Murna Point from the Elowah Trailhead-4/26/08
Another 0500 hours start and hit the trailhead by 0600 hours. I kept the car and all the glove compartments unlocked after seeing the remnants of broken glass scattered in the parking lot. No other cars in the lot at this time, the sun was just coming up over the ridge and the sky was crystal clear.
We climbed the trail passing Elowah Falls and eventually passing Moffett Creek. I have driven along I-84 all of my life and had no idea that there was a trail that ran at road level along that stretch. Elowah Falls is beautiful!!! An engineering firm seems to have recently marked the trail with pink tape and stakes from Ewolah Falls to Moffett. Anyone have any ideas what is going on?
Top: Mossy Rocks Bottom: Eroded Trail and Wild flowers along the trail
Hit the un-maintained trail sign and the hike began. We gained elevation like mad taking the almost �deer trail� like path that led up out of the forest. The trail is pretty eroded in spots and would be a bloody disaster with any precipitation. We did a little scramble up some of the rocks and hit the summit. As we approached the summit he heard a pretty good thrashing off to the south beneath us. Once we hit the summit we looked down and at about 100 yards from us, a pretty descent sized black bear was staring up at us. After a minute or two, the bear continued on his way, away from us. We also observed several Eagles, way out in the trees, looking out into the Columbia.
We �monkeyed� around on the rocks for awhile and then headed down the trail reaching the car by about 0930 hours.
This was a pretty hardcore hike. The view and scenery has to be one of the best in the Gorge. The grind to the top is well worth it!!! And where in the heck is the Geocache box up there?!?! We spent a boat load of time looking for it and never found it.
-Jason |