Multnomah Falls - Sunday, June 2nd, 2013

Yesterday, Max and I decided to start out our hiking travels with a short one. We hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls, which is said to be 2.6 miles round-trip (according to portlandhikers.org). I was extremely excited for this hike, because I have personally never gone any farther than the bridge! Yes, an Oregonian who has never hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls. I can't be the only one though, right?

We arrived on the trail at about 9am Sunday morning, which was perfect timing! The weather was exactly what we wanted (no rain, but not hot either), and there were very few hikers at this point in time. For those of you who have been to Multnomah Falls, you should know how rare it is to only have about ten people at the falls in total, so we were very happy to be able to take advantage of that! The hike took us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete, with just a few stops in between. There was a sign at the beginning of the trail, even before the bridge I believe, that says the hike to the top is only one mile. I remember a man who was hiking with his family that we saw a few times on the trail that commented on that once he reached the one mile marker on the trail. Just so you know, the one mile mark is not at the top of the falls!

On your way up to the bridge, you'll find a really well-paved pathway, and even a bench to sit at and take pictures. Max and I were going to get a picture there on our way back down, but it was being occupied by a few little boys and we didn't want to spoil their fun. So here's some advice, if there's a perfect photo opportunity for you on this hike and no one is there at that time, take the photo! Don't wait until later, because with how busy this trail is, more than likely you won't be able to. Unless you're willing to wait patiently... And if that's the case, you are much better than I.

After the nice bench spot, you'll cross a mini bridge with a view of a small waterfall on the right. It would be a great photo if there weren't cables crossing through the view. I would personally say this one is better just to look at and enjoy, and possibly get your kids geared up for the big one. That's what a gentleman behind us seemed to be doing with his two children, and it did seem to get them quite excited!

Next up is the big stone bridge that you see in all the pictures. Once you get up to this point, it gets a little misty. If you plan to spend more than a few minutes up there, I'd recommend a raincoat. Unless you're a true Oregonian that enjoys getting rained on. Do those actually exist? Max and I made our way over the bridge to continue our trek to the top after about thirty seconds of getting misted to death. I'll use my camera getting wet as an excuse there. How could I provide you with all these photos if I had stayed there!?

On the other side of the bridge is another bench to sit at, but if I haven't made it clear enough yet... It's wet up there. And I'm guaranteeing this bench will always be soaking wet. I should also mention there are green trash cans located next to each bench, which is pretty nice and not something you'll usually find on hikes. I guess we can thank the place for being such a tourist spot to make them feel the need to provide those.

       

There are also a few locations with signs that give you a little bit of history about the falls and the area. There are four that I remember seeing: Down at the bottom lookout point before heading up towards the bridge there are two of them (one on the left, and one on the far right), there's one right before you cross onto the bridge, and then the fourth is a little ways after you cross the bridge. This is a picture of the fourth one, I believe... but don't hold me to that if I'm wrong! Might I also add, they could be using some funds to update these signs and make them a little more presentable, don't you think? With how popular the place is, that seems reasonable to me.

Before you really even start getting into the climb of this hike, you turn a corner and there is a beautiful brick wall that is a perfect background for a family picture! I'll even add one Max and I took there to prove it. It says "Friends of Multnomah Falls" at the top, and has a little part that sticks out at the bottom like a stone bench to sit on. It was a bit wet though (go figure), so we both squatted down for our photo.

Finally, the real hike begins! Let me just say in all honesty, I started breathing pretty heavily within the first switchback. I also didn't bring any water with me for this hike, seeing as it's so short I figured I'd be fine until we got back to the car, but I was wrong!! BRING WATER. Or you'll be like me thinking of ways to steal the half drunken bottle from the woman in front of me. I know. Sad, disgusting, concerning... but still very true. You should never go hiking without water, no matter how short the hike may be.

The pathway is paved the whole way up to the top, but once you get past the bridge, it isn't all that smooth anymore. I'm guessing the average amount of people that just go up to the bridge and stop is a lot higher than the amount that hike up to the top of the waterfall.

Not too far into the hike, the pathway has a second hiking option for you to choose. It's very obvious which is the regular trail because again, it's paved. The other trail that goes off on the left is not paved, and I don't have a clue where it leads off to. I did take a picture of a sign that was at the start of it though. It says "Ak-Wanee Trail". I will have to look it up later and see if it sounds interesting enough to check out in the future!

Probably about halfway up the climb to the top, there's a place for you to take a break with a bench and a nice view back at the Columbia Gorge. There are still a lot of trees that surround that area, but you can still get a good picture of your family against the stone wall there with the Gorge in the background. The bench faces towards the falls, but it's a horrible view if you ask me. The trees really block it. But if you walk up the trail just a few feet more, the trees open up and give you a perfect shot of the falls.

I really loved the pathways on this hike. It helped that there weren't a bunch of people on the path in front of us to block the beautiful view. If there had been, I probably wouldn't have even noticed how perfect it looked. There were some great views of the Gorge again when the trees broke up enough for you to see it. It made the steep climb a little easier to manage.

After hiking up the trail for quite some time, we got to the 7th switchback. Also known as one mile. There are 11 switchbacks total, so yes, it is more than one mile and the signs you read when you started were indeed lying to you. After this point the switchbacks are within a much closer proximity to each other though.

And then we finally got to a "temporary sign" where we started to go downhill at. I'm assuming they are in the process of replacing that post, but it's good it was there. The path splits two ways again, left being the way to the Wakeena trail and Larch Mountain. That obviously leaves right as our destination to the top of the falls! You had to go downhill for a couple of minutes and then you could hear the river and you were there. Right before the stairway - gorgeous stairway, might I add - there's an area to the left that is really nice if you want to take a break to eat lunch or have some snacks with the kiddos. There's a really large rock that Max and I had our photo taken on by a very nice woman who offered to do that for us with the river in the background!

We made it! Down a beautiful stairwell (which was sort of weird on my legs after all the climbing - made them feel like jello!) and you get to the amazing view. To my disappointment, the top of the falls is NOT a good view of the falls itself. The platform they made is too far back to see anything below the falls that is closer than the parking lot. Amazing view of the Gorge again though! And then if you turn around there's a small falls right there, similar to the lower falls but much closer to you. Either side of the platform would make for a great family picture. For those who might be afraid of heights or have young children and are curious about the structure of the platform itself, it seems very safe and structurally sound in my opinion. There are metal railings that go all the way around it, and they are probably waist-high railings. It's very well-kept and seems pretty new with how nice of a condition it is in. Plus, it's really not over the falls, so heights shouldn't be too much of a problem here.

We finished the hike around 10:15am, and the trail started to get a bit more busy on our way down. By the time we were at the bottom, the bridge and the lower area was pretty full of people. I really do suggest going bright and early in the morning if you want a quiet, less-crowded hike. While this hike was very short, it was a pretty big climb. The pathway is paved very nicely though, and I do believe anyone could manage this hike, especially if you took your time making your way up to the top with lots of water and breaks.

That's all I have for today folks. Stay tuned for my next hike which will be occurring in the following weeks. I haven't decided which on I want to tackle yet.. there are so many to choose from! Silver Falls, Angels Rest, and Eagle Creek are definitely on the to-do list. If you have any other suggestions for me, or trails you want to know more about, leave me a comment and I'll try to add it to my list of future hikes to keep you in the know!

See you on the trail,
Brittnee