Another absolutely beautiful day which we don’t want to waste and we’re off - for a new hike, a popular one but it’s a Monday and we don’t expect so many here. We emptied our car of anything valuable because we heard that there were lots of break-ins at this trailhead since it’s close to the interstate. We were also cautioned to leave the car unlocked, the glove compartment open and the way-back also uncovered. We did lock the car and did not leave the glove compartment open. In the end, we had no trouble and didn’t hear of anyone else who did - today.
Great view of Mt Hood on the way.
The trail was 3 people wide, especially in the beginning since it was so popular but it narrowed as it wound further into the forest. It was lined with trees, ferns and bushes all wet with dew and glistening in the sunlight. Eagle Creek rushed over rocks and fallen branches as it careened down the canyon. Cool trail, no wonder it is so popular.
We walked along the narrow ledge covered with slippery mud from the water seeping out of the cliff above. Luckily there was a cable alongside the cliff for us to hang on to. We were here on a weekday and there was little competition for the use of this cable. We could walk along the inside edge of the ledge holding onto the cable if we wished with no problem. Imagine a sunny weekend with dozens of hikers meeting on the ledge all wanting the inside track where the cable was. No one wanting to walk along the outside of the ledge where there was a 10’ drop followed by a 40’ drop. Here I am carefully finding safe footing amidst the mud and the rocks. Where’s that cable? They promised a cable. Yeah and the tooth fairy comes in the evening.
But the importance of being careful is paramount here because people have fallen to their death on the trail here. On a really sad note, the same day that we were hiking here, about 10 miles away a 37-yr old woman fell 70’ to her death trying to save her young son who had slipped on some rocks on the edge of a cliff. Both she and her son fell but her son survived the fall.
Trails can be mighty dangerous and both Gary and I are quite aware of that. It’s not a walk in the park and we are never complacent. We watch our footing, sometimes at the expense of watching the beauty around us. (Well, maybe I don’t always watch my footing as I should - there was that stepping off the dock incident in Sausalito a few months ago.)
Beautiful hike surrounded by tall trees with the sun filtering through the branches.
This hike has some nice stream crossing. But, we’re not going to take this one. A huge tree had fallen into it and the rangers hadn’t gotten out here to repair the damage. But, hey, someone had found a work-around to the left and we bounced over some boulders in the stream, a log that spanned a rock to the other side and we were there.
Some of the trees were tall. Witness this one which fell down. This tree extends from the upper left corner to the lower right corner and that’s not the half of it. The other half is on the other side of the trail.
There are two major waterfalls on this hike. Here is the first.
The second takes a bit of hiking to find. We missed it on our first time. through and had to circle back. But, we enjoyed the trail so much that we didn’t mind.
This one, called the Punch Bowl, was harder to see. I had to get out on the furthest rock towards the middle, balance there and shoot through this crevice in the wall. Gary, waded out as far as he could without getting his shorts wet and peered around. I read that sometimes people swim in the punchbowl right under the falls, but this is very early May and NO ONE wanted to be in that water very long. Did Gary lose feeling below his ankles? Almost.
Cute scene here as a mother helps her little hiker walk on the rocks. He loved it and will be a real hiker as he grows up.
Then it was back to the car.
At the car, I was taking off my hiking boots and realized that my little fitness gadget had fallen off somewhere on the trail. Oops. Am I going to go back to find it? Not a chance. It could be 4 miles in. Shucks.
Cool hike, no wonder it’s so popular. We’ll start earlier and go further next time.
Oh, yeah, the canopy shot. Is this cool or what?
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