Beacon Rock State Park - Hamilton Mountain — Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016

Southwest Washington > Columbia River Gorge - WA

The short trail up to the Pool of the Winds has fallen trees on it and broken railings, but it is passable. I took the Hamilton Mountain trail (More Difficult) to the summit. The trail has running water over it in a few sections towards the summit, so be careful of slipping on the rocks. There is about 4 inches of compacted slushy snow on the trail from the summit to the Saddle, making the trail pretty slippery. Good shoes with traction are required, but microspikes aren't necessary. This portion of the trail also has some fallen branches and large bushes that make the trek slow going. I then took the Equestrian trail down to Hardy Creek trail. There are several portions of the trail with fallen trees, but they are easy to step over or duck under. There is one section, however, that has multiple fallen trees and is difficult to cross (picture below). Both my dog and I had trouble weaving through the branches, but it is doable (and sort of fun).