Since I couldn't find anyone to climb with today (and the sun was out!) I decided to check out a hike in the Columbia River Gorge. Hamilton Mountain rises to almost 2500 feet (in four miles) above Beacon Rock, which is a well known landmark and climbing area about thirty miles up river from Portland. The trail winds it's way up through the forest past several waterfalls then on to more open grassy slopes closer to the top. Once you are out of the forest the views are fantastic. I would have to say today was a perfect day for this hike considering it probably gets super hot in the summer. Sort of an unreal day being that it's still winter...
The "Pool of the Winds." (A bit dramatic, no?) Still a cool little waterfall that has carved out the rock.
The rest of the falls below...
Wishing I had a fish-eye.
Climbing potential?
The patchy clouds made for some dramatic lighting down on the river.
More cliffs up by the summit and the Bonneville Dam in the background.
And... the top! The snow was only an issue for the last quarter mile or so...
Mandatory self-portrait on the summit.
There were more amazing views from the saddle directly to the north of the summit.
One last shot of the Columbia on the drive back.
2 comments:
Wow. I'm not going to lie, I'm more than impressed with some of the pictures on here. Nice work.
I really like the last photo. I can't believe there was absolutely no wind in the gorge that day. You lucked out with that reflection!
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