I took a favorite hike with a friend last week; it’s the Horsetail Falls Loop Hike, 2.6 easy miles. You’ve seen it before on this blog, here and here. Same same, but different. At the end of summer, the water flow is much lighter, but still pretty. We’ve had a hot, dry summer, and it shows in the reduced waterflow. Still pretty, though.
Horsetail Falls, which is right on the Old Columbia River Highway.
Ponytail Falls, which feeds into Horsetail Falls.
I love that you can go behind it; that’s the reason I chose this hike for this particular friend.
Middle Oneonta Falls.
Looking down at the top of Lower Oneonta Falls. There’s a big logjam, and then it goes over the edge. You can’t see this waterfall from the trail, but you can hear it!
Coming off the trail, you walk back along the Old Columbia River Highway, and pass Oneonta Gorge, which is where Oneonta Creek ends up after the waterfalls. You can hike up the creek, but we were not prepared for wet feet, so we just went a little way. I love how big the rocks are here, and how narrow the canyon is.
It looks like a knitter was leaving a trail marker for someone.
My favorite picture of the day is in the creek under the old highway. The sun was shining through the very clear water, and the shadows of the water striders really showed why they can walk on water.
On the way back home, we stopped at Multnomah Falls, because it’s right there. It’s the 100th anniversary of the Benson Bridge. I think I’ll have to do the hike to the top of Multnomah Falls this autumn. Soon!
PDXKnitterati 