Some of my favorite hikes in the Pacific North West in Oregon and Washington overlook the Columbia Gorge. Depending on where I am, the view is different but still incredibly beautiful. I went on two hikes last Spring that were on either side of the Gorge, and lucky for me, both times I went the weather was clear and sunny! I'm so blessed to live in such beautiful part of the world, and have so many amazing hikes so close to home! These first two photos are from the Oregon side and the bottom one is from a viewpoint from a hike in Washington. I can't remember the names of the hikes off the top of my head, but there's so many similar ones along the Gorge that are great!
After coming back from Hawaii, I wanted to do some hiking of my own around Portland. One of my favorite hikes was Silver Star Mountain. It was very steep and along the edge of a cliff for a lot of the way up, but when you got to the top, the main appeal was the 360 degree view of mountains. Although the day we chose to go we couldn't see all the mountains that are sometimes visible, it was still incredible, and because it was on the edge of a cliff, the whole way up was beautiful as well.
What sparked my interest in hiking last year was when I went on a truly amazing hike in Kauai, Hawaii with my family. It was unlike any of the hikes I had ever been on mostly because the scenery was so vastly different than in the Pacific North West. Throughout most of the hike, you could sea the water, and it actually went for many miles and was a popular spot to backpack into, but we just chose to go to the beach that was a couple miles in.
One of the first hikes I went on after returning to Portland was a short portion of the Wildwood trail starting at Pittock Mansion and ending at "The Witches House". Even though this was technically part of the Wildwood trail, it was before we started our goal of hiking the whole thing, so we couldn't include it in our plan (it's close to being right in the middle). Also, the weather was somewhat rainy and not the best day for a hike, but the fog in the trees made it beautiful.
A few weeks ago, me and my friend decided to challenge ourselves and hike Dog Mountain. Known for being a very steep climb all the way to the top we sort of knew what to expect but it was a little more intense than we had planned. When we made it to the last .1 mile it was so foggy we could only see the view for a few seconds at a time when there was a short break in the passing clouds. The wind was freezing cold and it felt like we might get blown off the narrow trail at any time. When we actually did make it to the top it was raining and there was a huddle of people staring under a few trees eating their lunches. We're planning on going back at some point when the weather clears up a bit and the top will actually be satisfying to get to, because soon all kinds of wildflowers grow up there and when it's a nice day the view of the Columbia Gorge is hard to beat, but despite the conditions, it was satisfying to know we had made it to the top.
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AuthorLulu. I like crime shows, cooking, and photography. From Oregon. Currently living in London. Archives
April 2015
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