fog

Table Mountain - Wind and Fog /  by Ray Phung

This year for MLK day, I grabbed Adam and headed out to the Columbia River Gorge for another winter-time adventure.  Miraculously we both had the day off.  We set out to do Table Mountain on the Washington side of river.  Table Mountain is one of the higher points in the Gorge, with a sheer triangular face and and 360 degree view from the summit.  

The Table Mountain is noted for it's long, difficult hike to the summit from the Bonneville Trailhead.  Adam and I decided to do the hike from Aldrich Butte Trailhead.  This newer trailhead shortens the hike to 8 miles with 3350 feet of elevation gain.  It starts among the power lines and largely follows old, abandoned sections of service access roads.  The Aldrich Butte was a location for a WWII defense site.  After ascending a portion of Aldrich Butte, the trail splits off to follow the Cedar Creek drainage, and parallels and eventually joins the Pacific Crest Trail. 

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Rock of Ages Loop Hike /  by Ray Phung

Right before the new year, my buddy Temo and I drove out to the Columbia River Gorge to do the Rock of Ages Loop.  This trail is 10 miles long, while gaining around 3000 ft of elevation.  Over the last hiking season, I have been trying to knock out all the steep, scrambling hikes in the Gorge.  This trail in particular sees a lot of traffic by those training for the alpine treks up the Cascades.  

This loop starts at the Horsetail Falls trailhead, and begins by climbing up to Ponytail Falls.  

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