Why Top O' the Mountain for a blog title? It's a hiking goal, to make it to the top of the mountain. Around here are scores of mountains to summit. Most are reasonable day-hikes, some are very tough, and a few I will never do, like Mt. Hood, which is in a superior class that's out of my league.
A sample of do-able hikes that are fairly close by (mileage is one-way):
*Angel's Rest (@ 1500 foot climb over 4 miles; on a clear day view downtown PDX)
*Dog Mountain, pictured here (3000 feet over 3 miles; in spring a solid carpet of wildflowers)
*Coyote Wall (zig-zag up the mountain, then lie on your tummy to look straight down the vertical cliff)
*Devil's Rest (farther than Angel's Rest but not much of a view on top)
*Saddle Mountain (@3 miles; on a clear day a great view of the Oregon Coast)
*Mt. St. Helens (@4500 feet over 5-6 miles; the most difficult (for me) but most amazing hike ever--at the top look down 2000 feet into the crater and watch the creation of brand new rock)
*Hamilton Mountain (@3.5 miles; fabulous view of Columbia Gorge)
*Beacon Rock (@ 1 mile; Lewis & Clark climbed it for a bird's-eye-view of the Columbia Gorge)
*Multnomah Falls (@1.3 miles and 800 feet up; view of river; if you keep going 5 more miles you come out at Wahkeena Falls)
The list could go on . . . . another day I'll write about the scores of waterfalls nearby.
Ahhh, so many wonderful places to hike and climb! You have to love living in this place.
ReplyDeleteAre those your own pictures? We live in Nebraska and I am so jealous right now.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris. Nebraska must have it's high points. Or maybe not. It's mostly flat, right?
ReplyDeleteYes, those are my pictures. And I'll be creating more posts this month that show off our beautiful Pac NW. Come visit us sometime and we'll hike a new trail every single day!