Training Hike: Hamilton Mountain

On February 25, I went on my first of many "training" hikes in the Columbia river gorge. I had just finished a fun day accompanying 7 High School students at the local Solo and Ensemble contest. The sun was out and it was only about 3:00 pm. I started up the gorge and stopped at Beacon Rock but found it was closed.

No Beacon Rock hike for me

It was about 4:00 at this point and I didn't want to drive anywhere else so I hiked across the highway to the Hamilton mountain trail head. It is a great hike and just about 9.5 miles long. Click here for more info on that trail. Now is the part where I will give a short disclaimer: What I chose to do next was pretty dumb. I mean, I did bring a headlamp and food and water and I knew the topography from hiking this a few times before but it is rarely a good idea to hike in the dark. So what did I choose to do? I decided to hike the entire loop as fast as possible! It was a training hike, wasn't it?

Building at the trail head

I left the trail head at about 4:15, having hiked about a quarter mile up from the highway to get there. I knew I would likely arrive back after dark and didn't want my car to be locked behind the park gate at dusk.

Hamilton Mountain, here I come!

There were patches of snow all over the place, occasionally on the trail as well. I booked it up to Hardy falls in about 15 minutes due to how level the terrain was. The falls was gigantic compared to other times of year and I could see it well since there were no leaves in the trees.

Snowy trail

As I crossed the bridge below the pool of the winds, I ran into a group of people who said the trail ahead was muddy and difficult. I hiked on knowing I could always turn around if I thought the trail was too rough.

Hardy Falls

I immediately ran into the biggest obstacle on my hike, a big tree that had blocked the trail pretty well. But I felt confident and climbed around it without even slipping!

Hmmm...

How'd that get there?

View to the south

I love the Hamilton mountain hike because of the great views!  About half of the way up the mountain there is a grassy bluff above the trees with a great 180-degree view of the gorge. I stood there and took in the evening light at about 5:00. Sunset was just beginning and I got to watch it progress as I hiked the rest of the way to the peak of the mountain.

Hamilton mountain

Beautiful sunset

As I approached the peak, the snow became more substantial. Soon I was scrambling up a solid snowy bank following footprints left by earlier hikers.

More snow

Sunset from the peak

I stopped at the peak of the mountain to take in an amazing panoramic view! Usually I can't see much from the top of the mountain due to the trees but they had no leaves and I was standing on a solid 3 feet of snow at this point. So I could see forever in all directions. It was almost 6:00 at this point and I made another questionable decision: Continue to follow the trail around the loop.

Table mountain and the gorge

Before I got to the peak of Mount Hamilton, I had decided that I would follow the trail if I saw substantial footprints in the snow. I did not want to lose my way! I assumed that the snow would quickly disappear as I lost altitude and that the trail (really an access road) would be much easier is I continued.

That's my ridge walk

What followed was a twilight ridge-walk on 3 feet of snow. I was simultaneously stunned by the beauty of the landscape and frightened to still be so high and exposed as darkness began to gather. I hiked as quickly as possible to make it down to the access road and off the snowy ridge before the light made it hard to see good footholds.

Table mountain and the PCT...

I eventually made it down to the saddle behind Hamilton mountain where the road walking begins. But I found that the road was on a very shaded part of the ridge and had a solid foot of snow on it. Also, there were many downed trees trying to trip me up. Still, I jogged long sections of this road to get down below the snowline before it got really dark.

On the road again...

At about 6:20 I arrived at a fork 4 miles from the trail head. The remaining trail was well graded but there were many sections in which a steep bank of snow stretched across it, making the hiking less than ideal. There were also many downed trees. But I watched my step and worked my way down to the trail head and then the car by 7!
 

That bridge is BURIED!

I had hiked about 10 miles in 3 hours... not my goal on the PCT but not bad for my first training hike on a snow-covered trail and in the dark! One voice in my head screams that this was a stupid idea but another voice argues that I would never have seen that beautiful sunset without a little risk! I refuse to take sides. They are both fair arguments!