Table Mountain

Table Mountain.

Back in the early onset of the year, right as the weather started to clean up a bit, we set a goal for ourselves to hike as much as we could, and that we would build up to a final goal hike. That goal was Table Mountain.

Table Mountain is on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge, right next to Hamilton Mountain and right behind Aldrich Butte. It's not the tallest peak in the gorge, but it is probably the most dramatic of the high peaks. Table has a giant sheer cliff face on the front, what remains of a massive landslide 300 years ago that temporarily damned the Columbia river and created the land bridge known by natives as "the bridge of the gods", which is now celebrated by a little truss bridge from cascade locks with the same name. The slide also created the islands that now house the Bonneville Dam complex. It's a very dramatic area. In the mist and fog this large mess of landslide and cliffs looks like Jurassic park. It's very picturesque and it always takes a good photo.

From Hamilton Mountain's summit

From Wauna Viewpoint, late afternoon in winter

From Buck point, early morning, mid summer

From the mouth of Eagle Creek. Table (left) and Greenleaf (right) in view. 

Table Mtn. is 3417 feet high, and most of that is elevation you climb. You can start in a few spots. One, the first option ever available, is to use the Bonneville Damn trailhead. This follows the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for 8 miles to the top, making it a 16 mile hike. Nope. The second option is the Aldrich Butte "trailhead", which is just a large spot of dirt near the Bonneville Hot Springs that leads you up an old fire road to the PCT and Table Mtn. This is the shortest way. We did option #3: park at the Hot Springs resort, and take the trail in the backlot to the Aldrich fire road. Both of these options cut the hike in half, a manageable 8-9 mile distance. Since this was to be our crowning achievement of the hiking season, we decided to go all out, rent a room at the hot springs resort for that night, hike the mountain early and come back to hot tubs and luxury for one last hurrah. This was going to be our biggest challenge of the year, lets come back to a place that can rest our legs in hot springs.

We got to the resort and checked in at 10am. A late start, but since we didn't have to drive back to PDX that night, it didn't worry me. We were on the trail at 10:08. It started off bad: the first 100 feet of the trail from Bonneville was overgrown with prickly blackberry bushes. I got a few scrapes, but since I had thick socks and tough shorts, only got about a 6 inch area below my knee cut up. Keeley had less protection and fared slightly worse, but we got through it. The connector trail from the Hot Springs goes up a hill for half a mile at a decent gain, then levels out for a wonderful stroll through a large expansive undergrowth forest. Here the humidity seems to lift a bit. After about 1.2 miles, you cross an old stream. Last time we were here, for Aldrich Butte, the log bridge was new and pretty. That was Easter. Now the bridge was broken and decomposing.

Taken in late April, bridge intact

Taken late august, bridge not so intact

Shortly after that we hit the Aldrich fire road. Turn right, walk a few yards, and follow the road to the left. A small user trail goes straight. Around the turn in another minute or so comes yet another "straight or left" choice. Aldrich is left, this time we go straight. And the second climb begins. The trail starts going up at a medium, Indian Point type steady incline, for about half a mile. Soon you hear the sound of a creek, and you are walking along a gentle ridge upwards at a slightly softer incline. The fire road remains wide and rocky. After about a mile+ from the junction you come across the PCT. The PCT and the fire road criss-cross several times until the fire road sort of vanishes and from here you follow the PCT. Now it feels like a classic Columbia gorge trail. Steep hill on both sides, big green mossy trees all over. Up to this point the climb hasn't been so bad. It hasn't been easy per say, but it's been easier than Dog/Hamilton/IndianPt/Hardy Ridge so far. This was...alarming. That elevation has to come sometime right?

After being on the trail for 2.5 or so miles, you come across a nice big sign showing you are entering the Table Mountain area. On the right is a smaller path heading straight up into the hill. to the left is a continuation of the more level PCT. This is the junction to the heartbreak ridge trail (the up one to the right). However it wasn't labeled, and a sign on the big sign said "table mountain" pointing along the PCT. All 3 guides I had took heartbreak ridge to the top, but I wasn't sure it was the spot. Then a runner came from the PCT side, I asked if she knew, she said she didn't, but the way she came from did go to the top. That was good enough for us. I'm glad we chose that way instead of HB Ridge, but I'll get to that.

We followed the PCT for another quarter mile or so until we hit another big sign for the Table Mountain area. this time we took the path up. This is when Table Mountain shows it's hand. Hiking stops being fun and you just want to die. Life sucks. Screw it all. Why am I doing this. This sucks this was such a bad idea. You see up to this point the elevation climb hasn't been hard. but past this junction...it gets horrible. Worse than the worst parts of Dog Mtn. And it would be like this for the next mile. Within mile 3-4 of our hike, we gained 1200 feet. The trail went up the western flank of Table, first in the forest but soon coming out onto exposed rocky slopes. On the plus side, you finally get a view here, and can see your progress so far.

Munra Point already looks tiny

Hamilton Mountain Summit

Hardy Ridge summit

wider view

very wide view

girlfriend view

 The trail gets hard to follow as you climb over rocks and around very thin edges. And it just keeps going up. On one side of "windbreak rocks" it is death. On the other side is a painful roll down a rocky hill. And you just go up. Up. Up. It felt like it would never end. After a while you leave the exposed ridge area and plunge back into the thick woods. The uphill evens out a bit as you cover more horizontal ground, with several spurts of painful climbing. It really wore on us. We had both fallen out of shape this past month due to workloads, and it was killing us. This was without a doubt the hardest hike I have ever done.

Then we saw it. A ridge up a hill with no trees behind it. At the top of the hill was a sign. This was it. I got a huge burst of adrenaline and suddenly none of the climb mattered. I practically ran the final tenth of a mile to the sign and leaped in the air to celebrate. We had done it. Our goal had been met. We topped the beast. The top is mostly level meadow on the western side, and we walked along the top of Table's majestic cliff. The drop was over 1000 vertical feet. We threw some rocks. In front of us we could see almost the whole gorge. It was a hazy, atmospheric day, which sadly prevented us from seeing the major cascade volcanoes but still gave us a unique view as the sun rays penetrated the thick air. We ate, took pictures, and just admired our accomplishment. It felt good. After a half hour of messing around, it was time to go home. It took us 3 hours to go 4.5 miles up, hopefully it would be less going down.

turkey vulture at the top

Greenleaf Peak to the east

Dude contemplates life at the top

Keeley at the top

facing northwest. You can clearly see where the park ends, ugh

Looking west

peak meadows

sitting at the edge of the sheer drop

feet and heartbreak ridge

Indian Point! We were up there!

heartbreak ridge and the gorge

pillar and a huge fall

heartbreak ridge

heartbreak ridge is very striking and you have no idea it's even there from the water levels. 

success feels great

Our path up. You can faintly see the trail

The air was thick with haze, but you could sort of see mount hood back there

heavily edited view to the east

rock in the river and Cascade Locks

Eagle Creek!

look at those socks

the sheer drop down

Going down we decided to take heartbreak ridge, and make a lolipop loop. We saw the junction at the top of Table, so we knew where it would link up. We began our descent.

The descent may have been worse than going up. Almost immediately we came down upon the heartbreak ridge "boulder field", a talus slope with no trail, you just had to climb the landslide following poles marked with ribbons. It was 400 feet down, and it took forever. The rocks were loose and a wrong step meant a broken ankle. It was the most focused and stressed I've ever felt on a hike (outside going down Munra Point). By the bottom we had to stop, simply from mental exhaustion of being so focused on our steps. After that the trail keeps going down a bit, then goes up a hundred feet or so, and you come face to face with the giant cliff of Table Mountain. The only reason to take heartbreak ridge is this view. The boulder field sucked, and what was incoming was even worse.

the boulder field from above -keeleys picture

the boulder field from below - keeley's picture

the only view from Heartbreak ridge that was worth it. The sheer cliff face of Table Mountain. We had just been right at the very top, not even big enough to be visible from here.

My picture of the boulder field from above

From that view on, it was downhill to the sign junction. it was about a mile to the sign. and it was 1600 feet of elevation down. The boulder field became a cakewalk as we had to slowly and painfully (my poor knees) go down a slope so steep that at several points, I crouched and did a controlled slide. All I could think on the way down was how awful this would have been to climb. But eventually we made it down the hill to the sign, and we took a long much needed break from the stress. From here on it was a 2 mile walk home, but the walk was far more level and while it took us a long time to reach the hot springs, we were happy. We had done it. Our goal had been defeated. Next year we may try for some of the longer, tougher hikes on par with Table, but for now, we came and we conquered.

We hung out in the hot springs soaking our tired legs, which hopefully helped a lot because even now as I write this a full day later, my quads ache like nobody's business. If it would have been worse than this without the springs, oof. Table Mountain is a worthwhile goal indeed, though you want to hit it on a nice day, maybe a slightly cooler day then what we did. I still don't see the argument for using Heartbreak ridge. If you really want a loop hike okay. The only thing it offers is a nice view of the cliffs, but the other back side also provides great views.

God bless the Columbia Gorge. We will be back. Too much left to see, but much has finally been seen.

Pink is our path up, blue our path down. If you look closely along the upper blue path, you can see the boulder field (grayish spot next to the trees and the blue line) That boulder field is roughly 400 feet tall, for scale. 

Road Tripping the Edge of the World Day 4: The final goodbye

Our final day was to be a lazy one. We'd get a late start and see just 3 things, the 3 capes Scenic Drive starting in Pacific City and ending at Cape Mears near Tillamook. We were already within half an hour of Pacific City, so we had no reason to rush.

We went down for breakfast with the operators and they had prepared a delightful 3 course breakfast, and we (and the other couple staying there) ended up talking about all sorts of things till 11. I want to thank them both for having us, they were wonderful hosts.

We got into pacific city around 1130ish, and we both wanted to try Pelican Brewing but sadly neither of us were hungry yet, and it was too early for beer. We decided to go further up to Cape Lookout, our major hike for the day, and work up our appetite.

Cape Lookout is a giant cape, the biggest we'd been on, just south of Netarts bay. You go up and up in your car and at the apex of the hill is the trailhead, which was packed. We found a parking spot and began our hike. Cape Lookout is a great hike. It's 2.5 miles to the edge with a lot of varied scenery. You walk through the lush jungle of the cape, and the trail winds around to both the north and south sides and you get great views in both directions. The air is quiet and slightly breezy. Along the trail lies a plaque in a rock commemorating a WWII flying fortress that crashed here. Some parts of the trail were pretty muddy, but they were alright. The final section of trail is along the southern cliff edge, with certain death mere feet away behind the bushy rim. The end of the trail is at the tip of the lookout, and apparently it's a popular whale watching spot. There were a lot of people there though and we didn't stay long. The trail is mostly level, but it does slope downhill on the way out so coming back wasn't quite as fun. It did give us a hearty appetite.

Pacific City, situated right on the coast by the giant rock

Looking back at the coast from cape lookout's trail

The trail on Cape Lookout and the expanse of ocean beyond

Looking north at Netarts Bay

We got back to Pacific City and it was mobbed. I stopped into Pelican Brewing only to find out the wait for 2 people was an hour and a half, which is outrageous for a brewery. We elected to skip it and try to find somewhere else to eat north of Cape Lookout, so we drove back. We ended up finding a cute little burger place in Oceanside and had a delicious experience overlooking the coast. Oceanside was much smaller than PC and more to our liking. From here, our final stop on the coast was just 10 minutes away.

Cape Mears is, well, another cape, in another state park, on the edge of the world. Down a short path was the stout lighthouse, and up a short path was a huge tree called the "octopus tree", a giant tree that had no central trunk, but 5 or six trunks that curved outwards before going up. We stayed for a bit, took in the sights, and drove home. We hung out with friends at 7 back in PDX and took a long, wonderful sleep. It was a great trip, and despite seeing so much, there is still so much more I'd love to see.

look at that arch

looking south from Cape Mears

coast

Something Erie about the neverending blue

two rocks, and my last picture taken on the whole trip. This is looking straight west from Cape Mears. 

Final Thoughts:

The Oregon Coast is straight out of fantasy. It goes on for so long, and highway 101 gives you a wonderful taste. It feels wild. It feels like people haven't found it, despite the fact that people have obviously found it. It contains a beauty I've never seen on a coast, and it just goes on and on. 3 days we drove along the coast, and that left out everything north of Tillamook (Which we've done on prior trips). I've now driven 101 all the way through Oregon, and it was worth every minute. There are sections, especially in the southern coast, that were breathtaking. Giant massive rocks and picturesque coves, you could take every turn off the highway and see something special. There are classic beach towns and isolated quiet beaches, sometimes right next to each other separated by a giant rocky cliff. On top of that to your west lies the ever blue expanse of the biggest ocean in the world. It truly felt sometimes like we were at the edge of the world.

Cape Blanco was probably my highlight. The coast works better with atmosphere, and on that cape, alone, with the wind howling and the sun setting, that's when the real power of where we were really hit. It hit other places too like Yaquina head, but at Blanco the fact that we stood there alone made it. My favorite surprise was the Sea Lions at Cape Arago, and I have a new fascination with lighthouses. We've seen all but one on the coast now, and I'm proud of that.

There was too much to see for one 4 day trip though. It felt like we left a lot behind. We missed the entirety of Samuel Boardman State Park and scenic corridor, outside what we saw on the move. There were so many turnouts and tiny beaches I wanted to see and walk around on, but we just didn't have time and I was set for certain highlights. I still want to hike Humbug Mountain, even if my desire is less so now. I wish I had spent more time in the redwoods. I just wish we had gotten more time. We also sadly never had a place right on the ocean, and we never got to see the sun set over the pacific. I'd seen that before of course at Cannon Beach(to be mentioned in a later post) but it felt like we missed one nice moment. You could really take two weeks and not see everything if you took your time. I took 300 pictures, the best of which are featured here.

Next year for our trip we have a few options. We've seen the coast now. We've seen the desert. We've seen Crater lake and Newberry Volcano. We've seen the cascades and lord knows we've seen the shit out of the gorge. Our next big plans? Likely Mt. Rainier, The Olympic Peninsula, and the one I personally want to see, the Wallowa Mountains and Hells Canyon in far east Oregon. But those will likely have to wait till next year.

Because our last big conquest of the summer is coming next week, when we finally take on Table Mountain.