warm weak-willed wanderings west of Wahkeena

[Chip Down]

The full topic title that wouldn't fit:
wasting time with warm worthless weak-willed wimpy wanderings west of Wahkeena, wishing for wisdom, whining for water, wearing what was once white, wondering what would work.
This post brought to you by the letter W.

Didn't really know what I wanted to do on the 4th. Decided to start with a quick bit of exploring west of Wahkeena Falls, followed by an easy stroll around Herman.

Parked at Wahkeena Falls lot, walked up to the little gully/amphitheater right before the first bridge, and headed upslope. A bit of steep bushwhacking forced me right and brought me to a cliff. A bit of a breach presented a possible possibility for progress. I stood and looked at it for a while, and finally decided to try my Batman technique (Bosterson knows what I mean). But then I tested a rock with a whack from my axe, and it budged. Um, no. Not worth it. Everything looked solid, but wasn't. I had visions of hanging off a tree by a rope, the entire slope slipping away beneath my feet. Probably good I turned back. I made a bunch of stupid careless errors already. My head wasn't on straight. Don't know why. Might not be good to push it when your head is in a fog.

Back down a bit, further west, back up, another deadend, but was able to traverse west on a ramp under an overhanging cliff, so that was a nice bonus.

Up a gully which harbored a rotting log, which made it a lot easier. Dead end at a shallow cave. Traverse west looked tricky, so back down and more west. No energy, no enthusiasm. Was starting to wish I had just settled for my plan B, poking around Herman.

Next was a big gully that might have paid off, but entry was guarded by a few yards of very steep rock, so I kept going west until I crested a minor ridge at a minor viewpoint, and then into a rocky bowl that looked like it offered an exit ramp, but up high it turned into an illusion of perspective. You know how it is.

Back down and west to a big rocky amphitheater with a nice fun scramble exit. I heard falling water and felt mist, but saw none, and surmised that the next gully would be Pablo's, where the fall at the entrance was surprisingly still active. It's meager in the wet season, so I had assumed it would be dry in July.

In a few minutes I arrived at Pablo's gully, and discovered it really is as horrifically brushy as I'd been warned. I wanted to go over and fill up on cold water, but I wasn't going to fight through that.

Ascended to a nice flattish spot right on a ridge at the base of the rocky prominence that defines the east side of the entrance to Pablo's gully. As I'd been forced west all morning, I realized I'd likely get over here, and my struggles to gain elevation had started turning into aspirations of getting to the top of that spot. But at the base of it, I knew it was impossible on the east or north side. Tried following the western base of the cliff, but soon the easy terrain faded, and my only option to continue would be right into Pablo's Gully. No thanks. Back to the north end of the cliffs, right below the tip of Pablo's Prominence. Dropped down the ridge a bit and discovered it was more scenic that I was guessing (from above, it looked like nothing but brush). It dropped off abruptly, probably into my amphitheater. The view across Pablo's Gully was pretty decent, a nice perspective that very few gorge hikers have enjoyed. I struggled to identify notable elements of my route, but from here it was mostly featureless brush. I could see a couple distinct features, but they were hard to reconcile with my ground-level observations. I was at 720'. The horizontal distance from paved trail to turnaround point was less than the length of the Multnomah Falls parking lot. Oh, the ignominy!

I felt like I was out of options, so started down the west edge of that ridge, figuring that would be the best route back to the highway, which I could follow for a few minutes to the TH. Lucked out and hit an open rocky corridor that went on and on. At the bottom, I was shocked when I ended up at the paved Wahkeena trail! I had no idea I had drifted that far east. On countless hikes up that trail, I never wondered where that rocky clearing went! It's just barely above the first switchback. I stashed my pack there and dashed back to the car to clean up a little and resupply.

Part two of the hike started just above the top of Wahkeena Falls (just above Lemmon's VP, where the paved trail turns to dirt). I hopped across Wahkeena Creek to the west side, and started scrambling/bushwhacking up the canyon. Steep! I wanted to work on my bizarre fantasy that there must be a clear scenic route up to Wahkeena Spring. I was lured by steep mossy grassy ridges that promised an easy hike at the canyon rim. Nope. There was never really a canyon rim, it just got more brushy and less steep. I bushwhacked around quite a bit. Figured if I was persistent I'd hit trail eventually, but that seemed pointless. It was late and hot and I was tired, so I needed more promise of rewards. Down I went, and at the creek I went north a bit (downstream) and skirted the base of the canyon's cliffs. Went quite a while, but everything that looked promising turned out to be disappointing (viewless bushwhacking). I weighed my options. Hated to go home empty handed, but it was time to accept that it was a wasted day.

Still wondering if I want to take another shot at Pablo's Prominence. It would be a lot of miserable bushwhacking for 10 minutes of glory. Worth it? Maybe. If I try again, I might go to the top of Mist Falls (I know that can be done, I've been there) and then work my way east. Might be a good winter hike.

By the way, no poison oak at all. That would have turned me back for sure, with all my rolling in the brush.