Devil's Rest

Despite today's sketchy forecast, Brad, Steve and I hit the Devil's Rest trail in the Columbia River Gorge for some training fun.
Brad and I had done the lower Wahkeena Falls section before but hadn't gone the next 1.6 miles to the Devil's Rest summit. The weather was a bit drizzly along the way, but the shelter of the trees kept us mostly dry. There was plenty to look at while we tromped up the trail next to Wahkeena Creek: drippy moss-covered slopes, fallen trees, beautiful waterfalls.

The upper section lacked waterfalls, but it made up for it with spectacular views of the river and Washington side of the gorge. As we neared the 2,450 summit, we began to see snow patches. Pretty soon we were post holing in the snow-covered trail and getting pelted with clumps falling from the trees above. The rain turned to hail and then to giant, wet snowflakes. We nearly lost the trail a couple times because of all the snow.
We finally reached the top and took a quick stop for some cold, foggy photos.

It was a great day in the woods and a great trail for a moderate workout.

-Liz :)