September 12: Fall-ing In Love Again
Perched on the muddy ground under a damp basalt overhang behind the base of Upper Latourell Falls, I watched the sheets of frothy white water cascading down 134 feet in front of me, breathed in the earthy scent of the Douglas Firs towering overhead, and lifted my face to greet the mist enshrouding me.
Having explored much of the Pacific Northwest by motorcycle for more than a decade, I am now finding new ways to fall in love with the breathtaking scenery right in my own backyard.
Being a sucker for waterfalls and intrigued by the idea of travelling by trolley to some of the more popular destinations along the Columbia Gorge, I set off this morning on a Grey Line ride with get on and get off stops at seven iconic falls along historic route 30.
Chugging along America’s first planned scenic highway in the yellow and green streetcar, I got a close look at the road’s hand built Italian stone masonry retaining walls, arched concrete bridges, and rustic stone guardrails framed by a canopy of tall dark brown Douglas Firs and moss-covered big green maples.
Stopping at Crown Point for a breathtaking vista of the canyon carved through the sheer rock faces of the Cascade Range and the steel blue waters of the Columbia River below, I continued to Horsetail Falls where I hopped off to take in the sight of the swift water swaying 176 feet down a rounded green mossy basalt cliff into an emerald colored pool below.
Getting back on the trolley and heading west I was treated to a full view of two-tiered Multnomah Falls, plunging 620 glorious feet past a rocky cliff wall covered with dark and light green moss, lichen, and ferns and continuing down through the lush forest of firs and maples at its base.
Disembarking at Wahkeena Falls, I gingerly made my way past rushing river waters and up a steep, wet rock-strewn muddy surface to a vantage point right at the base of the falls where the water surged down a steep rocky chute, breaking into churning white froth over moss-covered boulders.
Returning to the road and boarding the trolley again, I made one last stop at Latourell Falls, in some ways my favorite of the day, at least in part because I don’t recall ever visiting the upper portion of this beauty before.
Hiking past the lower falls’ uninterrupted 249-foot sheet of water, over several wooden bridges, and through the damp green forest, I could hear the roaring waters of the upper falls up ahead even before I entered the clearing at its base. Sliding down through the rock face above before twisting into a free fall in front of me, the broad shower of water stood out dramatically against the fern covered cliff and dark rocky cave behind it. What a great day on the road!
