Hike to Triple Falls and a detour to Rock of Ages

We took another hike in search of waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. This was a bit longer than we have done in a while (about 5 miles). We wanted to go when the flowers were out, the trees green, and the moss flourishing. Our hike started on the historic highway at Horsetail Falls.

The trail climbs the cliffs quickly coming to some very nice views of the river below. Due to high spring waters, the river is a bit wider. Magnus did very well as he rode on my shoulders most of the way. He really likes that. Ruth would take him sometimes to give me a rest.  

We made it to the second waterfall: Ponytail Falls. This one is upstream of Horsetail. It was very pretty. It is also neat that the trail goes behind the falls.

 

It is here that I took a detour while Ruth watched Magnus. I scrabbled up an unmarked side trail for about 500 ft. to get to the top of a ridge. On top is the Rock of Ages arch. It sits on the edge of a cliff and looks very mystical, like an old ruin.

And the view from up there is awesome:

I hurry back down to the main trail and meet back up with Ruth and Magnus. Continuing on the trail we see many beautiful spots. Little streams and springs trickle down the rock faces covering them with mosses and lichens. And the flowers are blooming everywhere.

We made it to Oneonta Gorge where we have hiked before. This time we were above it and got to cross it on a bridge.

Here is Upper Oneonta Falls:

Another mile of hiking up some steep hills brought us to the main prize: Triple Falls. This amazing site is one of the more unique waterfalls around. It is also interesting because you look down on it. I went a little further up the trail to the bridge over the falls. You can just see me in the second photo (top right)

Getting ready to head back down we stop by this little waterfall on the trail to let Magnus play a bit. He liked picking up the rocks and putting them back down.

While heading back down, Magnus finally succumbed to the rigors of the hike by falling asleep on my shoulders:

It was a very nice day and we had a lot of fun, but we were glad to come back home and have a good night’s rest.