Wahclella Falls, tumbling through the rocks.

Canada Day had come way too fast, and suddenly it was time to head for home. We were up fairly early, and packed up camp fairly quickly. It was going to be a scorcher of a day, and so it was time to be off. I had found one last, short hike to what sounded like a very nice waterfall, and we planned to do that hike then head back.

The trailhead was about half way back towards Portland on the way home, so it was an easy place to stop. At only a mile each direction, it was nothing major, and the description of the falls made it sound really nice. The hike was a combo out-and-back with a short loop, so you got some variety on each end of the hike.

It went pretty much all up hill at the beginning, which was OK and got us working up a bit of a sweat. before long the falls came into view, and as advertised were quite nice. Not the biggest waterfall, but multi-tiered and tumbling through a crevice in the rocks, down into a pool at the bottom.

Wahclella Falls, a pretty little waterfall and a nice end to our adventures.

On another day, it would have been nice to spend more time and have a swim in the pool at the bottom. Sadly, there was not enough time. It was also fairly busy on the trail as you might expect, and so getting photos in was taking up a fair bit of time.

From slightly further back you can see the upper falls, as a slim stream of water splashing down.

After spending some time at the falls, we headed back. The trail crossed over the river, and then meandered back along the river. This part of the hike was in the sun and we had a taste of how hot the day was quickly becoming.

Water runs everywhere in the gorge - here its raining down from the tops of the cliffs, into the little canyon we were hiking through.

Before long we had crossed one last bridge back over the river, and then followed the original path back to the parking lot. We had a little snack sitting under the trees, listening to the river rush by, then packed up and continued on our way.

Almost done - the bridge back over the river, and then it was a short walk back to the car.

The trail head was at the highway exit that leads to the Bridge of the Gods, one of the many bridges over the Columbia River. It was the first time I had driven over that bridge, and before long we were back in Washington State, with about 600 km of road ahead of us.

The drive home was a bit of a mix. It was ridiculously hot - we saw temperatures as high as 39C - but the clear blue skies meant that we got to see all the big mountains on the drive home. Mount Hood and Mount Adams; St. helens, Rainier and finally Baker as we got close to home. Traffic through Seattle was a nightmare, with accidents all over the place. We wove through some back ways to try and avoid the worst of it, and we got through eventually.

We made a stop for dinner in Burlington, then headed for the border. The waits were surprisingly short, and it was good to get home. It was overall an amazing trip. We both love Hood River, and we'll be back before long!