Nesmith Point - March 28, 2015

One of my favorite hikes in the Columbia Gorge is Nesmith Point - a perfect combination of elevation gain, river/volcano views, wildlife and geology. The trail, beginning just off the old highway, is a ten mile loop with over 3,700 feet of vertical awesomeness. After skipping over it the past few hiking seasons, I headed to Nesmith on March 28th.

After rendezvousing for a surprisingly solid breakfast at the Troutdale Shari's, we motored east and parked at the trailhead within a half hour. The sky was overcast with billowing clouds enshrouding the tops of the surrounding ridges, but blue started to intrude as we hit the trail.  About a hundred feet into the hike we encountered a video crew setting up for the Gorge Waterfalls 100K, an ultra-marathon that started at 4am. Feeling significantly less bad-ass than the ultra runners, we continued onward.

The trail as the elevation gain starts to kick in

The first half mile of the route is a pleasant stroll through the woods before a steep, almost unceasing series of switchbacks and elevation gain starts up. In good spirits, we kept up a brisk pace and pushed ourselves as the trail arced back and forth up a ravine. We crossed through a boulder field known for pika, and heard the familiar peep of the Ochotona princeps.

You can hear a "meep" if you wait until the end of the video

Finally, we reached the top of a ridge after gaining almost 3,000 feet in less than three miles. The trail leveled out for another mile as we headed for a junction that would take us up to the Nesmith Point summit. Around this time the temperature dropped and we climbed into a cloud bank. By the time we reached the high point, the wind was blowing and conditions were less than stellar. Undeterred, we enjoyed a fine brew from Base Camp Brewing and celebrated the moment.

Victory!

The descent went fast. After dropping down several hundred feet, the temperature warmed up considerably and the sky started to clear. Back at the top of the ravine, the sun started to shine down on Hamilton and Table Mountains across the river to the north. We made a decision to trail run the bulk of the way back to the car, and did our best to balance speed and safety while tearing down through the switchbacks. Other than a pause at the pika field, we didn't stop much until the level area before the parking lot. Within sight of the car, we were once again humbled as ultra-marathoners passed by the video crew we had seen earlier in the day. Whatever we had accomplished paled in comparison to running 100 kilometers.

The sun comes out...

Overall, it was a great hike. Sore quads were a small price to pay for a memorable outing in the Gorge.