Hood River Archives - Brent Logan

A day in the gorge

Biking

Suzi and me on the trail. (Credit: Jamison Logan)

Coming to the weekend, Jamison said he wanted to try biking a new section of the Historic Columbia River Highway State Trail. It sounded like a lot of fun, so we loaded up our bikes and headed to Wyeth. Turns out, it was opening day for this new section of trail.

We discovered a couple of waterfalls we didn’t know existed. We stopped and waded at the base of Hole-in-the-Wall Falls, then continued on to Starvation Creek, where we turned around.

Mitchell Point

When we got back to Wyeth, it didn’t feel like the day was over, so we continued east. There was a sign marked Mitchell Point, so we exited 84 to explore. Not much to see other than a great view of the gorge. :-)

Hood River

After Mitchell Point, we continued to Hood River where we watch the kite sailors while the sun went down behind the hills.

Corbett View Point

On the way home, we stopped at the Corbett View Point. I’ve stopped here before, just as the sun was setting. This time, we were a little later in the day, but it was still beautiful.

Another great day!

Photo credit. Thanks to Jamison Logan for the photos of Suzi and me and of the kites!

Sunday in and around Hood River

Suzi and I took a quick trip to Hood River. As we neared, we discovered our main reason for going wasn’t going to happen. It was time to improvise.

We found a cool, little taqueria for lunch and then drove to Parkdale. On the way back to Hood River, we saw a sign for Lavender Valley. What could that be? Sure enough, a lavender farm. Fun!

After returning to Hood River, we watch the kite sailers zip around on their hydrofoil-borne craft. It’s wild! Certainly nothing like the Hobie 14 I used to sail. These things are faster and are likely transportable in commercial air travel.

Another good day!

Scenic Loop

Kayaks on the Columbia at Mayar State Park

The "loop" with McCall Point in the distance

Headed home from Walla Walla, Suzi and I made a few stops in the Gorge. The first was Mayer State Park where I’ve taken a few pictures. A group was preparing to paddle to Hood River, a distance of probably eight miles. They were in long, slender kayaks that an online search says are called “surf skis.” One of the skis had an outrigger pontoon so the paddler used an oar instead of a kayak paddle.

When they left, we did too. We headed to the scenic loop between Rowena and Mosier.

We stopped in the iconic loop below Rowena Crest Viewpoint to enjoy some flowers, not knowing what was to come shortly.³I was disappointed there were no longboarders bombing the hill. At the viewpoint and the adjacent Tom McCall Preserve, it became obvious – fields of yellow balsamroot flowers!⁴And a fair amount of poison oak. Three days later, I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t exposed.