Multnomah Falls

There are several typical Bridgetown things that I’ve never done: beer tasting at Deschutes Brewery, riding the cable car, downing a Voodoo doughnut… I got to cross two things off my “do in Portland” list this weekend. First was the Rose Festival/Parade on Saturday. Second, a trip to Multonomah Falls on Sunday.

My hosts, Matt and Nia, knew that we would need to be adequately fueled for our grueling hike up to the top of the hill, so we began our morning with a cup of the best coffee I’d had in weeks (thanks to Matt and his beans from Oblique Coffee Roasters) . Next was a short walk to the neighborhood Kolache bakery. That’s right, Sunnyside has stellar Czech pastries at the Happy Sparrow Cafe. On a warm Portland morning, it’s hard to beat a poppy or apricot kolache at a sunny cafe table! I have to admit that I am more than a little envious of my friends’ neighborhood, a quiet spot on Belmont street sandwiched between the hipster wonderfulness that is Hawthorne and Burnside.

well rested, adequately caffeinated, and carbed up, we headed up the gorge to Multnomah falls. It’s the typical oregon image: a curtain of water plunges dramatically almost 600 ft into a pool, flows under an elegantly arched bridge, and drops another 60 ft into another pool. The parking was packed with tourist busses and cars clung to the edges of the roads. We were lucky to spot a couple heading to their X3 and waited for the only free parking spot in the lot.

Buckley the Wandering Bison visits Multonomah Falls

The park was busier than the parking lot, and we threaded our way upward through the camera-fisting, cellphone selfie-taking throng. It’s roughly a mile to the top of the falls, but we skipped the overlook and kept following the stream into a lovely little valley. People thinned out as the trees became thicker and the rushing water drowned out the sounds of I-84.

My guides, Nia and Matt

Up we hiked for an hour, through the moss and over bridges, until we spent a decent amount of time on a trail that we had all to ourselves. then turned around and followed the stream back to the falls. We picnicked on cheese, jerky, apples, and granola bars at the creekside before taking the switchbacks back to the parking lot. Our easy downhill breathing was the envy of all those fighting gravity to see the view from the top.

Misty, mossy falls above Multnomah

Nia and Matt refilled my water bottles and sent me on my way to rendezvous with Emily. She and I turned up I-5 and made it home a few minutes faster than the GPS had estimated, since we didn’t need to stop.