APPLE CIDER DONUT; HOOD VIEWS; I SAT ON MY OTTERBOX
We drove through the upper Hood River Valley this morning. This area features several wineries and fruit orchards along Highway 35. We stopped at Packer Orchards for some rhubarb jam and an apple cider donut. They had every kind of fruit-based baked goods you can imagine, along with a full selection of ice cream, jellies, jams and preserves.
Out in the parking lot, we looked to the north and had a clear view of Mt. Adams on the Washington side of the Columbia River.
Continuing south, we drove up and out of the valley into the alpine forests surrounding Mt. Hood. At the park ranger station, we caught an early glimpse of Mt. Hood off in the distance, with its peak shrouded in a halo of clouds.
We made a quick stop at Trillium Lake, where we could see Mt. Hood from the south looking north.
At the base of the mountain, we visited the Timberline Lodge. It was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1936 and still maintains much of its original character. In what was once the dining hall, and is now a conference room, are original ‘sports’ murals made from linoleum hand-carved and painted. Much of the original hand-built furniture is also still in use.
There were a few hardy souls still doing some spring skiing up there and it was cold enough (and very windy) that we decided to get back to lower elevations.
On the way back to Hood River, we stopped at the Tamanawas Falls trailhead. The temperature there was in the low 70’s, which is the warmest we’ve had so far.
Karen took today off from hiking and relaxed at the trailhead while I made the four mile round trip hike.
The trail follows the East Fork of the Hood River for a while, and then heads uphill following Cold Springs Creek to the falls. It’s moderately steep, with very uneven rocky terrain, especially near the falls. A talus slope leads up to the base and the rocks are covered in moss and saturated by mist from the falling water.
I made my way to a large rock for a better photo angle and sat down to prepare to take the Photo of The Year. As I sat, I realized my phone was in my back pocket. It was wedged between me and a pointy little rock outcropping I had sat upon. My phone case is pretty heavy duty and it did protect my phone. However, that rocky protuberance scratched and dented the camera lens protector section of the case. The picture below is the last picture I took with my camera today. It’s time for a new case.
After the hike we drove back through some of the orchards and vineyards on the way to dinner in Hood River, where the temperature was in the low 80’s!
Before dinner, we walked next door to tour the grounds of the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel. It is said that many famous people came to stay here soon after the original highway was completed in the early 20th century. Silent film stars Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow were here.
Below is a photo of Wah Gwin Gwin Falls cascading down to the Columbia River between this hotel and our hotel (in the background).
NEXT: East to Walla Walla
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