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| Starting point from 2015 |
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| Bridge of the Gods |
After trying to drive through Portland, Laura and I decided it made more sense for her to drop me of at the Columbia river. It was a nice sunny day in mid-July and the sudden change in plans left me feeling excited and jittery! We took a photo on the north side of the river and I walked across the bridge. Then we had a nice lunch overlooking the river and I was off toward Mount Hood!
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| Walking the bridge! |
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| Goodbye, Cascade Locks! |
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| I took the Gorge Trail |
I passed under I-84 and turned right, heading for the Eagle Creek Trailhead. I got a great view of Table Mountain, which I had hiked to the top of with my mother a few days earlier. I sent her a picture before heading down to the creek.
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| Trail started minimal |
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| Table Mountain to the North |
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| Trail became a bike path |
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| Eagle Creek! |
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| Trail winds along cliff faces |
The hike up Eagle creek was a hot one but there was cool water nearby! At lower punchbowl falls, I joined the hundred or so people at the swimming area... mostly high school kids daring each other to go all the way into the freezing cold water. I eventually went all the way in. It was really refreshing and it felt like warm needles across my entire body when I got out.
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| People at the swimming hole |
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| Lower punchbowl falls |
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| Bridge is out, people hiked around |
The hike along Eagle Creek is gorgeous! It is not really part of the original PCT but most people take this route because it is full of waterfalls and pretty scenery. When I was about 8 miles from the river, things started getting quieter. There were fewer day hikers and more weekend campers to meet on the trail.
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| Upper punchbowl falls? |
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| Welcome to the wilderness! Bury your poop! |
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| Cool cliff face! |
I passed tunnel falls around dinner time. The sun was getting pretty far west, which created a beautiful rainbow in the mist. I met my last hiking couple just past that falls where I stopped for a bite to eat. I was pushing hard to make miles and it was nice to rest a little.
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| Overgrown sign |
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| First view |
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| View from the side |
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| View from the other side |
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| Goodbye, tunnel falls! |
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| What a cool trail! |
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| Just above one last big waterfall |
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| Lunch spot |
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| Evening light in trees! |
After dinner, I hiked into the evening. There were no more waterfalls and the trail eventually turned east, away from the creek. There was some beautiful evening light to enjoy and a couple peeks out across the valley as I climbed, but I mostly saw trees at this point. It was starting to get a little late and I realized I had no map with campsites along this route... in fact, I had included my physical map of the area in the resupply box to the south, since I planned to use it while hiking north! I decided to start looking for a campsite at 7 and take whatever I got.
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| More evening light |
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| Gorgeous view |
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| Light through gathering clouds |
I finally camp upon a campsite closer to 8 pm, pretty late in the evening. It was starting to get dark and I set up camp quickly. I had hiked about 16 miles, a very high number for my late start and the continual ascent of the trail! I rested, feeling pretty great about my day and excited to see how hard I could push myself over the next week or two!
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| View of site from PCT |
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| Campsite |
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