June 19, 2014 - Columbia River Gorge Biennial Classic - Wahclella Falls

Here we are in Oregon for the Columbia River Gorge Biennial Classic.

After about a 40 minute drive from East Portland, we arrived in Cascade Locks. It was a beautiful drive along the Columbia River. Or should I say "gorge-ous"? We found our way to Marine Park, the headquarters for the 13 walks and 1 bike ride that make up the CRGBC.

Marine Park lies right next to the Columbia River. There is a beautiful statue of Sacagawea in the park. She joined Lewis and Clark's expedition when her son was 2 months old. She was "married" to a French trapper and was probably about 17 years old at the time of the expedition. She served as an interpreter, having grown up among the Shoshone until about being kidnapped by Hidatsa when she was about 12. Her presence let the locals know that Lewis and Clark's expedition was peaceful and friendly.

Sacagawea and Meriwether Lewis' Newfoundland dog

The registration for the walks was well-organized. They even had a greeter. In addition to registration, there were some tables where you could buy merchandise and pick up leaflets for upcoming walks.

Today we opted to join the guided 10k walk to Wahclella Falls. There were about 45 people in the group. First we had to drive about 5 miles to the Eagle Creek Campground. From that point we had a good view of the Bonneville Dam, the locks, and the old and new powerhouse.

The Bonneville Dam

The Bonneville Lock

The new powerhouse

Wikipedia tells us about the early days of the dam (with some editing by me): 

"The folk song, Roll On, Columbia, Roll On, was part of the Columbia River Ballads, a set of twenty-six songs written by Woody Guthrie as part of a commission by the Bonneville Power Administration, the federal agency created to sell and distribute power from the river's federal hydroelectric facilities. At the time, the agency was facing a controversy because several counties in Washington and Oregon had begun construction of their own dams on the Columbia, outside of the federal jurisdiction. The BPA hired Guthrie to write a set of songs about the federal projects to gain support for federal regulation of hydroelectricity.

As part of the effort, Guthrie, who was from Oklahoma and knew little about the Pacific Northwest, was driven all around Washington and Oregon to gain inspiration from the Columbia and its tributaries. Guthrie was glad he was able to tour and get a feel for the area, commenting that "these Pacific Northwest songs and ballads have all got these personal feelings for me because I was there on these very spots and very grounds before."
Of the Columbia River Ballads Roll on, Columbia,  was by far the most popular. Because of the song's message and popularity, it was established as the official folk song of Washington in 1987." 

Click below to listen:

Roll On, Columbia, Roll On

The Walk

We walked about 2.5k on a paved trail through some pleasant woods along the highway. There was one long set of stairs, so this walk was not suitable for strollers, wheelchairs, etc.

After 2.5k we arrived at the trailhead for Wahclella Falls, but first we took a detour to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. I wish we had more time to explore this site. There was a museum and gift shop, as well as some charming historic buildings. And, of course, the fish hatchery operations. We saw very small trout in one pond, and large rainbow trout in another. We also saw a pond inhabited by huge sturgeon. It looked like they had been fed pieces of salmon. There was another place where you could go below the level of the pond and see inside one of the tanks. We saw lots of sturgeon there, and one of them was scary big. There was also lots of fish-themed art on the fish hatchery grounds.

Big cedars at the fish hatchery

A sturgeon weather vane

Sturgeon

Rainbow Trout

The trail to Wahclella Falls took us a mile down a canyon. The scenery here was splendid: moss-covered logs, ferns, crystal clear water, wild flowers. There was a fresh, balsam-y forest smell. It was a hard walk, but worth it. When I registered for this walk, it was listed as 2C. This morning it was listed as 3C, which was probably more accurate, but might have deterred me from signing up for this particular walk.

 

Wahclella Falls

A lot of people we met on the trail had dogs with them. In all but one case, they were obeying the posted leash law. There was also a woman in the volkswalk group who had a pet carrier backpack. It had a parrot in it. Really. Insert your favorite pirate joke here. 

From the falls we retraced our steps, skipping the side trip to the fish hatchery.

Roll on, Columbia!

Upon our return to Marine Park, we availed our self of the hot dog lunch offered by the Columbia River Volkssports Club for $3: a Polish hot dog, chips, cookies and a drink. It was great to sit down in the sun and look at the river.

Special thanks go to Dick B., our guide, who was very patient with me and the other slowpokes.

Walk Route: A-

Walk Instructions: C+ (It would be nice to have more detail, especially indications of the distance traveled every km or two. Putting cell numbers on the instructions was an excellent idea.)