No trip to the Columbia Gorge in Oregon is complete without
a hike up popular Eagle Creek. The moment you enter the well-groomed path, you
are swallowed in green.
Chatty smaller streams join the run through the majestic
forest. The drop-off naturally becomes more precipitous as you climb up canyon.
Often the trail narrows to a ledge with a well-placed handrail to steady your
nerves. Sprays of pink and white flowers nestled in ferns cling to the basalt
canyon walls, and around each bend is another stunning view of the deepening
chasm.
Devils Punch Bowl is the first of three falls along the way to High Bridge,
our lunch destination. Rock walls deep in the canyon are matted with mosses,
ferns, and lichens. With abundant life all about, I felt refreshed, soothed,
restored, and deliriously happy to be here. Four-miles in, we crossed over a
heart-catching cleft in basalt walls with black water flowing far below. At our
lunch stop I shed my boots and dangled my dogs in the tingling water while our
guides laid out a delicious spread. Heaven can wait! I'm busy. For more on this adventure to to
New England Hiking Holidays.
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