Cape Horn

A little three day trip to the Columbia Gorge was great fun.  The highlight of the trip was a wonderful eight mile hiking loop around Cape Horn. 

So happy to be hiking

Beautiful big leaf maple showing off its fall color

Happy to be hiking such a pretty trail

Having climbed 800' up, our first views of the Colombia

Higher up the forest was a beautiful mix of old growth Sitka spruce, Douglas fir and maple

The mighty Columbia River

What one can't see is the wind blowing at 50 MPH gusts, nearly knocking us off our feet

A shear 1500' drop just a few feet behind Keith

Lovely fall colors framing the view in this shot by Keith

Continuing west on the loop, a large meadow

Then back into forest with views

Keith surrounded by beautiful branches

The underpass

After 4 miles and descending 500' the trail loops back east...

...with more intimate views and fiercer winds

This section of trail is closed in summer because falcons love these trees for nesting

Wouldn't want to fall here

Cigar rock

Then we begin crossing a half mile of steep basalt scree slopes

This section of trail was the wildest

A waterfall coming over the basalt marked the end of the wild part of the trail

Shortly after the waterfall, the trail leaves the forest, and the loop is completed along a pastoral country road.  Overall, a great and new hike for us.

Stats:
Round trip=8 miles
Elevation gain=1500' (or more, counting all the ups and downs)