A quick getaway to Oregon

Apparently I surprised a number of folks this past weekend with a spontaneous trip to Oregon. It was completely unplanned, until Tuesday night last week when I was talking to my friend Jason, who lives on the Oregon coast about an hour outside of Portland. We got to talking about hiking and how great the weather was out there and I decided I just had to go visit. So, I cashed in some miles, left late Friday afternoon and made it to Portland in time to meet up with Jason for a late dinner and some fantastic microbrews.

Saturday morning we got up and headed over to the Columbia River Gorge, which sits to the east of Portland along the Columbia River. Jason and I had hiked there before on my two previous visits. Both of those times I was there in the late summer when everything looked rather yellow and brown and not very attractive. This time, however, the foliage was lush and green and the waterfalls were really rushing thanks to spring run off.

In all on Saturday we visited seven waterfalls and logged right around twelve miles on the trails. It was awesome.

That night we headed into Portland to have dinner at a place that has become my favorite restaurant ever, Jake's Famous Crawfish. It's also become quite a tradition to go there when I'm in town. Jake's may sound like a cajun place, and they do have a couple of cajun-inspired dishes, but it's really all about the seafood. I can still taste the creamy lobster bisque.

From there we hit the town and then crashed pretty hard for another day of hiking. Sunday morning we went back into the Gorge to visit a couple of new falls, and one more we wanted to check out again.

Jason had to leave just after noon, so we said our goodbyes and I drove east to Hood River to take a drive on the Mt. Hood Scenic Loop. The loop is a really nice drive regardless, but when the skies are clear and Mt. Hood is out, it just dominates the scene. It's an amazing view.

As I had all day, I pulled over and hiked around a lake near the mountain, Trillium Lake. It was nice to get out and stretch my legs for the 6.5 mile loop from the parking area. I even got to see some Trillium's in bloom, which were already done in the lower elevations of the Gorge.

In all, a fantastic weekend and one I won't soon forget. Thanks to Jason for the great company and to Mother Nature for one hell of a scenic region. I'll post more pics when I get a chance.

Multomah Falls - Lower Plunge with Benson Footbridge.

Punchbowl Falls