Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 6 - May 26, 2026

 DUBOG; ANOTHER “THIS IS NOT A HIKE” DAY; BONNEVILLE DAM

There’s nothing like a hearty breakfast to start the day. Karen found us one in the town of Cascade Locks, just a few miles west of Hood River. The aptly named Bridgeside diner serves up old fashioned roadside fare designed to fill you up. Located ‘Down Under the Bridge Of Gods’, it was a convenient spot to get started on the day’s activities.

The bridge spans the Columbia River at one of the most narrow sections of the gorge. Its name, Bridge of the Gods, is an homage to the oral traditions of the local Native American tribes. Their stories tell of an ancient time when they could walk across the river on a land bridge.

These legends are given some credence by archaeological evidence of a massive landslide in the gorge sometime around the 11th century A.D. The slide stopped the river completely for some time, until it eventually formed a new path (more on this later).

We drove across the bridge into Washington and turned west on Highway 14, toward Beacon Rock State Park.

Beacon Rock was described by William Clark in 1805, when he was exploring a route around the rapids that used to exist in this part of the gorge before modern dams controlled the water flow. He first called it Beaten Rock, then later changed it to Beacon Rock. It’s a huge basaltic monolith on the Washington bank of the river.

In 1915, a man named Henry Biddle bought the rock for $1 in order to protect and preserve it. He also constructed a trail (completed in 1918) to the top by carving a path that winds and switchbacks 680 vertical feet from the trailhead to the summit. His family eventually donated the rock to the State of Washington in the 1930’s.  In an interesting twist of historical kismet, Biddle was a descendant of Nicolas Biddle, who was the first person to edit (in 1814) the original journals of Lewis and Clark’s expedition.

Given all this exciting information, we had no other choice: we had to climb it!

We grabbed our hiking poles and began the ascent. Most of this trail consists of ledges carved into the side of the rock. Where the ledges end, there are flying mini-bridges that span the gaps with wooden planks. In many places you can look straight up and see the 52 switchbacks disappearing into the sky.

Karen did a great job on this challenging walk and we completed the two mile round trip with no problems. Along the way we had stunning views of the river, including Horsetail Falls to the west on the Oregon side, and Bonneville Dam to the east spanning the river.

Once we finished up our walk, we drove back eastward on Highway 14 to the Bonneville Dam visitor center. We got there just in time for a guided tour from the park ranger. On this Tuesday-after-a-holiday, the place was almost deserted and there were only four other people on our tour.

We saw the giant hydraulic turbines (and we went down into the turbine room and walked on a couple of them), and learned some interesting things about the dam and its relationship with the river.

For instance, there is a high peak just downriver on the Washington side called Table Mountain. Geologists have determined that, sometime in the past, there was an earthquake and a gigantic landslide that brought down half of Table Mountain into the gorge. The slide completely blocked the river for a number of years (remember the Native American legends?), and eventually shifted the course of the river about a mile to the south.

By the time Lewis and Clark came through, the river was a raging series of non-navigable rapids. It remained that way until Bonneville (and others) Dam was built in the 1930’s to control the flow and allow for safe travel and commerce on the river.

We learned that the Army Corps of Engineers also spends a lot of time working to preserve the ability of migrating fish, especially salmon, to get both up and down the river past the dam and its power generating turbines. The fish ladder systems continue to be refined. One highlight of our tour was going down into the dam and watching, from below water level, the fish swimming up the ladder.

After walking up into the clouds on Beacon Rock, and descending more than 50 feet below the surface of the river at Bonneville Dam - not to mention both the physical and educational exhilaration of these pursuits - we headed back to Hood River for a short rest and dinner.

NEXT: The Fruit Loop - Highway 35 South Toward Mt. Hood

Bonus photo: Bicycle trail tunnel at Mitchell Point, high above I-84 near Hood River

Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 5 - May 25, 2026

 RUNNING THE WATERFALL GAUNTLET 

We awoke this morning to the sound of a ship coming up the river. It was heading east - the same direction we were going today.

After breakfast, we jumped onto Highway 30 east until we crossed the Columbia River over to Longview, WA, where we caught I-5 south to Vancouver. Then we crossed the river again near the Portland Airport to connect to I-84 east. There was a steady rain falling from the darkened sky most of the way, until we got just a few miles west of the falls.

Our first stop today was Multnomah Falls. We’d read a lot about how crowded the falls could get during this part of the year, especially on a holiday weekend. Most sources highly recommended getting a timed entry pass to allow you to visit. So, Karen got us a 12:00 noon reservation.

We pulled into the crowded parking area just before noon and managed to find a parking spot right next to the entrance. There was an attendant making sure that everyone had a pass (Karen noticed that he didn’t check the specific time, however), before allowing entry.

We watched the waterfall from the lower viewpoint for a while.

Then, Karen let me take a quick hike up the one mile (each way) trail to the top of the 620 foot high falls.

Since the weather had improved, and because we’d managed to see the most popular attraction on this part of the highway, we decided to back-track westbound on historic Highway 30 through the ‘Waterfall Corridor’ in order to catch a few more falls.

This road is a beautiful drive through thick forest with towering cliffs on the south side. Several waterfalls come down along here, with most of them easily accessible from the road. The only problem is that this early 20th century highway was not designed for modern tourist traffic demands like - parking.

The Memorial Day crowd were pretty polite drivers, however, so we still managed to get to most of the falls we wanted to see. Such as,

Horsetail Falls

Shepperds Dell

Latourell Falls

Vista House at Crown Point (originally built as an automobile rest stop, and now a visitor center)

One of the information placards we saw explained that most of the land around these various waterfalls was privately owned when the highway was built over one hundred years ago. The owners donated portions of the land to ensure future preservation and public access. 

In the late afternoon, we got back onto I-84 east to Hood River, where we’ll spend the next 3 nights at the Columbia Cliffs Villas. When we pulled in for the evening, the wind was absolutely howling through the gorge. Good thing we have a little fireplace in our room…

NEXT: Bonneville Dam, Cascade Locks, and Hood River 

Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 4 - May 24, 2026

 STEPPING UP TO A DAY OF REST; DOWNTOWN MARKET; FORT CLATSOP

After yesterday’s activities, Karen suggested we take a day off from hiking. So, we drove up to the top of Coxcomb Hill this morning. The sky was blue and the sun was warm when we arrived. This is the site of the Astoria Column, built in 1926 to commemorate some of the local history. 

From this location you get a 360 view of the Columbia River, downtown Astoria, and several mountains, including Mt. St. Helens.

To get to the top of the column, you climb a spiral staircase up 164 steps to a viewing platform 125 feet above the ground. I think this was, technically, NOT a hike right? Karen didn’t hesitate at all and did a great job getting to the top. 

Among the rewards for climbing up there (aside from the obvious joy of invigorating exercise), was the opportunity to launch a small balsa wood glider from the top. It was amazing to watch how long and how far they floated in the air currents.  Along with us tourists, a pair of bald eagles watched from their perch in a nearby pine tree. Due to my acute fear of heights, I was glued to the column itself and stayed well back from the railing. Meanwhile, children down in the park were scrambling to retrieve any gliders that landed near them, so they could run back to the top and re-launch them.

Admission to the column is free, but the Friends of Astoria Column, Inc. must bring in lots of cash by charging $1 for each glider. Most people we saw had handfuls of them as they huffed and puffed their way up the staircase.

Later, while Karen rested in a comfortable chair down in the park, I took a short stroll to visit the Cathedral Tree. It’s down in a glen in the rainforest adjacent to the park at the base of the column. Once you’re in there, it’s green and shady and quiet - except for the faint barking sounds of sea lions way down the hill on the river. I also ran into a creature who seemed a long way from the University of California Santa Cruz.

On Sundays, there is a large farmer’s market in downtown Astoria and that’s where we went next. It seemed like the whole town was there enjoying the holiday weekend.

We checked out all the local products, and then drove through the very vertical neighborhoods of Astoria toward Fort Clatsop.

Just a few minutes outside town is the place where the Corps of Discovery spent the cold and miserable winter of 1805-06. The National Park Service manages a carefully reconstructed replica of Fort Clatsop. It’s hard to imagine 33 people living together for five months in a wooden stockade with a 50’ x 50’ footprint. The rooms are cramped and dark and even on a ‘warm’ day in May, the surrounding forest floor is damp and muddy. After a short visit, we decided to take the rest of the afternoon off.

After a little nap, we got a ride downtown for dinner in the hotel’s vintage 1960’s Rambler Classic.

NEXT: Hood River and the ‘Waterfall Corridor’