Columbia Gorge Hike at Tom McCall Point - Photoblog

Oregon - May 2019

My friend Dave and I started out this hike a sunny morning in the beginning of May. It was very windy and 50 degrees. Later in the day the temperature raised to a pleasant 70 degrees. The first half of the trail was flat and easy but the second part was quite a bit steeper. Poison Oak was visible on or near the trail in many places. Other hikers had reported Rattlesnakes on the trail a few days earlier so we were prepared. The only snakes we saw were a couple of harmless Pacific Gopher snakes. When reaching the summit we enjoyed a sandwich lunch while taking in spectacular views of Mt Hood and Mt Adams. Our cameras were clicking all along and due to the wind we had to use short exposure times to avoid blurry flower images. On some pictures you can see the flowers fighting to stay upright in the wind. At completion of the hike my step counter indicated that we had walked five plus miles, including many side steps with the cameras. The total elevation gain to the summit was 1100 feet.

Hiking this trail with millions of Balsamroot in bloom and two majestic snow-capped mountains in clear view was quite overwhelming for the senses. It created a mental “high” that stayed with me for days.

The trail is rated moderately difficult and I would highly recommend it to anyone up for the challenge.

Balsamroot flowers