Multnomah Falls

Hike: Multnomah Falls
Date: March 23, 2008
Distance: 2.4 miles (1.2 one way)
Elevation gain: 600 feet

Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States and is just up the road in the Columbia Gorge. For our first "real" hike of 2008 we thought we'd give it a try.

It was a gorgeous Easter Saturday but when we got out of the car and walked to the lodge and into the shadow of Larch Mountain we were a little concerned...it was COLD. We thought we'd start by walking the .2 miles up to the bridge that spans the river and leads to the trail. It was even COLDER as we were pelted with all the tiny droplets of spray from the falls. The kids were still excited though so Troy and I thought we'd give it a little longer before we headed back to the warmth of the car.

Once we got over the bridge and around the bend in the trail we warmed right up. That had a little to do with the lack of wetness, a little to do with the occasional sun burst through the trees and a whole lot to do with the switchbacks. We definitely learned that 600 feet in 1 mile isn't your average stroll through the park...especially for short little 4 year old legs.

The top of the falls had a lookout that extended over the falls and gave us a great view. We were all pretty impressed with ourselves when we saw how high we had climbed.

The way back was a lot faster but a little more nerve wracking with the kids and their apparent disregard for the CLIFF that they were careening so close to. I spent the whole way down saying "Don't run. Get away from the edge. Don't run." and Troy spent the whole way down saying "Breathe Amanda. Calm down Amanda. That vein in your forehead is gonna pop Amanda."

My personal favorite moment was after we were down and heading back to the car. The path leads under a train trestle and we happened to be going under at the same time a train was going over. The trestle was low enough that Troy and I could have reached up and touched the track. I've never been so close to the bottom of a moving train before. It was really scary and really really LOUD! Thinking back on it, it would have been smarter for us to wait for it to pass but it was just one of those things that you just gotta do.