Before too long we were going up the Starvation Ridge Trail and peeking back down at my car in the parking lot:
The last two attempts at the Ten Peak were both under cloudy skies with the second attempt being especially brutal in the rain department. This trip was the complete opposite with perfect weather throughout, the unrelenting heat hadn't materialized yet and things were looking good early on. We reached the summit of Defiance in 2 hours and 5 minutes to see the beloved towers:
A short break on the summit after talking with a couple of other hikers had us jogging off the top toward the Bear Lake junction and eventually Green Point Mountain. Here's Jim having some snacks up on GP:
And the classic view back to Defiance with Rainy Lake below:
Third on the list was my favorite of them all and maybe keeper of the best views in the gorge, Tomlike Mountain:
There was a nice cloud display going on near the summit as we approached:
Here we are on the summit of Tomlike, its only number 3 and i'm already down for the count:
Following Corn off the top:
All in all, it was by far the most impressive Beargrass showing I've ever seen on a hike:
I always like the short section of trail between Tomlike and Chinidere Mountains as one represents father(Chinidere) and the other represents his son. Plus they offer some of the best views around so its hard not to get excited once your inbetween the two
Doing some research on the Wasco Indians I found an old picture and some descriptions of a George Chinidere(or Indian George Tomileck Chinidere) on the historichoodriver website:
In some of the replies there descriptions, it looks like he met a tragic end in a train accident:
"GEORGE TOMILECK CHINIDERE
A pathetic but familiar figure, old Indian George, has traveled our streets for many years. Almost blind, he manages, with the aid of his cane, to reach the homes of the white people who have befriended him.
His appreciation of their friendship is very marked and he is happy to have them talk with him. At the pioneer Reunion, in 1915, he was the guest of Hon. E.L. Smith and was literally swamped with good things to eat, but he came off more than conqueror, saying, "Heap good dinner, but no pie". Mt. Chinidere of Hood River county was named for the father of Indian George, our weather prophet.
From the Portland Journal:
Hood River, Oregon, June 25, 1917
Indian George Tomileck Chinidere, reputed to be the oldest Indian of the Columbia River tribe and said to be near 100 years old, was found dead near this city Sunday morning beside the railroad track of the O.W.R.N. where the body had been cut in twain by a train.
George had a bank account and signed cheeks by thumb print. The funeral services were attended by several hundred whites and Indians front the reservation who are here picking strawberries. Rev. E.H. Strongbrake, pastor of the U.E. church preached the funeral sermon."
My question is, was this Tomlike or Chinidere, im thinking if this individual was still alive in 1917 this must have been Tomlike? Anyway, Jim and I pushed on up toward the top of father Chinidere and took a nice break, wolfing down some more snacks to ward off the tarps:
'
There were some nice Mariposa Lilies on the summit:
A view back to Tomlike and Defiance:
From here on out the mountains would be spread further apart, no more mile or two before hitting the next one as we dropped down to Wahtum Lake and hiked the PCT over to Indian Springs:
The Beargrass was going nuts at the campground too:
Curling around toward the PCT/Indian Mountain junction revealed another incredible sight:
And the awesome sign that has replaced the old one:
Corn making the final steps to the top:
The cloud display and amazing views from the top were better than I remembered:
Uhoh I can see Larch over there!
Me on the summit:
It felt pretty awesome to sign this book again on this trip:
This guy was also there:
And lots more Beargrass blooms too:
If there was one thing I wish I had done better on this trip it would have been to drink more water. By the time we got back to Indian Springs we were both in need of some more liquids:
We spent the evening dropping down Indian Springs reaching the Eagle Creek Trail and eventually the crossing of Eagle Creek itself. Here's Jim chasing me down EC:
I put on some music and hit the gas a little too hard so to speak on the way down to Eagle Creek. Corn was ready to cross and make the climb up toward Tanner Butte while I was down for the count again:
Pretty soon Corn was leaving me in the dust and the pukey, dehydrated sagger feelings really started to surface. By the time we reached Big Cedar Springs I felt like complete dog sh*t and really thought I was about to toss some cookies at Corn if things didn't change quickly
Here's Jim getting some water at the spring while Im grounded, again! 
A heavy dose of liquids and a nice break at the springs helped a lot and we made it up above Thrush Pond to the old roadbed along the ridge. Darkness settled in as we made the hike up the spur trail to Tanner Butte. It was beautiful up there but a swift wind had us heading back for the ridge and the trek over to the Tanner-cutoff. In trips past we have always avoided the Tanner Creek and Moffett Creek areas in the dark as they used to be much rougher and harder to follow than most other trails on the circuit. But thanks to the hard work of many the route is so improved that we were able to follow the trail in the "jungle" all night long without any trouble at all, it was truly an experience we will never forget. It was also an experience that is hard to emulate anywhere else, an all nighter, hiking and running through a remote trail system in the famed Columbia River Gorge, it just doesn't get any better than that
Situations like this always bring on some interesting conversations/interactions as well. I don't know if we were both just losing it but we started singing old Bob Seger songs on the way up Moffett Creek to ease the pain of the last major climb of the trip. Things also come out night to look for food etc, like this Salamander that was using the trail as a little express way:
Even better was the scorpion we spotted resting on top of some deadwood on the Moffett Creek Trail. We were both stoked to see that somewhere around 2 or 3 am
The cool night air was welcome as we continued our climb, reaching the old road and the final approach to Nesmith Point before sunrise:
The city lights were so beautiful from the top, but even better was the sunrise as we shuffled from viewpoint to viewpoint on the Horsetail Creek Trail:
Sights like this keep us all coming back for more
Another watering hole stop for us at one of the branches of Horsetail Creek and it was tough to hold that camera steady
"The face says it all" on the Bell Creek Bridge:
Corn hadn't seen the mcds log on Bell Creek yet but we were both grateful to not have to slug over that biggen
And again another big thanks to all who have put time in on these trail systems over the past several years:
Here's one that's still standing:
Corn was the true hero on this trip as he had hiked in the week before with his family and left an aid bag at the Oneonta/Bell Creek junction with some cheese and crackers plus some gatorades. Now the final march to Larch was on and for the first time since Indian Mountain I felt pretty good again. Without Corns aid bag I would have been toast, tarped out in the bushes somewhere between 7 and 8
More Beargrass and a happy Jim at Larch Mtn Road:
We reached the top and there was just one couple from Pendleton enjoying the morning views. The man immediately began naming all the peaks and recalling past nights at the Indian Mountain Fire Lookout as a kid. It was really cool to meet and talk with someone who lived those types of experiences. He asked us if the outhouse at Nesmith Point was still standing and said he remembered what it was like to climb up Defiance from river level. It was just another one of those times I wont soon forget:
Life after Larch felt pretty good as we jogged and ran some stretches of the Larch Mountain Trail. To make things as easy possible at that point we took the Multnomah Basin Road west until reaching that short connector trail that pops one out just west of Devils Rest:
Nine down and just one to go on another awesome day in the gorge, "we can do it!" we thought as we dropped down toward the Foxglove Trail. Once we reached Angels Rest Corn asked if I wanted to head out to the viewpoint and soak it all in. I had actually never been out to the viewpoint before, and outside of Hatfield trips had never been to Angels Rest otherwise. It felt good to finally spend some time up there and all the smiling faces were more than encouraging at that point:
This was supposed to be a "Ten" formed by the two of us
You know you've had enough when...
We were now 24 hours, 66 miles and 18,200 feet of elevation gain in and it was time to waddle down to Jim's truck and get some pringles in Cascade Locks. Back at Jims car it felt sort of surreal, I was so tarped yet struck with such a feeling of satisfaction and I could tell Corn was sharing a similar experience. This time it was meant to be and it felt pretty damn good Two previous trips where we reached eight and then seven only to beat the odds and finish off all ten the third time around. No matter where my life takes me I will never forget the times I have spent "running wild" in the gorge. And I urge all those who have a passion for the outdoors to express it in the utmost way. Whether you'd like to sit on a log for hours or jump over it a million times, do it because you can and because you love it, and don't let anybody tell you different Just as Jim pulled away from Starvation and I was ready to call it a day I heard a familiar voice from the parking lot. It was my friend and trail running coach Willie getting ready for his own Hatfield Traverse. It was really good to see him and I couldn't have asked for a better finale to another incredible adventure in the Columbia River Gorge
And a link to the track on gpsfly
http://gpsfly.org/g/4470
