Beacon Rock

We stopped at Beacon Rock State Park near Skamania Washington to hike Beacon Rock this afternoon. The trail is 2 miles round trip with 800 ft of gain. The trail winds around to the southwest side of the rock and then goes through a doorway to a series of ramps switching back and forth up to the top of the rock. There ares some great views of the Columbia River to the south. Some of our views

a few of the wildflowers we saw today on the trail

Mt Hood Penstock Pipeline Trail

The Mt Hood Penstock Pipeline Trail starts on the east side of the Hood River near the town of Hood River. The trail soon follows along the railroad tracks of the Mt Hood Railroad, heading south along the Hood River. About 0.8 mile from the trailhead, the trail continues on a gridded trail above the old pipeline. The pipeline crosses the Hood River then continues through the forest. We found the trail closed about a mile further down. Our route was about 2 miles round trip. Soon after starting the trail, we saw an osprey up in a nest

Trail along the railroad tracks

View of the pipeline and trail going over the Hood River

Views of the Hood River from above the pipeline

Views along the pipeline on the way out and back

some of the wildflowers and blossoms seen long the trail this morning

Shasta Loop Trail

We drove to Rowena Crest, between the Dalles and Hood River, to hike the short Shasta Loop Trail (one mile). It was very windy making it difficult to get good photos of the wildflowers. Beautiful area! Views along the trail

some of the wildflowers we saw today