Frozen Waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge

Columbia River Gorge—Wahkeena Falls Trailhead, Multnomah Falls, Latourell Falls Trail.

God help me, I just can’t resist the temptation to be outside early on a weekend, especially when I know it’s going to be cold outside.  Call me a hedonist.  Running, hiking, walking around, anything.  Coffee reaches a religious level when you've been shivering in the great outdoors for a few hours.

So I hopped out of bed about 8 a.m., laced up my hiking shoes, grabbed a few extra supplies (spare gloves, socks, random towel), and headed for the Columbia River Gorge, located about 16 miles outside of Portland.

The goal was to hike Devil’s Rest via Wahkeena Falls, a 7.2 mile, 2,550’ elevation hike.  This would be my third attempt to tackle the Beast in two months.

Alas, Mother Nature had other plans. 

I started up the Wahkeena trailhead, but was met with thick sheets of ice on the trail less than a mile in.  Forget that noise.  But the sights were gorgeous.

Baby waterfall off the trail.

Frozen waterfalls--nature's chandelier

Since Devil’s Rest was out, it was time to scope out different hiking spots.  Before I set out to get lost in the woods, I wanted to pay homage to one of the most famous waterfalls in the state of Oregon: Multnomah Falls.  There’s a little hike you can do there, but since it’d a hiking straight up for about a mile in ice and snow, I decided that would be an adventure for another day.

Multnomah’s splendor did not disappoint.

This one was taken right outside my car.

God, I love Oregon.

Places like this actually exist.  Crazy.

I was there relatively early in the morning, so crowds were light.  I’m glad too.  I was able to wander around slack-jawed.  I couldn’t help it.  I was completely overwhelmed with everything I was seeing.  The crowds started picking up after hanging out for about half an hour or so, so I hopped in the car.  Time to find a hike.

The last stop on this icy retreat was Latourell Falls, which offers a 2+ mile hike for novice hikers.  This is my go-to hike and I’d highly recommend it to anyone hiking in the gorge for the first time.

The hike itself wasn’t nearly as impacted with ice and snow like Wahkeena was, but there were a few patches of ice covered in fallen pine needles and mud here and there. 

The hike itself was fantastic, as usual.  However, about a mile into the journey, I reached Upper Latourell Falls, only to find that the trail had been blocked by baseball-sized balls of ice, rocks, and a sizable sheet of ice.

Beautiful and stunning, yes.  Worth breaking a limb?  Nope.  But hey—I was proud for making it that far and getting to see all the gorge had to offer in early January.  I bid adieu to Upper Latourell Falls, turned around, and headed back.

The way back was just as lovely.  I even found myself humming the theme song to the Legend of Zelda.  I must have been really in the groove—I lost my footing on a patch of ice, saw my legs whip out in front of me, and landed on my ass with a solid UMPH.  As I got my bearings and stood up, I couldn’t help but giggle.  It was a pretty epic fall.  My butt and wrist felt bruised for maybe a minute. However, with the ground being muddy and slick right where I fell, I’ll give you one guess as to what my backside looked like to passersby.  

Thank God for the extra towel.

Overall, it was an amazing morning spent in the gorge.  No, I didn’t get to tackle the Devil (Devil’s Rest), but I headed towards Portland having paid respect to three ethereal locations in the Columbia River Gorge.  Not only that, but my lungs were full of crisp, clean air, my face was rosy from the cold bite in the air, and I had mud all over my butt.

Pretty damn awesome adventure, I’d say.

al

P.S. You can see more pictures of random stuff on my Instagram account.  You’ll find me under PickleandMerbles (all one word).