Sol Duc Valley, first drying out in a cabin at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, then getting wet again in the campground. In between, we hiked the Lover's Lane Trail from the resort to Sol Duc Falls and back. More lush forest, cascading creeks and waterfalls.

Distance: 6 miles round trip.

Trailhead: The Lover's Lane Trail begins in the resort parking lot, 28 miles west of Port Angeles, Wash., on Highway 101 and 12 miles southeast on Sol Duc Hot Springs Road.

Rialto Beach



The first stop during our day at the coast was Rialto Beach, where we hiked north to sea stacks, Hole-in-the-Rock and beyond. Saw a lot of interesting polished rocks and driftwood, as well as a couple of small crabs.



Distance: 4 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Forks, travel 1 1/2 miles north on Highway 101, then turn west on Highway 110 and follow it about 7 3/4 miles to Mora Road. Take Mora about five miles to the Rialto Beach trailhead.

Third Beach and Taylor Point



With decent weather - hardly a drop of rain - and plenty of time, we opted for a second hike on our day at the coast. The trail begins in the forest before dropping to sandy Third Beach. A short distance down the beach, a second, muddy trail climbs up and over Taylor Point, dropping you at a bay filled with sea stacks.

Distance: 6 miles round trip.

Trailhead: From Forks, travel 1 1/2 miles north on Highway 101, then turn west on Highway 110 and follow it 12 miles to the trailhead, just before La Push.

Marymere Falls



We started the day by driving through heavy rain and fog to Cape Flattery, Wash. - the farthest northwest one can travel in the Lower 48 - and not walking to see the lighthouse there. When we returned to Lake Crescent, it was only sprinkling, so we took a short hike through the forest to Marymere Falls.

Distance: 1.8 miles round trip.

Trailhead: The trail begins at the Storm King Ranger Station, about 19 miles west of Port Angeles on Highway 101.

Alpine outing

A family gathering last weekend brought us to the Wenatchee, Wash., area, a place I haven't been to in years, and I was reminded there are mountains out there beyond the scablands.

Just northwest of Wenatchee is Leavenworth, which I remember as the Bavarian-style tourist town that it still appears to be. But since I last visited as a child, it has perhaps become better known as an outdoor recreation destination.

West of town are the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest and Alpine Lakes Wilderness. On a free morning, we took a drive along Icicle Creek and went on a short hike up the Fourth of July Trail to stretch our legs.



From the parking area, the trail switchbacks up the east side of the canyon. The wildflowers are plentiful this time of year, and once above the trees there are views of the still-snowy peaks, beckoning for another visit.

See a few more pictures here.

Distance: The Fourth of July Trail runs 5.3 miles one way before connecting with the Icicle Ridge Trail on the edge of the wilderness. We hiked only a couple of miles up and back.

Trailhead: 9.4 miles south and west of Leavenworth on Icicle Road.

Prairie plunge

More travel, more celebration and more sights to see. Our stop at Palouse Falls State Park was more of a quick detour on the way home from the Tri-Cities in Washington, where we spent the weekend marking my grandmother's 90th birthday.

About 35 miles off the highway between Richland and Ritzville, the Palouse River gouges a canyon through the surrounding prairie and drops about 180 feet into a basalt bowl. Listen carefully, and you can hear the low rumble of the tumbling water before you see the falls.

A few pictures are here.

Distance: Several short paths are beaten along the canyon rim.

Trailhead: From Connell, Wash., drive 24 miles east on Highway 260. Turn southeast on Highway 261 and drive 8 3/4 miles to Palouse Falls Road. Turn northeast and follow the gravel road two miles to the state park parking lot.

Mount St. Helens or bust

Seven months ago, Jen and I bought permits to hike up Mount St. Helens in southern Washington on Labor Day. Little did we know it would be raining all weekend. Fortunately, there were still permits available for the next day and the forecast was for clear skies.

After spending the long weekend waiting out the weather with relatives in Portland, Ore., we rose early on the morning of our hike and drove to Cougar, Wash., to pick up our permits and sign the register at the Lone Fir Resort. From there it was a quick drive to the trailhead at Climbers Bivouac.



The route up Mount St. Helens is fairly steep, ascending about 4,500 feet in five miles. The first two miles are on a shady trail that rises about 1,000 feet through the forest to timberline. Once out of the woods, the real work begins as the hike climbs 3,500 feet over three miles to the crater rim. The trail fades and becomes rough as you scramble Monitor Ridge's boulder fields, following wooden posts about two miles and 2,200 feet up. The final mile and 1,300 feet of elevation gain are through loose pumice, ash and, in our case, snow from the previous days' storms. The powder wasn't much of a problem - there was only a few inches and earlier hikers had pretty much cleared a path to the crater rim.



From the rim, you look about 2,000 feet down on the steaming lava dome. To the north are Spirit Lake and Mount Rainier. The peaks of North Cascades National Park stand to the northeast, Mount Adams to the east and Mount Hood to the south.

After spending about 45 minutes at the top snapping pictures and eating lunch, we made our way down. The descent went much quicker, as it was easier to navigate the boulders by looking down from above. After returning to Cougar to sign out, we sped back to Portland, arriving in time for dinner.

Permits are required year-round for hiking above 4,800 feet on Mount St. Helens; only 100 are issued each day from May 15 to Oct. 31. The Mount St. Helens Institute has more information, including the fee structure. Check permit availability here.

See pictures from our trip here and here.

Distance: About 10 miles round trip.

Trailhead: Climbers Bivouac is about 14 miles northeast of Cougar, Wash. Drive about 6 1/2 miles east of Cougar on Highway 503 and Forest Road 90. Turn northwest on Forest Road 83 and follow it about three miles to Forest Road 81. Turn northwest on FR81 and drive two miles. Turn northeast on Forest Road 830 and continue 2 1/2 miles to the trailhead. All but the final 2 1/2 miles are paved.

St. Helens, here we come

Last week, we secured permits to "climb" Mount St. Helens in Washington state in September - now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate.

I made this ascent in the snow as a teenager with the Boy Scouts about 20 years ago, and am looking forward to sharing it with Jen this time around.

I'm a little reluctant to call this a "climb" because it's a non-technical, five-mile hike that gains 4,500 feet. Sure, that's up, but it's very similar to several hikes we've done around home and elsewhere in recent years, only lower (it tops out at 8,365 feet).

And for any of you worried about this being an active volcano, the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey say the lava dome-building eruptions that began in the fall of 2004 have ended and the alert level has been lowered to normal. And, if the rumbling begins anew, the agencies will close the mountain to climbers.

Find out more about St. Helens here.