Day 145 Eagle Creek – The Hike

22.2 miles
From the Huckleberry Mtn Trail intersection (mile 2121.6, elevation 4047)
To Cascade Locks (mile 2150, elevation 184)
Climbing 1953
Descend 5885

The morning hike continued along the same ridge I was on yesterday afternoon. My goal for the day was to try to get to Cascade Locks. I was leaning toward taking the alternate route along Eagle Creek.

Mount Hood slowly recedes into the distance (compared to yesterday)

Taking a detour to Ramona Falls worked well yesterday, so today I listened to other reviews and took the alternate Indian Springs/Eagle Creek route. Just before the PCT bypass, I met two retired men who helped identify the Washington Cascade Mountains as Adams, Rainier (further away), and St. Helens. They also strongly supported my decision to take Eagle Creek. I was told that the first few kilometers were downhill, but also much prettier than the PCT.

Looking north towards the Washington Cascades. Mount Adams is the peak towards the right side that is easily seen in the photo. Mount St. Helens is near the left edge of the photo, flat-topped. Mount Rainier is practically centered in the distance; In reality, you can’t see much more than its snow-covered peak.

My initial impression was that the men were definitely right about the downhill part. The creators of the Indian Springs Trail didn’t seem to be aware of the idea of ​​switchbacks. The trail simply went down a ridge in rocky terrain. After a few miles of this, my legs were tired enough to prompt me to take a break. They tried to convince me to sit out the rest of the day, but my desire to get to Cascade Locks overrode them.

Once I got to Eagle Creek, the trail didn’t get much (any?) smoother, but the streams themselves were beautiful. Thinking back to my backpacking trip through the Tuolumne Grand Canyon last summer (Yosemite National Park), I felt like this was definitely a more scenic valley. The waterfalls along Eagle Creek were incredible. The trail itself was often carved into the rock wall, with steel cables attached to the rock as handrails.

First waterfall along Eagle Creek

The pool under the first waterfall. I loved its clarity and depth.

To the abyss! All the water reached a U-shaped waterfall and fell into it from all directions. I just wish I had a better view of the water as it fell.

tunnel falls

To allow the trail to pass these falls, the trail’s creators dug a tunnel into the rock behind the falls.

tunnel falls

At the tunnel falls

The actual tunnel behind the tunnel falls.

Downstream of Tunnel Falls

This is how the path was carved into the rock of the hillside: narrow and often with an overhang.

pedestrian bridge

Just another beautiful waterfall

One last waterfall in case you haven’t gotten bored of them yet.

I was definitely tired by the end though. I always greet everyone I pass along the way and chat a little if they wish. But, besides the interaction itself, there is an advantage to being friendly on the road: it often makes hitchhiking easier. In this case, it was very easy to hitchhike for over 2 miles along the highway to Cascade Locks.

When I realized that all traffic leaving the trailhead had to go to Cascade Locks (even Portland-bound traffic had to drive to Cascade Locks before turning to head toward Portland), I decided to hitchhike instead of walk. The first car to arrive from the trailhead was from a family I had already talked to about the PCT. The family included a man who expressed interest in leaving the PCT one day. They stopped and made room for me in the car. We were able to continue the conversation we started on the way.

I got a room at the Columbia Gorge Hotel, which I would describe as simple, no frills, but clean and adequate. The hotel has a PCT discount, a hiker box, and they allow hikers to do their laundry for free.

Columbia Gorge Inn, where I stayed in Cascade Locks. I walked a couple blocks to Thunder Island Brewing Company and had a Salmon Bowl and a beer for dinner. With their “pay it forward” program, a previous customer covered the cost of my beer. Thank you!

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at the market to buy some things for dessert and breakfast tomorrow. They had Tillamook Mudslide flavored ice cream (even for sale), one of my favorites. I’m a little worried about what might happen when I finish this tour and return to more normal activity levels. Finishing a 1.5 quart ice cream in one sitting is becoming almost easy for me.

I stayed up and played around with the music, adding chords to the music of “Trail Angel” and lyrics to “Take Me Home, PCT.” I also tested what happens when I create something using the WordPress app and it can’t be saved online. It seems like it doesn’t actually remember the photos I put in the post, so I had to add them back. Remembered the subtitles, which is helpful.

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