Multnomah Falls May 2016

This past May my wife and I were able to enjoy a mini-reunion with a couple friends from Cornell in Vancouver, Washington. One of the highlights of our visit was a trip along the Columbia River Gorge. The scenery there is as spectacular as we had imagined. It is not only the expanse of the Columbia River and its history that holds your imagination but also the setting where rocky heights provide a magnificent overlook to see up and down the stream until it vanishes around a bend or into the mist.


One of the best known sights in the region is Multnomah Falls. This is a double waterfall which has a scenic pedestrian bridge between the upper and lower falls. While it is an easy walk from the parking lot to the bridge with its view to the upper falls, getting to the top of the waterfall is a much more difficult hike.


Walking past the bridge, the path weaves steeply upwards through the woods over numerous switchbacks. As you continue ever higher along the path you get even closer to the falls. Now rather than viewing the waterfall from the bottom, you begin to see the where the flow crests over the ridge and can then follow it with your eyes from the heights into the pool below. Fortunately, there are several rest stops along the pathway to the top where you can catch your breath while taking in a view from falls and across to the Columbia River. As the climb to the top of the falls can take over an hour I was only able to reach the halfway mark before my phone rang to remind me that the rest of the group was waiting at the base of the falls as it was time to move on to see other sights.




I guess my climb to the top of Multnomah Falls will just have to wait for our next trip to the Northwest.