Cave B Trails — Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024

Ethan, Karen, & I drove over to Cave B/Sagecliff Resort by the Gorge Amphitheater to hike some trails I had heard about there.  We went down the Cave B Connector Trail to the South Babcock Bench Trail and turned right (north) to a junction with the Waterfall Loop Trail.  We turned right (east) on this trail and did the loop counterclockwise.  Just above the junction of the Loop Trail and the Babcock Bench (Ancient Lakes) Trail at the head of the coulee, we took a faint trail to the left (north) because just beyond the junction the Loop Trail is overgrown with blackberries and is impassable.  There is one 8' - 10' steep section where you need to use your hands to get down the the Loop Trail, but most anyone could do it.  From here we walked the Loop Trail down the coulee past Fitzpatrick Waterfall to the junction with the Columbia River Trail, turned right, and followed this trail down to the river where we found a nice spot for lunch.  There was an old Hudson and a washer & dryer here, the remains of a homestead flooded by Wanapum Dam.  It was cloudy when we started, as forecast, but as we were going down the coulee we started to get some sun and by the time we reached the river it had cleared off and was a beautiful, sunny day, though some clouds started drifting in about 1:30.  It was so pleasant we stayed our usual hour or so before heading back.  When we got to the junction of the Loop Trail and the Columbia River Trail, we continued on up the Columbia River Trail to compete the loop and then up the Cave B Connector and back to the cars.  We saw sign of deer & coyote, but didn't see any wildlife except for waterbirds on the river.  We did, however, hear a canyon wren and saw lots of Salt-&-Pepper Lomatium (gormani or piperii) in bloom.  It must be spring already!  We only saw 2 other hikers.