April 13, 2021
Today we said goodbye to the state of
Washington, and what a powerful send off we received. The day was
picture perfect; clear sunny skies. As we traveled south we were
graced by the beautiful and majesty of Mt Rainier, so visible as if
we were right beside her instead of the many miles that separated us.
As she kept us in her grandeur, and stayed to the left us, there
rising up in front of us was Mt St. Helen. WOW, Clear as could be,
talk about experiencing the power of nature, seeing the mighty
mountain on a clear day. Both brilliantly white with their glistening
blankets of snow. Until you see this for yourself you can not fully
appreciated the splendor. And how rare the clarity.
We continued on southward, our
destination across the border into Oregon, when there before us we
spotted yet another breathtaking sight as Mt Hood came into view. Oh
the beauty and we where able to enjoy this for many miles as we
crossed the Columbia River and turned east towards Ainsworth State
Park, our home for the night.
Ainsworth State Park is in Cascade
Locks, OR., a great place to stay for a night or a week.
The campground itself is on the small side but cleverly situated on the
side of the mountain. It is tiered into two levels with a dozen or so
sites on each. We were on the top tier and had a beautiful view of
the valley below. Well kept grounds and facilities. While a ranger
went through from time to time, there also Camp Hosts, we had the
pleasure of chatting with one of them. Ginger was fun to chat with
and told us of a trail right in the campground that lead to one of
the many falls in the area. This was great as we were just there for
the one night and weren't going to be able to explore much. So, of
course, off we went with her words of, yes, it's only about a mile or
so walk.
What Ginger neglected to mention was
that it was rather steep, quite narrow in places with areas of loose
rocks. Ah heck, let's face it, our type of hiking, LOL I will say it
was rather unnerving though when we came upon several areas with
signage warning: Rock slide area, loose rocks may cause avalanche if
disturbed. WHAT?? Oh my and this is on the sections where the trail
was maybe two feet wide. Rocks going upward to the left of us and all
but straight down on the right.
Yep, we tender footed across quite
carefully. There were three of these sections each 20 to 30 feet
across and yes, rather exhilarating. I will say it was a rugged mile
and half but oh so worth it.
As we went around a curve in the trail
there in front of us we got our first view of HorseTail Falls. Made
one catch one's breath and certainly spurred us on. Carefully making
our way down the the side of the mountain, oh remember those Rock
Slide areas I mentioned, yeah one of those was on the downward! There
it was in all it's beauty. Glorious. Waterfalls have such a
mesmerizing power and this one was no different. We just sat and
watched for a spell.
This area has many falls and there is a
narrow scenic road that runs along it, part of the historic Lewis and
Clark Trail. Unfortunately it had been a rough winter with lots of
snow, ice and high winds that resulted in several serious rock slides
causing the closing of the road in many sections. So glad we were
able to get to the one we did. We, (wisely), decided to take the road
back to the campground and enjoy the peacefulness of it being one of
the closed to traffic sections. Got back to camp, had a lovely dinner
and enjoy a glass of wine as we marveled on the day. What a perfect
start to our travels.
Til tomorrow: Ta
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