DAY 7 - Portland

Today we travelled inland to Portland. About 30 minutes outside of Portland is Multnomah County and state park which sits on the Columbia River Gorge. The Multnomah Falls are the second tallest waterfall in the US at 186m high. According to Native American folklore, the cascade of icy water was created to win the heart of a young princess who wanted a hidden place to bathe. Not so hidden these days…there were so many people/tourists around the foot of the falls it was difficult to stay there long and admire them. We decided to do the 6.3 mile trail loop which takes you over the top of the falls but also passes numerous other waterfalls and cascades. It is quite a steep initial climb to get to an elevation of approximately 500m so we were hoping to lose some of the other tourists along the way. It was quite tough going up to the ridge line but hiking through the Wahkeena valley was amazing - you are rewarded with close-up views of the cascades and falls as the trail remains close to the water.

Our favourite part was during the descent where the trail crosses a tributary stream beneath the Fairy Falls which I assume is named due to the way the sunlight sparkles off the water. The fall is 6m of cascading water which streams through a mossy rock slide lined with ferns, and the rocky ledges of basalt break the water into various lacy streams.

Lower part of the Multnomah Falls

Hiking Trail

Wahkeena Falls

Wahkeena Falls

Fairy Falls

From Multnomah we headed to downtown Portland which is famous for its coffee and its micro-breweries. We stopped off in the ominously named Rock Bottom but which was actually very good – I had my first non-greasy meal of the trip and Tim tried their speciality beers.

Downtown Portland

Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland

Rock Bottom

Seaside to Portland

Total distance: 705 miles