Elowah Falls & Oneonta Gorge

We all have been really loving the Colombia River Gorge and I am dreading leaving. For our third day we decided to take it a little easy and just do a few shorter hikes. The pups are still going strong but I don’t want to push it. Today we decided to do the Elowah Falls Double Hike and go check out the Oneonta Gorge. Pictures of this Gorge in particular are actually the ones that led me to choosing this area in the first place. 

First up was Elowah Falls and I know this may come as a shock to you but, they were absolutely beautiful! I think what made them so pretty was the dark stone and the bright green moss background. The hike was ofcourse filled with multiple switchbacks. Yippee!

The second part of the double hike offered some beautiful views of Mount Adams and the Gorge! My legs got a little shaky on this part of the hike as much of it was a very narrow path on the side of a cliff. Luckily, there was a guard rail!

Kayleigh watched the dogs for me while I went around and played on all the rocks and logs in the river leading up to the Falls! See if you can find me in the second picture below!

Next we made the short drive to Oneonta Gorge. It was packed. This trail is awesome because the trail is actually the river! Very similar to Fern Canyon but no ferns and more water! Ha! We made it a bit of the way in but, even though I did my research about the dangerous log blockage on the river, I didn’t realize how gigantic of a log blockage it was. I just thought it was something they had to say for liability reasons. Once I saw it and all the people trying to climb over it I knew there was no way the dogs could safely maneuver their way through the rest of the trail and then onto the waterfall. So we hung out in the river a little bit, snapped some pictures, and enjoyed the scenery and clear water.

We got home pretty early and the weather was perfect! Kayleigh and I sat outside with the dogs playing Skip-Bo and sipping on the most delicious beer ever; Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar! 

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is like to be happy.'”