October 1, 2011 - Hike 12

Gorge Trail #400 Hike - 10 miles east of Cascade Locks on I-84  - Approximately 3 miles.

We started out our day at Hood River Oregon. I had purchased a gift certificate for Ken to go on a sail plane (Glider) ride. He flew with NW Sky Sports (Gary Boggs). Gary was a wonderful pilot and Ken's ride ended up being about 45 minutes long. There were evidently large up currents that allow the plane to soar much longer. The pilot of the engine plane was Ben Davidson who also works for the air and auto museum in Hood River. Below are photos before take off and during their flight right before they cut the rope loose. Ken had a great time and would recommend Gary to anyone wishing for an adventure.

On our way back to Portland I decided to do a Gorge hike. We pulled off I-84 at the exit for the Wyeth Campground. We decided to do the Gorge #400 trail. You can access this trail from the backside of the Wyeth Campground. Take the trail about 1/4 mile till you reach a foot bridge on your right. We went to the right over the foot bridge. If you go to the left there is a 11 mile round trip hike to North Lake. We plan to do that trail at a later time.

The campground had closed for the season the day before, so we were all alone on the trail. You can park outside the campground and walk in. The trail was quite pleasant and looked like it is not traveled very much. There were many landslides of rock that are now covered in several inches of moss. The landscape seemed surreal. See the picture below.

We hiked about a mile and a half in for a 3 mile round trip hike. The beginning of the hike was beautiful but you could hear a lot of the I-84 noise as with many of the trails in the Gorge. But after about a mile, it became very quiet. Before turning around, we stopped and took time to lay down on the trail to listen to the rail in the trees. It was very meditative (quiet and peaceful). It was not raining hard enough for us to get too wet. Most of the rain was stopped by the leaves. Overall, this was a very peaceful, nice hike on a early fall day.