Cherry Orchard

Oregon hiking guide author William L. Sullivan was in town for a week or so giving evening presentations. He was looking for something to do during the day so I organized a hike of the Cherry Orchard near Lyle, Washington. Bill Sullivan has it in his Eastern Oregon guidebook and it also is featured in "55 Hikes in Central Washington." Twenty people turned out to hike with a "celebrity."

This hiking area is unusual in that it is private land owned by the heirs of Nancy and Bruce Russell. Nancy Russell, founder of Friends of the Columbia Gorge, purchased several parcels to prevent development and welcomed hikers to use and enjoy the property. The trail leads to an old homestead with a remnant cherry orchard, hence the name. The Cherry Orchard property abuts Washington Department of Natural Resources land, so there is a vast stretch of woodlands and meadows open to the public for exploration.

From the parking area at a pullout on the shoulder of SR 14, we ascended the newly reconstructed trail and then took off cross-country up the side of the ridge above the "LYLE" sign. After several steep ascents, we gained the ridgetop. Clouds obscured the views of Mount Hood and Mount Adams and wind gusts up to 30 mph practically blew us off the ridge face. Once on top however, we headed east into parklike oak woodlands following the ridgetop. Eventually we encountered a jeep road and followed it up and down over several ridges until we reached the Cherry Orchard. The remnants of the trees were in bloom. We lunched in the orchard and then completed the loop by following the trail back to our starting point. The loop we took is about 6 miles and 1,800 feet elevation gain.

We did have to dodge poison oak, which is just now leafing out. It is very thick in some places, especially south facing slopes. One person found a tick on her clothing. It was not a Gorge Grand Slam, however, because we didn't see any rattlesnakes.