Nobody wants to drive four and a half hours to hike a two mile trail, no matter how cool it is. This is why I had to research what other good hikes there are at the Columbia River Gorge, because Beacon Rock was just not going to be enough. (our previous day's hike, and the post before this one) There are no shortage of options for sure, but according to most "Eagle Creek Trail" is the place to go.
Almost there! |
The Gorge Trail went right behind our campsite. It wasn't quite as picturesque, unless you are into the concentration camp look. |
Well, darn...there goes that idea. |
A great place to camp...just be prepared to listen to the hwy and train all night. |
One of our favorites. Awesome rock bench, right? |
Do you see little me? |
The tunnel behind the falls |
I'm not going to go into all my mind games. I'll just say that after hiking for 45 minutes and not finding Debbie, I had decided the only answer was she fell off a cliff. You can laugh, and I understand...but look at this picture of her taking a selfie and tell me I was being unreasonable.
I had just caught up to a couple of guys and was asking them to quickly run ahead and call 911 (I recall the phrase "you need to calm down" coming up) when I realized Debbie was just ahead waiting for me. "I've been sitting here a half an hour!" she tells me with exasperation. I wanted to strangle her and hug her at the same time. I didn't scream, "What the hell were you thinking!" like I did to my kid on the Boulder River hike, but I did let her know how very confused I was that she would be so far down the trail. "No...I said I would go ahead UNTIL I needed to stop" she argued. Communication is a bitch. But she was alive; and I was really, REALLY glad about that.
Debbie tempting fate again. Okay, I made her pose. |
Holy drippyness! This is a very moist hike even on a nice day |
#34) Car camping can be a GREAT option. Don't feel you need to backpack if you don't have to.
#35) Even though everyone knows you shouldn't separate, the fact is sometimes you will. (poor Debbie says it actually hurts her legs to go as slow as me!) Just make sure you have a very clear understanding of where you will meet, or how often the faster hiker will stop to wait, and how long they will wait before they come looking for you.
#36) If you are using a "You Go Girl" to pee (I finally bought a new one; this one's pink!) you need to take wind direction into consideration. (I'm sure any boy would say "duh!", but this education is new to us girls)
And lastly, not really a hiking lesson, but very important nonetheless:
#37) Don't wait until you think someone is dead before you appreciate just how much you love them.
I enjoyed reading this trip report.
ReplyDeleteI can't figure out how to sign in ... but it's me... Denise Mullen. Just wanted to thank you for this great blog. Loved the Tunnel Falls and Beacon Rock posts... they are now on my "list".
ReplyDeleteYou have to go back; you didn't make it to Twister Falls (and it was only another 1/2 mile or so beyond Tunnel Falls). I backpacked this and camped at Blue Grouse about 5.5 miles in, then day hiked the rest of the way. The trip out in the morning was super speedy and we didn't pass many people coming in, so don't discount the idea of backpacking this.
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