I am afraid I have done you a disservice, dear readers. I'm forever posting photos from the Columbia Gorge featuring deep green forests, cascading waterfalls and neverending climbs. You might think that this is all that the Gorge trails are made of. And while it is true that many of my favorite trails do feature these things, there is much more to the Gorge than just temperate rainforest.
The truth is that much of the Gorge is surrounded by dry plains and scrub reminiscent of California. Just 75 miles from Portland lies the Klickitat Trail, a converted rails to trails project nearly 31 miles in length. As soon as I heard about the trail, I knew it would be one I would have to explore.
Thankfully I roped faithful running buddies Julie & Sarah into joining me this weekend on an out and back from the start point in Lyle, Washington. We had no idea what to expect.
Within a mile of the start, we were drawing in sharp breaths at the beauty of the wild and scenic Klickitat River. Our appreciation for the beauty of the place was quickly replaced with fascination for the tribal fishing we could see on the wild river below us. Turns out that this is a culturally important spot for the Yakama Indians.
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| Traditional steelhead fishing on the narrows of the Klickitat. |
With a gentle grade, the running was fairly easy along this beautiful river. While late fall rains have claimed most of the fall foliage, we could still see sparks of color along the banks.
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| Enjoying the view. |
We decided to turn back at the 8 mile marker; while it was tempting to keep going, we knew we couldn't spend all day on the trail.
We were spared the heavy rain of the day before. Low lying clouds danced across the rocks for us.
Large stands of oak dotted the hillsides. This would be a stunning run in October.
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| A lone apple tree along the trail. |
Before we knew it, we were back at the car. A full morning of beautiful vistas, good running, better conversation - does life really get any better than that?
Wow those pictures are absolutely gorgeous. I would love to do a trail run like this some day, but no trails like that in KC :(
ReplyDeleteThe more I explore the trails, the more I appreciate what we have here in the NW. We are so lucky that they are here for us to enjoy.
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