Columbia River Gorge

The Columbia River Gorge is saturated in beautiful greens, winding rivers and streams, and frequent glimpses of the surrounding mountains. Looking out from Sherrard Point in the Mount Hood National Forest, we can see Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson to the south, and Mount St Helens, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams to the north.

It feels like cheating to get such amazing views after a half mile hike, so we try to put a few miles in at Angels Rest, a 4.6 mile roundtrip hike through streams and wildflowers to a ridge overlooking the gorge.

We stop by Multnomah Falls on the way back to our campsite. It truly is a beautiful waterfall, but being surrounded by hundreds of noisy people eating ice cream cones and taking pictures doesn’t exactly enhance the experience for us.

The next morning is cool and foggy as we set out on the Eagle Creek trail. We hike past several waterfalls along the way, but the destination is Tunnel Falls, which we hike not just past, but behind. 

The sun is out by the time we start hiking the 6 miles back to the trailhead. The heat and the fact that we haven’t had showers in a few days is enough to lure us to jump into the icy cold creek alongside Lower Punchbowl Falls.