Wahkeena Trail #420Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
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This hike is well described in Craig Romano's book, "Day Hiking Columbia River Gorge". This hike is a 5.4 mile...
This hike is well described in Craig Romano's book, "Day Hiking Columbia River Gorge". This hike is a 5.4 mile loop with an elevation gain of 1550 ft. We began our hike at the Multnomah Falls TH and hiked clockwise as described in the book. There were hoards of tourists as usual on the first .25 miles to the Benson Bridge between the 2 tiers of the falls. From here the crowds thinned a bit as the paved trail uses 11 signed switchbacks to climb to the top of Multnomah Falls. A .1 mile spur trail leads you to a viewing platform at the top of the falls. From here on the trail becomes dirt and follows Multnomah Creek and climbs through a beautiful gorge where parts of the trail have been blasted through basalt walls. 50 ft Weisendanger Falls and 55 ft Ecola or Hidden Falls are soon seen. At 1.5 miles we turned right on the Wahkeena Trail climbing through a beautiful forest to the 1525 highpoint of the trail and a junction with the Angels Rest Trail. We continued straight until we heard the water of Wahkeena Spring at 3.1 miles. Here we took a short side trip on a trail which passes the spring. Here we saw several wild ginger plants. Back on the main trail we soon came to beautiful Fairy Falls. We continued on to the paved Wahkeena Falls Trai returning to Multnomah Falls via the signed "Return Trail". This is a very beautiful loop hike.
Day hike
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A friend of mine was visiting for spring break and since I was trying to convince her to move back...
A friend of mine was visiting for spring break and since I was trying to convince her to move back to the Pacific Northwest, I took her hiking in the Gorge.
Following the good advice and description in 60 Hikes within 60 miles of Portland, I took her on the Wahkeena Trail #420 making a loop starting at the base of Multnomah Falls and going counterclockwise. This is an outstanding hike that visits four waterfalls, lush Douglas-fir forests and includes some great Gorge views. The hike is about 5.2 miles - round trip, and took us about 2 hours and 45 min. The trail is in good shape except for a few muddy spots and ONE REALLY muddy spot where the bank has sloughed into the tread. It will swallow your sneakers. There was one creek crossing where we had to step on slippery logs and rocks to get across. The beginning and end of the hike is on a paved trail. The weather was misty and rainy at times, but not windy. Much of the hike is sheltered in steep walled Gorges so I wonder if it stays protected from high winds. There were a sections with steep drop offs and a slip into the creek could lead to a fatal case of hypothermia. I'm a trailwork junkie so the stonework and sections of tread cut out of sheer rock walls where an added bonus on this hike. A chocoloate chip chookie and Americano from the coffee stand at the Multnomah Falls Visitor Center really hit the spot after the hike. |
Misty old growth. Photo by Ryan Ojerio.
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