Columbia River Gorge

Portland is notorious for being a wet and cloudy city. In many ways, this is true. It is, however, by no means the wettest or cloudiest city in the country. (I'm trying to reassure myself here!)

Pacific Northwest summers are hailed for being dry, sunny, and absolutely gorgeous. According to Lindsay, weather here is at its prime from late June to the end of September. Then, it tends to get increasingly wet and cloudy.

We woke up yesterday morning to perfectly blue skies and upper 50s.

(While we're on the topic of weather... Last week, in a coffee shop, I overheard a guy griping to another patron about the "cold front." It was probably in the lower 40s--crisp, but sunny. Prime fall weather. I reminded him that at least he wasn't in New York City, where, a rare fall snow storm dumped a few inches of heavy snow and subsequently resulted in 8 million headaches.)

Lindsay's brother and some friends flew to San Fran for the weekend for the Ducks-Stanford game, so he left us with his trusty 1994 Honda Accord. So, we decided to take advantage of what could be one of our last glorious fall days. After my interview Thursday morning, we swung back to our apartment, enjoyed a bowl of Potato Leek soup I had made the night before (delicious!), and hopped on 84 heading east of Portland.

After driving on 84 for about 20 miles, we turned onto the Historic Columbia River Highway-- a scenic route that weaves through the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. Although the striking reds, oranges, and yellows of autumn I'm used to aren't quite as pronounced here, I was surprised by the palette of colors that painted the Gorge. In many ways, I felt home on the East coast. The views reminded me of the Hudson River Valley and the Palisades at autumn's peak.

We turned off to enjoy the view at Crown Point. Far below us, on the Columbia River, a few brave souls were kiteboarding in the biting wind. (The Gorge is praised as one of the best places to kiteboard because its unique geology creates a funneling effect, which can create winds in excess of 50 mph.)

Lindsay at Crown Point

Columbia River Gorge looking east

The Gorge Scenic Area is famous for its waterfalls-- 77 on the Oregon side alone-- and, most notably, Multnomah Falls, which is said to be the most visited natural attraction in Oregon. (I began having flashbacks of our family West coast trip when I was a freshman in high school. Most vivid was a family picture of the six of us standing on the bridge under the waterfall.)

A drive-by snap of Multnomah Falls

We continued for another two miles to Oneonta Gorge, a less touristy hiking spot. Since Lindsay is still recovering from ACL reconstruction and a meniscal repair, we decided it'd be best to do a short hike. We hiked up the gorge for about a half a mile, came to a small waterfall, crossed a bridge, then the hike turned back toward the scenic highway to a cliff that overlooks the Columbia River Gorge (and a beautiful view).

Oneonta Gorge

The temperature dropped significantly near the waterfall! Brrrr.

Across the Gorge

After our hike, we drove past Horsetail Falls, which we could have reached at the end of the Oneonta Gorge hike (but would have been a few miles further).

After swinging by Horsetail Falls, we drove to Hood River for dinner and a beer at Double Mountain Brewery. After dinner, we filled up our growler with their India Red Ale ("IRA" as it is known around Hood River)-- a delicious brew with a ruby red color and rich body with the hop flavors of an IPA-- and went home.