I woke up Saturday and piddled around a bit. It soon dawned on me that the sun had been shining most of the morning, and then it got me - the wild hair. HIKE. Any excuse not to go to the gym, I'm for it.
It was a clear drive out, and Mt. Hood was loud and prominent from I-84. I'm still in awe of the thing every time it's in my view. At any rate, I got to the Angel's Rest trail head, which was pretty crowded, and began my hike. The plan was Angel's Rest to Devil's Rest, and then Wahkeena Springs, and back to my truck - 11 miles in all. From the web site, I got the info from, it was a moderate hike. Having done 7 just a few weeks ago, I figured it was no big deal.
Hoo boy, I was gravely mistaken on this one. The hike to Angel's Rest alone really wasn't all that pleasurable. It quickly ascends for 2.4 miles without ever really leveling off. I was soaked through in no time, and combine that with the chilly winds, it made it hard to find the right layering to keep comfortable in. This part of the trail was quite rocky as well, and I'm not huge of rocks beneath my feet.
After Angel's Rest, it was off to Devil's Rest - an even greater ascent. I soon encountered snow, and a hiker who turned back because he didn't have the right footwear for the snow and mud. Actually, looking at what he had on, I don't understand how anyone could hike in those things. They were like foot gloves. Going through the snow and mud though was quite the chore. Eventually, I got there, and then soon left to find the overlook just below. It was there that I had undone my side pack, which my $150 sunglasses looped through it, and mostly likely flipped them over the cliff when I flipped it over my shoulder. I went back to the rest just to be sure, but that must have been where I lost them. Oh well.
The hike from here to Wahkeena Springs was quite nice. It's mostly downhill, and through the forest. There are a few foot bridges, and then a series of switchbacks before you reach the trail junctions. From there, it said "Columbia River Highway" 1.9 miles, as you'll notice in the pictures. I thought about maybe just taking that exit, and getting the hell out of there. I knew there was .5 mile ascent to get back to Angel's Rest, and 2.4 miles total. And then another 2.4 to get down and back to my car. I pressed on because Wahkeena Springs was pretty much the goal of the trip. It didn't take very long at all to get there. I was out of water, and if I was going to go on, I was going to need some. So I scooped my water bottle in the creek. Damn. That was the finest, cleanest water I've ever tasted. I was worried it might make me sick or something, but no such thing has happened.
I continued with the hike and from that point on, I was miserable. The initial ascent back up from Wahkeena Springs to Angel's Rest is just murderous after having already done 2 of those. At around the 8 mile mark, I was toast. It finally leveled for a while before reaching Angel's Rest. I stopped there to eat, and then walked down to my car. My muscles and feet were beginning to hurt quite badly at that point. Even going downhill did not alleviate my misery.
I had fun doing this, and today I'm feeling fine, but damn... once I got to Wahkeena Springs, I should have doubled back the 1/4 mile and headed down the hill to the Columbia Rive Highway, and then hooved up the highway (or even hitchhiked!) back to my car. From now on, I'm not going to follow the hikes to the tee if there are better more sensible options. I can't believe someone would rate this as moderate. I am actually in pretty good shape! At any rate, here are some pictures from the hike. Enjoy.
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