8.8 miles 300'EG
For today's hike, we decided to head to Washington. We stopped in the town of Lyle for a few snacks and then headed north on Centerville HWY to Harms Rd. The TH is about 0.5 miles down the road.
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| A view of MT Hood from Centerville HWY |
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| Some fellow travelers on the road |
When we arrived at the TH, we were surprised to be the only ones there. We headed west along the creek. There are a few gates to go through, as this area is an open range.
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| watch out for attack cows! |
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| getting started |
It is a nice wide rail that goes along an old railroad bed and follows the creek the entire way.
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| nice easy trail |
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| lots of shrubbery along the creek |
There are so many things to look at along this trail. Not only to you get to enjoy some beautiful landscapes of the canyon, there is a menagerie of wildlife and some wonderful pieces of trail art.
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| altar that looks like it is straight out of "True Detectives" |
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| that is a rattlesnake skin laying on the skull |
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| lots of "trail art" |
Some of the wildlife we saw were marmots, birds and lizards.
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| marmot in the rocks |
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| sunbathing lizard |
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| garter-snake |
We hiked for a few miles, until we came to bridge 26-9 and decided to have some lunch.
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| bridge |
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| bridge and creek |
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| time to relax |
After a little rest and refueling, we headed down the trail for a few more miles. About 1/2 mile after the bridge, there is a nice waterfall that flows into the creek. We decided to splash some water on our heads here.
We continued on until we hit about 4 miles and decided to turn around.
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| enjoying the view |
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| canyon walls |
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| Columbia Desert Parsley |
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| Grass Widow |
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| contrail shadow on the clouds |
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On our way back, we stopped at the waterfall again to cool off a little. I noticed a spot on the dog that isn't normally there...IT WAS A TICK!! Minor detail that I forgot about this area...Ticks galore!!
I found two more on him upon further inspection. We decided to wait to look for more.
We got back to the car and packed up and headed out.
Once we were in the car, I spotted a Western Meadowlark on the fence that decided to spend a few minutes performing for us.
We enjoyed the song and then headed to The Dalles to stop for some dinner at Cousins.
On the way back to Portland, Cher was trying to pull a "dead leaf" out of her hair, only to discover that...IT WAS A TICK!! Her first response was to mildly flip out and flick it. Luckily, it landed in the cup holder, so she was able to grab it with a tissue and kill it.
After getting home and getting cleaned up, we did thorough tick checks. Luckily, we didn't find anymore of the little parasites.
We both got a little farmers "tan" (burn)
It was a great hike and a beautiful day!!
Love that Swale Canyon part ot the Klickitat Rail trail. Mountain biked it a few years ago. Fun trip and beautiful countryside. (Here is my write up on it http://jaysjourneys.com/2011/04/10/klickitat-rail-trail-and-labyrinth-trail-april-10-2011/)
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