My Volkswalk Blog: June 21, 2014 - Columbia River Gorge Biennial Classic

Our walk today was listed as a 1A 10k walk. I would have rated it a 2 and I'm pretty sure it was 11 or 12k, based on the time it took us and the fact that we ran into the group leader who was using a measuring wheel to check the distance. He told us it was 3.75k at the waterfall, and the trail signage said it was 2k to the next parking lot. From that point we walked 1.5 to 2k through the Overlook campground before returning to the trail to retrace our route back.

(I am starting to get a little annoyed with the inconsistencies in trail ratings and lengths. We registered to do Horsetail Falls tomorrow based on its listing on the website as 2C. However, at the registration area today I noticed it was shown as 3C. This is exactly what happened with the Wahclella Falls walk. My feet and knees don't have enough time to recover when I am walking 10k a day, and if I sign up for a walk that is longer or more difficult than advertised, I suffer. OK, I'm done whining.)

We started our walk in Marine Park and walked through "downtown" Cascade Locks past two gas stations. On the first two walks the lovely fresh forest smells enhanced the experience. Here, taking a deep breath filled your nostrils with essence of diesel. Then we passed the Best Western, which was built in the Cascade style and looked quite nice. Right past that we came to some trucks where you could buy fruit and "Native Caught" fish.

Then we walked under The Bridge of the Gods and viewed a mural showing Lewis and Clark and other Oregon iconography.

The Bridge of the Gods

The original Bridge of the Gods was a natural dam created by the Bonneville Slide, a major landslide that dammed the Columbia River near Cascade Locks around 1260 CE. The river eventually breached the bridge and washed much of it away, but the event is remembered in the legends of the local Native Americans as the Bridge of the Gods.

"Welcome to Cascade Locks" mural on bridge abutment

At this point we arrived at the trailhead for a segment of trail that follows the path of the Historic Columbia River Highway from Cascade Locks to the Eagle Creek Overlook Campground. Some of this trail ran alongside I-84 and was noisy and not too scenic.

When we were a little bit away from I-84 the woods were very pretty. Some of the original stonework from the old highway can still be seen here and there and it is charming. We passed one small waterfall, but there was not much else of interest until we reached the Eagle Creek area.

Some of the original stonework

Looking down from the trail on a very small waterfall

At Eagle Creek there is a salmon hatchery and a campground. This is not the same hatchery as the Bonneville Dam hatchery we saw the other day.

The Eagle Creek Overlook Campground is extremely nice. It is on a bluff overlooking the Bonneville Dam. In addition to campsites and picnic areas, there is a large rustic shelter for those rainy Pacific Northwest days. After circling the campground, we retraced our steps back to Marine Park.

More original stonework

Original stone wall

As we walked alongside I-84 and I was thinking about how noisy it was, I looked up and saw a caravan of antique cars. There were at least a dozen. I would guess they were from the 20's (having gained my expertise from watching Downton Abbey). They were all shiny and in perfect condition. Several of them had old-fashioned pieces of luggage strapped on the backs. What a fun sight. Walking close to the highway isn't always a bad thing.

My feet were ready to quit long before we reached the end of the walk, so I tried to distract myself by pondering deep thoughts. For example, why are there so many little plastic bags of dog poop by the side of the trail? If you are going to go to the trouble of picking up your dog's poop, why would you then just leave it along the trail? Won't it take much, much longer to biodegrade if it is in a plastic bag?

The only answer I could come up with was people pick up the poop because someone is watching, and they throw it away later because no one is watching.

Another thought when my feet ached: Today my amazing daughter is running her first marathon! While I am feeling sorry for myself as I near the end of my 6.2 miles, my daughter will still have 20 miles to go when she reaches 6.2 miles.

There were also lots of nice wildflowers along the side of the trail, and also berries, so it wasn't just cynical thoughts about human nature that occupied my brain.