McChord and Elowah Falls

Trail to McChord Falls with Mount Adams in the background, over in Washington

This weekend I headed out solo (couldn't convince any of my kid to come with me) to McChord and Elowah Falls - two of the many waterfalls on tributaries entering the Columbia River Gorge, streaming off lava flows on the Oregon side.  The hike up to McChord Falls wasn't terrible and the views from the trail which is perched on a blasted-out ledge were great; even saw Mount Adams!  McChord Falls wasn't that exciting, but the trail to it was actually worth the effort.

With the northern exposure of the site, there were lots of wildflowers left and it wasn't too hot.  Lots of poison oak, but relatively easy to avoid.  After McChord Falls, I had to hike half way back down and then take a different fork over to Elowah Falls.

Elowah Falls is by far the more magnificent of the two.  Surprisingly, even though it was closer to the trailhead, there weren't many people.  The trail ends in a field of fallen basalt and I just walked right over to the base of the falls.  I wasn't brave enough to stand under the falls since the water is falling 213 feet and I bet it would hurt!

After I took some pictures, I hiked back to the car.  Instead of driving back entirely on the freeway, I headed south once I hit Gresham and went to the Bent Shovel Brewery because that place was also on my list.  As luck would have it, there was a little artisan's market being held there and I found Dohnele a mother's day gift of stain-glass flowers while I walked among the booths with a beer in hand!