Getting There
The weather was amazing, the temp were in the upper 50s and blue skies for miles. Recently, it's been pretty rainy so I jumped at the chance to get outdoors.
I took I-84 east and parked in the Multnomah Falls parking lot between the eastbound and westbound lanes. Plus, real or imagined, I'm guessing this parking lot is "safer" due to high turnover and cameras.
The lot was about 1/2 way full, plenty of open spots.
The Hike
Elev. gain: 2,582 ft
Moving time: 4:36:41
Avg pace: 28:07
Calories: 2,438
Total time: 4:58:42
It was so good to get out on a hike, my first of 2025. As I mentioned in my previous post, I hadn't really done much hiking since Oct, when I was in Bend, OR. I did a hike up Eagle Creek at the beginning of November, then I got sick at the beginning of December, which lasted the whole month. I did a hike up Hamilton Mtn on New Year's Eve.
I parked at Multnomah Falls and hiked the Return Trail to Wahkeena Falls. It's a good thing, since the parking was full, that I opted for ample parking. At this point, I didn't know if I was going to do the Wahkeena-Multnomah loop or something else. I was sort of keen on reaching Devil's Rest but that depended on how I felt.
Just around the corner from Wahkeena Falls, there was a rock slide over the paved trail but it was easy enough to step through on the edge.
On the switchbacks, I passed a group of three college kids, one wearing Chuck Taylors. While waiting for them to pass by, I noticed an old trail marker for the Perdition Trail. I've never heard of this trail but it was obviously defunct, or at least unmaintained by TKO or parks.
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| Rock slide at the start of the switchbacks |
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| Sign for defunct trail |
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| First bridge crossing over Wahkeena Creek |
There was a sprinkling of hikers doing the clockwise loop. At Fairy Falls, I met a woman that was hesitant to cross through the creek. The crossing needs some repairs. She said she was going to watch how I crossed. I did and stopped on the other side to make sure she made it through safely. When she reached where I was, I gave her a fist bump and celebrated her success. I wished her well on the rest of her hike.
I keep pushing steadily to the apex of the trail. I paused briefly to consider my options. I felt good and had lots of energy in reserve. Fuck it. I'm heading to Devil's Rest. A few feet up the trail, a kid passed me but stopped to ask about the views and trail options. I said Devil's Rest was in the trees but that Angel's Rest overlooks the river. He didn't have any gear, water, maps, phone?, just a beanie. Who am I to say?
When the Devil's Rest trail leveled out, the sun was out and it was nice & warm. Gorgeous colors.
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| Sunshine on the Devil's Rest Trail |
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| Loving the colors |
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| More gorgeous colors |
I passed a few more people on the trail. One pair said I was almost there (true) and another guy with 3 small dogs told me about the trail options. I said thanks and wished them all well.
At the top, I paused briefly to snap a couple of photos but didn't stay long. I thought I might eat lunch but wanted to start the trip back since I was losing light. The whole Oregon side of the river was in shade due to low winter sun.
Last time I was there, I descended down the front of hillside but ended up on the Devil's Slide, a very steep route. I still wanted to check out the Vista Point viewpoint and taking this route would have put be below it. I made my way around the rocks and found the Primrose Path, which reconnects with the Devil's Rest Trail and is the safer way to descend down the front.
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| Devil's Rest Summit |
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| Devil's Rest Summit |
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| Mt Adams |
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| Mt St Helens |
Finally made it to the Vista Viewpoint. I'd stopped several times to clear some small trees over the trail and cut off jagged remains of the branches that were hazards when climbing over larger logs.
The sun was going down and it was getting dark quickly. I had two flashlights but I could still see well enough without. I knew it'd get darker when I go lower into the canopy.
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| East: Columbia River, Archer Mtn, Beacon Rock/Hamilton |
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| West: Columbia River, Cape Horn |
Thanks to the long exposure on the iPhone 15 Pro, this photo came out really well despite the low light.
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| Wahkeena Falls |
My hike back to the parking lot on the Return Trail was almost too dark to see the ground and tripping hazards but I still didn't want to stop to find my flashlight. I made it without incident. There were quite a few cars still in the parking lot.
Great hike to start the new year.
