Hamilton Mountain Hike - February 2003

Rocke, Michael and I decided to get out and take a hike on a beautiful day in February. We called my son, Michael to see if he wanted to join us. Michael met Rocke and I in the parking lot of the Hamilton Mountain Trailhead. The trailhead is on Highway 14 in Washington about 6 miles west of the Bridge of the Gods. After gathering up all our gear (backpacks with food and hiking poles), and paying to park the car at the trailhead, we were ready to hit the trail.

The path starts out climbing through a second-growth Douglas fir forest with red thimbleberries, blue Oregon grapes, and bracken fern. We came to a side trail to the right that descended for a view of Hardy Falls. We climbed back up the side trail and continued on the main trail. After a few hundred yards on the main trail, we took another side trail to the left that ended at a railed cliff beside Rodney Falls, a fascinating, 50-foot cascade trapped in an enormous rock-walled bowl. The sound and sight of the falls was awesome to hear and see, as it poured water in the walled bowl. We then came back down to the main trail and continued on our hike. We took a switchback down to a footbridge below the falls. Great place to get some pictures. After leaving the footbridge, we continued our hike on a steep switchbacking trail. We came to a sign that said "Difficult" to the left, and "More Difficult" to the right. Guess which way we went! Of course we had to take the "More Difficult" trail to the right. The switchbacks took us up a cliff-edged ridge with dizzying views across the Columbia Gorge. Wow, what spectacular views! The higher we climbed, the more windy and colder it got. We finally made it to the top and the view up and down the Columbia Gorge was beautiful. We could see the valley below, Bonneville Dam, and the top of Mt. Hood, sticking up from behind the Cascade Mountains. It was very cold and the wind was blowing so strong at the top of Hamilton Mountain, we had to brace ourselves.

At the top of the mountain, we were ready for the sandwiches we had in our backpacks. First, we had to find a place out of the wind and that was going to be a task. We finally climbed back down the lee side of the mountain a few yards and found a place out of the wind. After that long steep climb, those sandwiches and a pop really hit the spot.

Michael decided to go back down Hamilton Mountain the same way we went up. He wanted to get some pictures on the way back. Rocke and I decided to take another route back to the car. We followed a ridge crest trail, where it was mighty cold and the wind tried to blow Rocke and I off the mountain. After we crossed the crest, we turned left down an abandoned road. That road took us down into a meadow at a creek crossing, and into an alder forest, where the trail led us back to the main trail and down to our car.

Michael had beat us back to the car and was in his car with the motor running and heat on to keep him warm. We had a great workout climbing Hamilton Mountain. The elevation gain was around 2000 feet and the trail loop was about 7.6 miles. We were cold and tired. We decided to to to Cascade Locks and get a cup of hot chocolate. Mmmm, was it hot and good!!