Notes from Windward: #67

 

Oneonta Falls

exploring an overlooked part of the Gorge

     As we make the run through the Gorge to Portland, one of the always breath-taking scenic treasures is Multnomah Falls. It's so beautiful that we didn't realize that there was another set of falls hidden in the forest just a mile to the east until a new friend mentioned that one of the things she liked best about visiting the Gorge was Oneota Gorge. Since today involved a run into Portland, and Lindsay said that she was always up for a hike, we factored in some time to take the 2.7 mile trek in to see a waterfall that while it's not as tall as Multnomah, it's just as interesting in its own way.

  


     The trail winds back and forth along the steep side of the Gorge, and then heads back in along the a narrow canyon to a waterfall with an inside view. That's Lindsay posing behind the water to provide some scale.

  


     From there the trail winds further back into the woods to a point where a creek flows through a narrow fissure in the ancient basalt walls that make up the Gorge. Even in mid-September, this part of the Pacific-Northwest rain forest is lush and verdant. It was a great hike that we'll look forward to repeating next summer when the weather is more conducive to swimming in the pool beneath the waterfall--it was a bit too cool for that today.

  


Notes From Windward - Index - Vol. 67