5 Cascade Mountains and Some Falls

Thursday we ventured into Oregon City, a suburb of Portland, that was the end of the road for the emigrants who followed the Oregon Trail from Missouri back in the 1840s to 1880s.  We stopped at the End Of The Trail Museum and toured it, I guess we have learned all there was to learn so we did not stay long.  Drove into town and saw the Willamette Falls which played an important role in the establishment of Oregon.  Oregon City was the first territorial center, founded by John McLoughlin, a Canadian born factor who was head of the Hudson Bay Company, a fur trapping business out of Canada.  McLoughlin is considered the Father of Oregon.  He was originally at Fort Vancouver which is on the Columbia River just north of Portland.  He left that post and came to Oregon City where he platted the town and established a brisk trade with those emigrants coming into the Oregon Territory. Lost all my pictures of the falls and the museum - sorry. Will be visiting Fort Vancouver and will hopefully get some pictures.

Larch Mountain, Vista House, 2 of the falls we saw, but more to do

Yesterday we did the 'falls tour' but first went to see the Vista House, a large structure we can see as we drive along Interstate 84 back and forth between Portland and Cascade Locks. Pretty impressive.  Built in 1915, a testament to the beauty of the Columbia River.  Gorgeous views of the river and beyond.

Looking east into the Columbia River Gorge - barely see Bonneville Dam

Tide out - see the sand bars? I-84 below us.

Looking west toward Portland 

After leaving the Vista House we drove up to Larch Mountain, located about 14 miles south of the Columbia River and did a quick hike, Sherrard Point, at elevation 4,037 feet, which brings you to a spectacular view of the Cascade Mountains.  Five mountains are seen from this viewing platform -  Mt. Hood which is the closest at 22 miles to the east; Mt. Rainier (in Washington) at 97 miles away and the tallest of the 5 at 14,410 feet; Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams to the north and in Washington - Mt. St. Helens at the smallest at 8.366 feet; and Mt. Jefferson to the south in central Oregon.   On top of the ledge where we viewed the mountains were 2 short-wave radio operators scanning the skies.

In distance to right is Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier in clouds in middle

Mt. Hood

Closeup of Mt. Rainier

Little platform, about 30 folks could be up there

Back down Larch Mountain and on to see falls.  Traveled along the historic Route 30 and made our first stop at Latourell Falls.  Lots and lots of people, but was able to get a parking spot.  Walked down to the bottom of the falls, snapped some pics, and off to the next falls, Bridal Veil.  That one was very pretty.  Had to do a switchback dirt trail but was worth the jog down.  Of course if you go down you must come up.  Phew! Both falls are spring fed, not glacier, so they never dry up.

Latourell Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Continued on our way to the next falls, Multnomah, but got stopped in traffic about 1/2 mile from parking log.  Cars parked everywhere, cars being towed due to being illegally parked, so once we got past the jam, we decided to come back another day to finish with a couple more falls.  Hopefully.

Trillium Lake and Mt. Hood

We drove east to Hood River, a cutesy little town on the Columbia River, and took Route 35 south out of town, heading towards some sites of the Oregon Trail.  Where I thought the Barlow Road Tollgate was - wasn't there.  Did find a US Forest Service and stopped to talk about sights to see and where the Tollgate was located.  Got the info and continued on.  Started the climb up in elevation towards Mt. Hood and saw the cutoff for the Barlow Road.  Right before it we passed over White River - no water but a river of rock.  Impressive.

Came up out of the Columbia River area  and - bam!

How did the emigrants survive the trip?

White River - white rocks, not water

Barlow Road was cut out through the woods

And this Barlow guy charged $5 for passage - lots of money back then!

Did not see any trail ruts - but gets sooo much snow here, not surprised

Took the Pioneer Woman Grave Trail road back into the woods where the Barlow Road is located.  This was a short cut for the Emigrants who did not want to travel the rest of the way via the Columbia River.  Lots of drownings occurred. Instead, they took this cut off which was hacked through the woods. We found the marker for the Barlow Road, never found the grave.  However, did walk a tidge on the Pacific Crest Trail, saw a recent camp sight for hikers along the trail, saw one of their places to get water (not fresh - would have to treat it with chemicals), and saw a lovely view of Mt. Hood.

Pacific Crest Trail passes right by Barlow Road

Impressive view from the Barlow Road crossing

Better treat the water, hikers!

Water station along the PCT

The Ranger told us of a nice easy hike at Trillium Lake, just south of Mt. Hood. We decided to make that our day hike, found the road into Trillium Lake, and changed into walking boots, and off we went.  Pretty hike, lots of people enjoying the lake as well as camping right along it.  Kayaks, canoes, wind surfers, swimmers, paddle boarders, looked like fun.  Finished the hike and continued driving along and decided to go to the Timberline Lodge.

Our 2 mile hike yesterday

Lots of people enjoying the water

Remember this photo - will zoom in later in blog

Passed this hammock - someone inside it reading

Reminded me of days long ago, windsurfing on Pymatuning Lake

Our lunch spot along the trail, on east side of trail

Almost made it around - on the west side of the lake

This is the lodge that was featured in the movie "Shining" which starred Jack Nicholson.  The lodge is now a national historical landmark, it's beautiful, huge, and very populated.  Open all year, they offer mountain climbing (Mt. Hood is the second most mountain climbed in the world - the first being Mt. Fuji), backpacking, hiking, and of course all the winter sports you can imagine.  Built by the CCC during the Depression, President Roosevelt came to dedicate it in 1937.  We talked with a staff person who said that there was some skiing done today, not the best conditions.  But, come mid November - big time visitors.

Beware of those 'artillery' attacks!

First bullet - "there is no guarantee you will be rescued."

I think you can find your ski trail - lots to choose from

Timberline Lodge - movie, "Shining" filmed around here

Walking along Trillium Lake, did not know we were looking at the Lodge.
Zoomed  in - right above the words - 'we were' -  at tree line.

Hand crafted wood panels

Many stained glass panels through out

Tile work

Lobby was impressive - hand made furniture, stonework, woodwork

Front door

We also found out that tomorrow, the 26th, there will be 12,500 runners that will partake in the Hood to Coast marathon, consisting of 8 to 12 members on each team, doing relays of about 9 miles each relay, for a total of 98 miles, over a 2 day period (yep, they run at night too).  It starts at the Lodge and ends at Seaside, a town on the Oregon coast.  Yikes - we are glad we saw the Lodge prior to the crunch of the runners!

Standing outside looking south, we could see Mt. Jefferson, the second tallest mountain in Oregon, and a peak at the Three Sisters Mountains that lay just south of Mt. Jefferson.  Did not want to hike at all at the Lodge (we were at 7000 feet and felt the effects), and it was late in the day, so we drove back the way we came.  Once we passed out of the range of Mt. Hood, we could see Mt. St. Helens to the north.  Did not get a good picture of that mountain - got plenty of time to do that another day.

Mt. Jefferson as seen from front door, looking south

Lodge sits right at base of mountain