Friday, September 9, 2016

2016-08-29 - Jack and Amys Oregon Vacation - Day 2

Jack and Amy's 2016 Oregon Vacation
Day2
 Columbia River Gorge and the Mount Hood Area
Monday, August 29th, 2016
Bridal Veil Falls, Oneonta Gorge, Lower Oneonta Falls, Horsetail Falls, Elowah Falls, Upper McCord Creek Falls,
The Bridge of the Gods, Cascade Locks, Hood River, Full Sail Brewing Company, Double Mountain Brewery, 
Mount Hood, Trillium Lake, Little Zig Zag Falls, Upper Latourell Falls

 Amy and Jack on the Bridal Veil Trail overlooking the Columbia River


For our second day, Amy and I would head back into the Columbia River Gorge starting with Bridal Veil Falls.  This is an Amy approved, mile long (round trip) hike to this 120-ft waterfall!
Bridal Veil Falls

Amy and Jack at Bridal Veil Falls

 A Fisherman downstream from Bridal Veil Falls


In addition to the waterfalls, there are also some nice views of the Columbia River along the way!
Amy on the Bridal Veil Trail overlooking the Columbia River

Next up would be the Oneonta Gorge and Lower Oneonta Falls.  This is another short hike of just over a mile (round trip).  However, this one is not be Amy approved so I ventured into the Gorge Solo!

 The Oneonta Gorge "Trailhead"

The first challenge would be a huge Log Jam!
A Huge Log Jam in the Oneonta Gorge

Most of this slot canyon requires that you get your feet wet.  However there is one section that unless you can scale rock walls, the only way to go is through chest high water!

Wading through the Oneonta Gorge Slot Canyon

The reward is the awesome 100-foot tall Lower Oneonta Falls!

Lower Oneonta Falls

I returned back the way I came and met back up with Amy to continue our drive into the Columbia River Gorge.

Horsetail Falls was not on my high priority list, but since it is roadside, we made a quick stop for a few photos.
 Horsetail Falls

 Horsetail Falls

Next up Amy joined me on a hike to Elowah Falls, a 213-foot beauty!

 Elowah Falls

 Amy and Jack at Elowah Falls

I would continue the hike solo up to Upper McCord Creek Falls.

 Upper McCord Creek Falls

This one was nice, but the views from the trail was what really made this hike worthwhile!

view from the trail to Upper McCord Creek Falls

We continued our drive into Cascade Locks, OR where we stopped to check out the Bridge of the Gods!

View from the Bridge of the Gods

Amy on the Bridge of the Gods

We had lunch at the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, OR

Enjoying a Flight at the Full Sail Brewing Company

Hood River is a great little town!  Amy decided to stroll around some of the shops, while I waited for her at the Double Mountain Brewery!

The Double Mountain Brewery

Instead of heading back the way we came, we decided to take advantage of the clear sky and drive the long way back around Mount Hood.    We stopped at several places along the way to photograph Oregon's tallest mountain!

 Mount Hood

 Mount Hood

Amy at Trillium Lake

Mount Hood from Trillium Lake

We also stopped for one more Amy Approved short and easy waterfall hike to Little Zig Zag Falls.

 Little Zig Zag Falls

Amy and Jack at Little Zig Zag Falls

Once back at our accommodations in Gresham, OR I decided to hit one last waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge.  We had done Latourell Falls the previous day, but since it was only about a 15 minute drive, I decided to return to do the hike to Upper Latourell Falls, a 2.5 mile loop hike.

The Upper Falls was not a impressive as the Lower Drop, but it was still a very enjoyable hike.

 Upper Latourell Falls

 Upper Latourell Falls


I had also hoped to catch the sunset, but I missed that by about 15 minutes.  There was still some nice twilight after glow to finish out my day!
Evening Twilight over the Columbia River Gorge


The complete set of photos from Day 2 is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157673503661186

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