It was hard to sleep last night as it was uncomfortably warm. The low altitude (around 2000 feet) has something to do with this, but I suspect that another “heat dome” has moved in to plague the Pacific Northwest again.
A half mile or so of walking brought me to the bottom of the gorge where the Eagle River makes its bed, cascading over solid rock of a dark and igneous nature
My knee felt a bit weak and wobbly after the long hike yesterday. Unlike yesterday, it did not start feeling better as I continued to hike. So I kept to a moderate pace. It’s only 12 miles to Cascade Locks, where I am planning to spend the next two nights. I’ll do a resupply and let my legs recuperate. And drink beer of course.
A few more miles brought me to the star attraction of the gorge
The walls of the gorge here are sheer solid rock. The trail has been blasted out of the rock wall, leaving a drop of 30-50 feet to the river. Cables have been bolted to the wall for use as a handhold. Heights and dropoffs make me more nervous than they used to, yet another consequence of advanced age. I did not hesitate to grab on to the cable.
Like pretty much every PCT blogger ever, I made a video of my excursion through the tunnel that runs behind the falls
That was pretty much the highlight of the day. There were nice river views and smaller waterfalls, but it got too hot too soon to really enjoy them.
Also my knee was hurting more and more.
The last few miles were mostly a roadwalk into town along the interstate, but there was one high point where I could see the Columbia River, and thus consider my traverse of the State of Oregon to be complete. That’s two states down, one to go.
The pavement did my knee no favors, and I was definitely hobbling by the time I made it into town and checked into my motel. Hoping a day of rest is all that’s needed to get it fit for more hiking.