Top of the Rock

Wow, trip down amnesia lane. Top of the Rock was the name of the underage night club when I was in high school. I only went a few times, the whole idea of applying make up with a trowel, cementing my hair with an entire can of aqua-net and dressing up to hang out in a night club where the music was just loud enough I couldn't have a conversation seemed pointless to me, or perhaps I was just that lame... Today the rock in question was Beacon Rock.  We waffled for a day and a half about what hike to do today, it's the hubby's weekend to work so he only gets one day off so there was the allure of a new fabulous trail and the hesitation of wanting something a bit lighter since there was no day to rest. When we headed out into the gorge the destination was actually Eagle Creek. We've been on this trail out into the Mt Hood Wilderness which put the total hike at approximately 12 miles round trip, total we've been here 5 times and after about a mile up the trail and seeing how low the usually amazing water flow in the creek was, we changed out minds and went across the river to Washington to check out Beacon rock.  Beacon Rock is what is left of a very old volcano plug so there are no foothills, no gradual climb, just a rock and a view at the top.  Seems that someone was a bit more ingenious with how to climb this trail and the State of Washington has done a fantastic job of protecting me from myself on the "trail"




I'm not complaining, this was 600 ft of non stop switch backs and I made it to the top with minimal stops which is pretty amazing for me at this stage in the game, but after spending weeks on rocky, uneven, muddy, and overgrown trails this was a bit comical. The more remarkable thing is you can't even see this from the road, its in just the right spot that there is limited visibility.


An overcast day otherwise there would be a lot more to see here, even worse considering the clouds which couldn't make up their mind.

 

This was much better in person, another bank of clouds was rolling through as we hit the top and all the photos I took are washed out and dark which just means we'll have to do this one again to get some better photos. Overall we made 4 miles today, 2 at Eagle creek and 2 at Beacon rock so not bad for a lighter week. Thanks for reading!

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