A week near Mt. Hood, Oregon--Part 1 (fall, 2015)

From September 25 to October 2, 2015, three friends (N, MM, MS) and I spent a week in the Mt. Hood area of Oregon, based at the Whispering Winds Resort.  

The first day we stopped at the Wahkeena and Multnomah waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge.

N and I walked up a short zig zag path to get closer to the lower falls.  It was a beautiful sight.

http://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Wahkeena_Falls_Hike

Lower Part of Wahkeena Falls

Bottom of Wahkeena Falls

Then we drove down the road a bit to Multnomah Falls, the tallest falls in the state of Oregon.
This falls has two parts, the upper of 542' and the lower of 69'.  We walked up a short path toward the lower falls.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multnomah_Falls

A  photo from the early 1900s with the lodge 

In Sept of 1995, a 400 ton boulder fell from above the bridge 225 feet, creating a splash 70' long, dampening a wedding party below and injuring 20 members of the wedding posing for pictures.

The boulder resting at the base of the falls today

Multnomah lodge, restaurant, and git shop, to the right of the falls

The next day, we went for a short walk and saw some pretty trees on the resort grounds.

All the trails run by the Oregon parks department are numbered and for the most part well labeled.  The Forest Service has maps of the different trails and how to get to them.  We found most very useful. We stopped at the Forest Service office down the road in the town of Zig Zag.  It is open daily from about 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Our first walk was to Trillium Lake, man made by the power company PGE years ago as part of the creation of a hydro electric dam for power. It was about a 20-minute drive from where we were staying.   The flat walk around the lake was about 2 miles and from the southern point of the lake, we had a wonderful view of Mt. Hood.

Our first view of the mountain, when it was partly covered in clouds

Mt Hood, with its reflection in the lake

Foliage around the lake

Small trillium plant, for which the lake is named.  It has white flowers earlier in the year.

Leaves by lake, close up

It was a short walk to the Falls, about 1/4 mile each way. We walked, in part, through an old growth forest, dense and dark.

Zig Zag Creek

Tree Roots

Walking under a fallen tree

ZigZag Falls

        We then drove to Government Camp, an unincorporated town and the only one within 5 miles of Mt. Hood.  There is a ski slope at the site and hotels and other amenities for tourists.       

Government Camp Visitors' Center and Museum

 We chatted with a nice woman at the center and tried to return two other days but it was closed.  We had heard of an Indian celebration in that area (the 5th annual one of the Confederated Tribes of Warms Springs).  It was quite windy and cold, although warm enough if we stood in the sunlight.  Unfortunately, not many people attended. We saw young children do traditional dances, heard a woman in her late 70s tell of her efforts to keep her native language alive.  At this time, there are only 19 others she can talk with.  We saw some native crafts people selling their art, and bought a meal of smoked salmon.

A beaded vest

Salmon smoking

    The next day we went on a hike on the lower Old Salmon River trail, #742 A.   Three of us went RT, about 5 miles in all.

  

                 The trail wove between the river and the road, which was not heavily trafficked.  It had a number of old growth trees--cedar and fir, I believe.  At times the sun peaked through but the growth was quite dense in this rather narrow area.  We heard the river as we walked along it, saw a few campsites (mostly empty) and had a lovely walk.

Near the start of the path

Along the way, the path joined the road for a few yards before returning to the mini-forest.  At one such intersection (of three, I believe), there was a nice compostable bathroom and a climbing wall.

Man climbing up the wall

A view of the river from the path

Mushrooms growing on the trunk of a tree

N standing by an old growth cedar 

Moss growing on a cedar tree

a bridge along the way

We really enjoyed this hike.  There was little elevation but the old growth trees, the canopy above, and the river so close by were thrilling.

After our hike, we went back to our home to change clothes, rest a bit and then went to Wraptitude to get delicious take-out wraps to carry to the 6,000 foot high lodge at Mt. Hood to watch the lunar eclipse.

Sunset over Mt. Jefferson and the Three sisters to the left in the background.

Sunset to the West

First view of the eclipse

The apex was at about 7:50 and by 8:10 we decided to head back down the mountain.

It was really exciting to see the eclipse from such a high area.  

The next day we were a bit tired, but headed out to hike along Still Creek.  We found the campsite entrance but took quite a while to find the trail entry.  Finally, some friendly campers pointed us in the right direction toward the bridge which was near the start of the trail.

Yay!  We found the bridge!

V for victory!

View of the creek from the bridge

We soon headed away from the creek and into the forest.

a dead tree, possibly haven been hit by lightnihg

We saw many nurse trees along the way.  This one looked like a bonsai was growing from it.

Farther on the path narrowed and was with drop-offs to the side.  We stopped along the way to eat our sandwiches and continued on.     I was fascinated by the colors of the decaying cedar along the way.

When the narrow path headed down steeply, I turned around and two went on.  It was good to have completed the hike, but also nice to head back. 

Two of our group went in the hot tub to rest and relax.  I went back to rest and relax, waiting for the next day (purportedly warmer) to use the pool and hot tub.