Exploring Spirit Falls, Washington
Distance: 1 mile out and back
Elevation Gain: 800 feet
Difficulty: moderate, icy/slippery in winter and after rainfall
Solitude: crowded
Dogs allowed: unknown
Bathrooms: no
Fee: no
Hello and happy 2021! It’s been a while since I’ve posted and that’s because I’ve been mostly skiing every weekend since the new year, except for one weekend when I went to the coast, so I haven’t really had much to post about. However, this past weekend the conditions up on Wy’east sounded miserable for skiing (super high winds and lots of snow, basically a blizzard) so I decided to head to the Columbia River Gorge with my friend Ashley to do some hiking instead. Our original plan was to hike Dog Mountain, but after two miles (we got to the first overlook of the Gorge) we looked up the mountain and saw sheets of sleet whipping across the summit and thought it might not be a good idea to continue up. Then, we encountered a few hikers that were coming down from the summit and they said it was miserable, freezing and wet and socked in. So, we opted to head back down the mountain and Ashley suggested we stop by Spirit Falls since I had never been. Spirit Falls is a very steep but short hike down to a gorgeous waterfall on the Little White Salmon River. On a sunny day the base of the falls is full of rainbows and since the sun was flirting in and out of the clouds above us, we were treated to a few minutes of rainbows ourselves.
I would definitely recommend having hiking poles and spikes with you during the winter for the hike in and out, as the terrain can get very icy and slippery when wet. Take your time and don’t rush your time at the falls! It also wouldn’t hurt to check the forecast in the Gorge and make sure it’s above freezing. I think if the wet hike was frozen over it would be impossible to get down within really good spikes and poles that had traction on ice. Additionally, I would only take kids and dogs that have a lot of experience on steep terrain and are sure-footed. But once you’re to the bottom, walk all the way around to the left until you’re standing above the falls and you might get lucky to see some brave kayakers dive over the edge!
For more information: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/spirit-falls
This hike is on the land of theConfederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Yakama . To learn more about Native Land please explore this resource: https://native-land.ca/