Spring is definitely springing in the Columbia River Gorge, and I couldn't be happier. Although I truly love the winter season, a little green and warmer weather is always welcome with arms wide open. (Yes, like the chart-topping song)
Me and Jesse had a great trip down the Gorge to a place we've never been, Summit Falls. This is a pretty obscure little falls, and doesn't boast the mind-blowing heights of other more prominent tourist stops. These types of locations have always been my favorite, and this little jaunt didn't disappoint. Summit Falls has an upper and lower section, and the "trail" is accessed by a service road that most would overlook along I-84 East. The falls would certainly be enough reason to stop at this location, but there's another pretty impressive draw. A decent portion of the route to the falls is over an incredible moss covered portion of a now abandoned section of the 1916 Historic Highway. That's right, a road of moss. I didn't believe it until me and Jesse saw portions of perfect looking pavement between the moss, as well as old highway guard rails made out of stone. This moss has been growing here for over 50 years! If you want to feel like you're the last person on earth after a zombie takeover, this is a solid choice.
Me and Jesse had a great trip down the Gorge to a place we've never been, Summit Falls. This is a pretty obscure little falls, and doesn't boast the mind-blowing heights of other more prominent tourist stops. These types of locations have always been my favorite, and this little jaunt didn't disappoint. Summit Falls has an upper and lower section, and the "trail" is accessed by a service road that most would overlook along I-84 East. The falls would certainly be enough reason to stop at this location, but there's another pretty impressive draw. A decent portion of the route to the falls is over an incredible moss covered portion of a now abandoned section of the 1916 Historic Highway. That's right, a road of moss. I didn't believe it until me and Jesse saw portions of perfect looking pavement between the moss, as well as old highway guard rails made out of stone. This moss has been growing here for over 50 years! If you want to feel like you're the last person on earth after a zombie takeover, this is a solid choice.
Naturally, with inklings of zombies around every corner, Jesse felt it was appropriate to take up arms and "attack with the north", as quoted from this short clip displaying her sheer strength.
The most impressive part of this mighty charge was how far Jesse ran. Good solid charge Babe!
On to Summit Falls!
The lower portion of Summit Falls was fairly easy to get to, with just a bit of scrambling down the scree slope to get there. Like I said earlier, Summit Falls doesn't necessarily have any impressive stats to boast about, but me and Jesse loved our little pocket of solace we discovered, and it was all ours for over an hour. This was a great spot to get some slider shots and audio for the ongoing project, and of course was a great place to snap some regular pictures as well.
On to Summit Falls!
The lower portion of Summit Falls was fairly easy to get to, with just a bit of scrambling down the scree slope to get there. Like I said earlier, Summit Falls doesn't necessarily have any impressive stats to boast about, but me and Jesse loved our little pocket of solace we discovered, and it was all ours for over an hour. This was a great spot to get some slider shots and audio for the ongoing project, and of course was a great place to snap some regular pictures as well.
After we were satisfied with our efforts at the lower section, we trekked our way up the "trail" to the upper section. We had quite a time traversing and scrambling our way up along the steep bank, but were rewarded with this when we finally made it to the top.
We lucked out with this portion of the falls, as water was flowing pretty steadily. We especially enjoyed the nurse stump that you can see in the upper right of the picture. Here we collected more footage and audio, and then started our way home.
With future plans to reopen and refurbish many of the old sections of the Historic Hwy in 2016, I can't help but think that this series of falls is bound to get way more attention in the future. I also can't help but have mixed feelings about the restoration of this section of the highway, as the ruins and deterioration of what once was provided a pretty special experience.
With future plans to reopen and refurbish many of the old sections of the Historic Hwy in 2016, I can't help but think that this series of falls is bound to get way more attention in the future. I also can't help but have mixed feelings about the restoration of this section of the highway, as the ruins and deterioration of what once was provided a pretty special experience.
