Hood River Pipeline Hike 4/3/2022

[pdxalex]

I hesitate to describe this as a "hike" given the far more vigorous and challenging ones posted throughout the website. But, I noticed that there weren't any trail reports listed and I wanted some kind of exercise to feel a tiny bit better about picking up a wine club order so we decided to visit it. The Field Guide notes are spot on. The TH is very easy to find. It doesn't hurt that the old powerhouse and gantry crane are visible from Hwy 35. The parking lot was relatively busy, perhaps 10-12 cars, but I suspect that most were for folks trying to fish the salmon run. There are multiple opportunities to reach the water if desired. The catwalk ends abruptly where the penstock was destroyed. It is a little disturbing to look down into the river and see were sections of the concrete supports that were tossed like old toys by past floods. If you want to reach the beach at this point, there is a conveniently placed ladder perhaps a hundred feet from the end. You will have to walk along the penstock to find a route under it. Avoid the first opening. There's no need to crawl when you can go another 15-20 feet and walk under it. This was a very pleasant walk. We encountered a variety of birds and a lone squirrel but no other wildlife (and the fishermen had no salmon). Most of the trees are starting to leaf out. We didn't see any wildflowers but buds were starting to show.

Starting up the river crossing.

Midstream

The "trail"

Along the river

The end of the "trail"

Concrete support in the river

[bobcat]

What a cool, quirky little outing. Thanks for the report!

[Pick-a-Pika]

Great local 'hike' for me. Don't bring your dog, though. The grates on the walkways hurt dogs' feet and can make them bleed..
Our hike was cut short the first time because of this.

I hope the wine tasted better because you got outside !