Angel's Rest

We are on an AMAZING weather streak here in Portland. Clear skies and lots of sunshine! (just what the doctor ordered) I had Monday off and it was another beautiful day (got up to 80) so my neighbor, Jarred, and I went out to the Columbia River Gorge to do a little hiking. He has a brown lab, who is friends with Steve, so we loaded up the dogs and headed down the freeway about 25 minutes.

The hike is mostly in the trees, but since there have been some fires over the years, there are patches with lots of new growth and sun shining through, as well as AMAZING views of the gorge/river.

The trail is 4.8 miles total (out and back) with an elevation gain of 1450 feet. This said, it's considered a moderate trail. Little Steve managed to do quite well. Because of the amount of times he ran ahead on the trail, and then back to us again, I swear he did the hike twice!

The view at the top is AMAZING! You can see all the way back to Portland. It's super windy at the top though. People find little nooks in the bushes to settle into, but one wouldn't want to stay at the top long due to the wind.



There were a  couple of places about 3/4 of the way up the trail where there were big open rocky areas. The view in these areas were almost as grand as the one at the top, yet they were protected from the wind and perfect for sunning on the baking warm rocks. Because of it's close proximity to Portland, this is a fairly popular trail, but there is a small parking lot and plenty of roadside parking at the trailhead to accommodate the nature seeking city dwellers. It's also a very dog friendly trail. We must have seen at least 20 dogs on the trail. I also noticed that there were a number of females doing this trail solo with their dog...good to see a safe trail for girls to hike on their own.  I can't wait to get out to the gorge again to try some new hikes!!!! It's gonna be a good summer!!!!!!