strange things are afoot on devil's rest

November in Oregon means grey, threatening skies and the dull light of persistent cloud cover. It is the time of year when your love of the state begins to be challenged by the bleak reality of a climate that sees too many dark, dreary days to count.

But then you go on a run like the one I did today, and you fall in love with the beauty of the state and the quirkiness of its inhabitants all over again.

We started at the Angel's Rest Trailhead, a popular jumping off point for many of the gorge's best trails. A quick climb and you are already witnessing your first waterfall.

As we climbed higher into the gorge, we were rewarded with a sneak peak of the Angel's Rest rock formation.

Looking west towards Camas, Washington and Portland. 

Angel's Rest is about 2.5 miles from the parking lot and would make a fine adventure in itself. But you can't really go to Angel's Rest without hitting Devil's Rest too, right? 

After a nice respite for photos, we continued our climb up the Foxglove Trail towards Devil's Rest. It's a pleasant enough trail, but there really wasn't much to look at.

Finally we popped out at Devil's Rest, only to be greeted by a strange sight.

Garden gnomes. With creepy red eyes. Pumpkins hanging from trees. I found four gnomes, though I have a feeling there were more. How funny that folks took the time and effort to hike these things up to Devil's Rest - we're talking at least 3 miles and 2,000 feet of climbing from the nearest trailheads...ah, this is why I love Oregon. We do keep it weird.

Even in the dull light of the overcast sky, Oregon is a beautiful place. Hitting the trails always reminds me of how lucky we are to have these trails to explore whenever we would like.

Route details:

Angel's Rest/Devil's Rest loop

franklin ridge, revisted

I did not have a chance to take many photos as I spent most of this running well behind my friends and wallowing in self pity. At least I really love the two I did get.

salmon river trail

Some days, I wonder if my memory is failing me.

I can't seem to remember to buy everything on my list at the grocery, I forget where I've laid my keys, birthdays slip my mind.

But yesterday I was reminded that perhaps my brain just wants to love what it remembers.

I met Julie just as dawn was breaking, excited to introduce her to a trail I had run before - the Salmon River Trail on the lower hills of Mt Hood. It was one of the first trails I had ever run; I earned my first bloody knee on its winding course. I remember trying to run the first big climb and having to walk, feeling I had failed. Thankfully I am an ultrarunner now and can dispense with such nonsense.

The trail begins along the river - two and a half miles of easy running along the shore of the lively Salmon River. We started at the campground so it was an out and back, and as I ran along the trail I had walked with my girls a couple of summers ago, I could remember trees and turns, places they had played. My memory wasn't failing me at all.

Autumn is on its last legs now, leaving bright spots of color along the ground.

After the river portion, you begin a gentle climb to some gorge-like terrain.

After some fairly level running, you climb again to this open spot. The sun warmed our faces and hearts.

Julie's favorite spot of the day.

We finally reached the top of the ridge - I only had to screech "Yowch" one time - and then continued on along the ridges above the river. We could in fact have gone out 15 miles, but we ran out of time and only made 17 on the day. (Not that we were planning to go that far anyways...we aren't overachievers!)

A forest rainbow

The Salmon River Trail is a great trail for a training run. Highly runnable, non-technical, with great views and nice swimming holes (if you head out on a hot day), it's a runner's paradise. Several other trails in the area allow for loops or gnarly climbs if you are so inclined. (We only climbed about 3,600 feet - the Green Canyon trail climbs nearly this far in 3 miles...)

Hikes in the area:
Salmon Butte
Devil's Peak 
Salmon River

eagle creek

You know what I love about seeing other runners on the trail?

They are always smiling. The grit it out, get it done face is absent among the mountains and the creeks. Runners are friendly, wanting to chat and share trail conditions, routes and favorite spots.

And when we get to run trails like these, it's impossible to not be grinning like a child.

The Eagle Creek trail is a technical, scenic, popular trail in the Gorge. If you could only do one trail here, this might be my pick. While not the best choice for a solid training run, it's delightful for the sheer density of trail awesomeness.

Lower Punch Bowl Falls

Loowit Falls

High Bridge.

The view from High Bridge.

We were treated to tricks of light all day long.

You might have to be part goat to run these trails really fast. Or at least an Ironman. We met a guy on the trail who was running this trail so fast, we could hardly wrap our mind around it.

We also met a guy with the park service who was telling us the best time to come up the trail is during the winter. Yeah, he said, you might have freezing rain the size of golf balls so that these rocky trails are covered in ice, but that's just in the morning, he assured us. It melts off by the afternoon. Gulp.

Tunnel Falls

The tunnel behind Tunnel Falls. It is actually blasted from the rock.

Twister Falls.

Right near our turn-around point.

 It really was a spectacular fall day. Every turn of the trail elicited squeals of delight.

Punch Bowl Falls. Argh - I need a filter for these sunny days.

 

Hike information: http://www.nwhiker.com/CGNSAHike37.html

larch mountain

Damn, I am a lucky girl. Er, woman. This is what I got to do today:

Multnomah Falls is usually so crowded that I've never taken the time to check out the view from the first bridge. This morning, the lot was empty. Turns out, it is quite pretty from there.

A familiar sight, now in brilliant color.

I did not remember seeing this creek on Sunday when we came down from Franklin Ridge. No matter how many times you run the trails, there are always new things to see. Especially if you are senile.

A foxglove blooms late in to the season.

We chose to run up to Larch Mountain from the bottom of the Gorge. If you drive to the top, this is the hardest part you'll face.

In case you weren't sure how high you had climbed, the nice folks who built the viewing ramp reminded you how far you had come.

The Columbia River basin, far below.

On the left, St Helens, in the middle, Rainier, and on the right, Adams. 

Mt Adams in the distance.

And a shot of Mt Hood.

We finished off the adventure with a quick trip to Oneonta Gorge. Our flip-flops weren't the best choice to try and scramble over the logjam, so we'll leave that for another day. 

franklin ridge, columbia gorge

Conquered a sweet little 15 mile loop in the Gorge.

Taking off from Multnomah Falls, you cut over to the Oneota trail, climb and climb and climb to Franklin Ridge, bust your behind across the ridge, and then drop back down to Multnomah Falls and Wahkeena Falls for the finish. Quiet trails, babbling creeks, ridge views, autumn leaves...what better way to spend a Sunday?

Appropriately named Triple Falls.

Did I mention we climbed a bit? About 5,000 feet in a little less than 15 miles.

 

I am a sucker for photos of rock cliffs. Whatever.

The route details: Franklin Ridge loop
We added on mileage by heading towards Wahkeena Falls to get back down to Multnomah, rather than battling the crowds on the switchbacks down.