En attendant le printemps pour repartir camper...we went again to the Columbia Gorge yesterday to do a quite easy hike to Angel's rest. It is located very close from the counterpart's hike Devil' rest, but very different in the scenery: Devil's hike was for the most part in the forest, with only few views on the Columbia Gorge. Angel's hike will lead you to the summit with a multiple gorgeous views on the Columbia river. The only negative part is the noise of the highway. Since there is no forest to cushion any noise, highway 84 will remain as a background noise almost the whole hike. Length: 4.6 miles or 7.4 km Elevation: 1540 ft or 469 m
Here is the hike in 3D:
What did we learn?
- it can be pretty snowy even in the Gorge
- We were well geared - except for the gloves. Snowy weather IS cold
As previously announced by Ivan in his teaser, we took advantage of the sunny day yesterday and decided to go for a hike in the Columbia Gorge. Located along the Columbia River and only a few miles away from Portland, this is a perfect spot for a one day (or half day) hike. Ivan found all hike details on this very comprehensive website (NW Hiker) and within 1 hour, we were heading to the Wahkeena Falls, start point to reach Devil's rest, the final destination of this hike. Length: 7 miles round trip - 11,5 km aller retour Elevation Change: 2328' Ft - 709.5744 metres
When in theory, this hike is 7 miles, in reality, it lasted a little bit longer due to letting me (Laurita) leading the way back down the trail. I followed the wrong way and we noticed it after 25 minutes going down. We had to go back to the Devil's rest. This "detour" added 50 minutes to the hike - ungefaehr 1,5 miles. Outch.
Surprisingly, we encountered snow towards the end of the hike, but no snow at the very top on Devil's rest.
What we learned: - If the forecast says "sunny day", don't forget that you are not living in California, but still in Oregon...The Columbia Gorge is windy, and hiking in the forest is not the warmest spot. - Layers, layers, layers. - Don't let Laurita leading the hike - Or Don't forget to take the hike map -especially if Laurita is leading.
Next hike: Angel's rest in the Columbia Gorge on March 29th.
There we were! For our very first wildness outing, Ivan did a great job at planning and we decided to have our first campground experience on the beautiful Oregon Coast. In March, the weather is still very uncertain, and the coast seemed to be the wisest destination we could think of. While Ivan wanted so bad to have a rainy day to check if the tent was really waterproof, and to have the temperatures below zero to see if our sleeping bags were as warm as they are supposed to be, I was praying very hard to have some sun and not to be freezing my arsch. We arrived at the Oswald State Park around 4pm on Saturday.
We would stay until Sunday afternoon. This State park is located 10 miles South from Cannon Beach. The campground is on a first come first serve basis and is down the hill from the highway. This is quite a nice spot - far away enough from the highway and close enough to the ocean. You can't hear the highway traffic and you can be cradled by the ocean waves.
Sunday hike: 8 miles round trip from the Oswald West park campground to the Neahkahnie Mountain. Level was moderate, wonderful hike through the forest and gorgeous ocean view. On the top of the summit, breathtaking view on Manzanita.
Please click on the video to see an interactive simulation of the hike!
What we learned: - to set up the tent as a test run in our appartment beforehand was definitely a great idea - campgrounds are self service: registration and payment are placed in an envelope for the ranger who will come picked it up the day after. Be sure you bring enough cash or better, your check book - to light up a fire is not as easy as it seems - still need to improve our technical skills. Bring tinder and newspaper. - sleeping bags are great as long as you understand how to use it. After half through the night, my head was frozen, I didn't wear a hat nor had my head completely covered in the sleeping bag. Ivan helped me to spend a wonderful warm second half night. Not recommended for claustrophobic. - No cotton when hiking. Even though Ivan warned me, I decided to wear only cotton clothing, and after the 8 miles hike, I was soak and wet. Yes, I know, dickkoepfig. - Protect your feet's hotspots. - don't forget a day pack - more convenient than having all snacks and water in pocket.
Next hike: Angel's rest in the Columbia Gorge on March 29th.
Ivan and Laurita are an unconventional “paar” who decided to explore the Wildness of Oregon, Washington and California in 2008. Based in Portland Oregon, they want to share with you their vision of a green, cheap, fun way of vacationing. Camping, backpacking, hiking, and much more to come.
