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RidgeWalker

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與天堂失之交臂 -- Paradise Missed

作者：RidgeWalker 於 2011-12-7 04:16 發表於最熱鬧的華人社交網路--貝殼村

作者分類:中英文遊記，攝影|通用分類:旅遊歸來|已有70評論

關鍵詞：

1. 人生的小小願望

時常聽到些告誡人們如何限制個人慾望之說，比如貪慾沾污生命之純凈，等等。個人認為，生活里的一些想望往往是一種動力。比如，人在加州生活了許多年就想去一個氣候比較濕潤的地方避暑，畢竟加州每年從晚春到仲秋有長達五個月有餘的旱季，乾熱。去過俄勒岡(Oregon)幾次，只是那裡的夏日與加州區別不大。就思忖著再往北去華盛頓州(Washington State)看看。

奧林匹克國家公園地處西雅圖之西的奧林匹克半島，去那裡遊覽的計劃去年已經擺上桌面，只是那時的汽油價格在布希政府的英明領導之下飆升到了四美元以上，等到今夏才得成行。

雨中聖海倫斯山谷

今年八月初，美國西北部遭遇史上罕見的熱浪，西雅圖接受了華氏上百度高溫的烘烤。只是受工作日程限制，沒能趕上一丁點驕陽如熾，萬里無藹的景色。上路時的情景還好，從加州到俄勒岡一路陽光明媚。只是到了頭一天的目的地，塞勒姆 (Salem)，俄勒岡州首府，大約傍晚七點鐘左右，天開始下雨。初落之雨給人一種如浴甘露的清新感，我們畢竟有三個多月沒看到雨了。那空氣一下子濕潤了很多，有一種柔滑感，人就在一種難以言喻的愉悅里入睡。

2. 尋兩峰不遇

第二天早晨雨住了，陰天多雲，東方還出現了一絲魚肚白，似乎預示著一個大晴天呢。只是歡呼跳躍還為時過早，畢竟人還在俄勒岡境內。開車過了波特蘭(Portland)，跨越了浩瀚的哥倫比亞江(Columbia River)，就發現華盛頓州煙雨瀰漫，陣雨天氣，局部暴雨。高速公路大雨傾盆而下，大卡車駛過，激起千層雨霧，令人猶入雲里霧裡，開過了去503好公路出口，竟渾然不知。原本打算從聖海倫斯火山(Mount St. Helens)，北美大陸最近一次爆發的火山南邊繞一個大圈，順便入山觀景，然後取東北方向北上去走訪潤尼爾山國家公園(Mount Rainier National Park)的。

聖海倫斯火山遺跡

可惜呀，當我們看到「聖海倫斯火山遊客接待中心」的牌子時，車已到達504號公路的入口，這是一條遊覽聖海倫斯山的風景專線。這回算是掉入陷阱了，專線的另一端是窮途末路，這一去就是百多英里的來迴路。算了，迷路，冤枉路，都是人在路途的必然境遇呀。

聖海倫斯火山燒焦的樹木

風雲霧雨，仍然有峽谷，綠山，瀑布，野花，燒焦的樹樁，樣樣盡收眼底。504號路面良好，一路觀景點很多，如果天好，這一路景色幽美，山峰林立，活火山，死火山，林林總總。只是山峰和火山口躲藏在濃雲厚霧裡，始終不肯露面。雨不大，可那雲層始終不肯散去。

我們忙於趕路，無暇哭笑。從504號公路轉505再轉到12號，時針已指向下午3點，一路有雨，時緊時疏。

潤尼爾山國家公園的銀輝瀑布

路況優秀，很快就從12號轉向123號，行駛5-6英里就到了潤尼爾山國家公園的歐哈納珀喀什(Ohanapecosh入口。收費員態度溫和，對當天的天氣致歉。這裡地勢偏低，儘管天陰，樹啦，山溝啦，山體啦，還都入眼。很多遊人在銀輝瀑布(Silver Falls）下留影，一片溫馨。空氣涼爽濕潤，絲毫沒有不適。不一會兒就到了匣子谷(Box Canyon)，一股急流，挾冰川從山石上打磨下來的石末，在谷底咆哮。那峽谷又窄又深，必須站在正中間方能看到谷底的急流。人在一百英尺之上，仍能感覺稠乎乎奶油咖啡色水流的惱怒，湍急，和野蠻。

潤尼爾山國家公園的匣子谷

公園修繕良好，小路，木橋，可供遊人徒步半英里，與那咆哮激流多廝守些時間。此時雲厚天暗，大樹浸濕，惟有這狂呼高叫的湍流告知所有生靈這片天地永遠無眠。

人間天堂(Paradise)是當天的目的地，也是整個公園的驕傲。路途停車，在影射湖(Reflection Lake)駐足，聽說天好的話，湖水綠藍，美麗的雪峰就會有倒影入湖，那雪峰和湖水之間有一圈青翠的松林環繞。當日那山峰缺失，能看到的是湖和一些樹，還有很多霧。

影射湖

到了人間天堂，一切照舊。聽說這裡有成片成片的野花嬌艷。陽光明媚時（這個刺痛人心的概念喲），無數野花，顰顰婷婷，一直延伸到樹林邊上，林帶之上有著銀裝的山峰，真實童話般的景象，攝影者的夢想之鄉啊。只是高處的雨更大了，我們只能在修築精美的亨利。傑克遜遊人接待中心逗留了一會兒就離開了，實在是束手無策呀。

3. 生活依舊美麗

心中當然有些失落感，沒有人願意驅車千里尋山不見的。但是心中沒有悲傷，這一路有著依附在大自然母親懷抱里的孩童之溫馨之感。雖然沒有看到她俊美的全貌，那柔和，那優雅可是隨時隨地可循。

人間天堂的旅館，與接待中心對面

是該出山找旅館的時候了。下山的路上，娜勒達瀑布(Narada Falls)令人不得不停車觀望。停車場幾乎空無一車，有一隻狐狸旁若無人地在桌子和下水道處嗅聞，尋找旅客灑落的食物。走到停車場邊上，看到一股急流瀉入腳下的峽谷。從這個角度照相比較難些，就順著入谷小道而下。雨在不停地下著，那瀑布在雨中更顯絕妙。這山裡有瀑布無數，但不是所有的瀑布都在路邊上。即使沒有時間徒步探尋，我們仍舊與差不多五個瀑布不期而遇。

娜勒達瀑布(Narada Falls)

換路無數次，終於趕旁晚7點45分到達奧林匹亞市（華盛頓州首府），找到一家旅館住下，夕陽的感覺甚是輕鬆美好。

4. 颶風嶺

尋訪聖海倫斯火山和潤尼爾山不見，心情並沒有太沮喪，原因也許在於此行是來走訪奧林匹克國家公園的。好遠的路啊，走了整整兩天了，還沒到目的地。奧林匹亞市離颶風嶺還有三個多小時的路程，據說是公園的精華所在。

奧林珀斯山峰(Mount Olympus)和諸多白雪覆蓋的山峰

早晨8點離開奧林匹亞，很快就找到了101號高速公路的東幹線，於11點鐘左右到達天使港(Port Angeles)，這個美麗的海灣城市佇立於狹長但是浩瀚的旺德福卡海峽(Strait of Juan De Fuca)之濱，奧林匹克半島之頂端。廣袤的太平洋從此地伸向內陸，把一片陸地切割得支離破碎，正因為如此，這裡有很多令人刮目相看的景緻，可惜一天的日程排得滿滿的，無暇駐留。

山樑景色

從天使港到颶風嶺還得開車18英里。路好，雨也住了，淡淡的陽光試圖從緊繞山體和樹林的白雲里透出。奧林珀斯山峰(Mount Olympus)和諸多白雪覆蓋的山峰令人十分振奮，一些冰川分明就在眼前么。太陽時不時從雲后探出頭來，沿著山樑行走了一個英里多些，看到兩隻小鹿隨鹿媽媽在草地長椅間尋覓吃食。回到大地母親懷抱的人們個個喜氣洋洋。這地方把此行推向了高潮，雖然我們只逗留了兩個多小時。

接待中心看冰川

5. 紅寶石海灘

在遊客接待中心與一位服務人員交談，說明今天要去遊覽颶風梁和何氏雨林(Hoh Rain Forest)的意圖。服務員說從高速公路去雨林的山路達20英里，路面狹窄，彎彎曲曲，來回需要一個多小時。因此，她建議距離公路8英里的葵堖爾特雨林(Quinault Rain Forest)，這樣路上也有暇在紅寶石海灘(Ruby Beach)歇腳。

順便提了一句北加州也有值得一看的海灘，她說此地的海灘更加崎嶇蜿蜒，只是一時不明其意。紅寶石海灘就在高速公路邊上，海灘上人很多，還有成堆的橫七豎八的大樹。這些樹被洪水從山上沖落海里，再被海浪送回海灘。始終沒有看出來這海灘的奇特來。

紅寶石海灘

有趣的是這大西北收穫木材的過程。這裡種樹，樹木成長一般需要幾十年光景。一旦長成，就成片收割，給新樹苗騰地方。路邊立有巨大木牌，昭示收割種樹的日期。

6. 葵堖爾特雨林

在紅寶石海灘吃了些零食，休息片刻，時間已是下午3點半，必須趕路，看雨林時光線至關緊要。五點鐘到達公園管理站，除了零星幾個遊人，無人管理。告示牌建議自導自游，我們就鑽進了林子。雨林實在沒有什麼看頭，只是比一般樹林多些長在樹身掛在樹枝的苔蘚而已。林內光線不足，很多細節不顯。只是驚嘆於這裡的年降雨量，要知道這裡的緯度已經相當高了，絕對不算熱帶雨林，而是冷雨林。

雨林景象

在林中走了一圈，大約一英里有餘，從另一端穿過一片果園后，找到停車場。之後還有很長一段路程，驅車經過昊魁木(Hoequim)和阿伯錦(Arberdeen)，這兩個地名在跨越太平洋的飛機上盯過無數次呢。回奧林匹亞的路上，在101號高速公路突遇暴雨，雨點之急，連掃雨刷都失去了功效。車速以下子從每小時70英里劇降到45英里；大幸啊，路上車少，人人減速行駛十五分鐘。縱然如此，還是趕在8點鐘之前回到奧林匹亞，住進了昨天住過的旅館。天哪，這一天夠忙的。

值得一提的是何氏和葵堖爾特都是古老印第安部落的名稱。走訪過幾多州，就數華盛頓州對印第安人最為尊敬。

7. 再尋兩峰

這一程是為了奧林匹克國家公園而來的，但是潤尼爾山和聖海倫斯火山也讓人大感興趣。南下途中，我們決定再次回訪。再者，預報說周五有可能天氣良好呢。當然只是可能而已。離開奧林匹亞時，天空漸亮，然後出了太陽，似有好事等著人哩。

克莉絲汀落瀑

其實不然。直到公元門口，能見度一直尚好，而且無雨。惟有那大霧糾住大山不放，濃霧灑淚，弄得地面精濕，打滑。

霧中遊客

我們可是鐵了心要按兩天前預定的路線倒回來走的。天暗雲低，我們就只看眼前能看到的景物，套句諺語，「自然授受，不存貪慾。」克莉絲汀瀑布(Christine Falls)姣好，朗邁爾(Longmire)有小商店和陳列館。到了人間天堂，雨倒是沒下，只是傑克遜中心被大霧團團包住，從停車場都看不到大樓了。進去搞到了山路的信息和地圖，我們就開始徒步上山，儘管大山全然不見蹤影。看到了漫山遍野的花，大霧也遮不去她們明艷的笑靨。還有數不清的瀑布，溪流，甚至冰川。只是那霧愈來愈厚重，人都被弄得濕個透。快回來時，能聽到迎面的行人，就是一時看不見呢。就這樣走了四英里，呼吸到了真正水靈靈的新鮮空氣。開車下山也是毛骨悚然的一程哪！如此這般，與大自然親近無間。

霧裡看花

從地圖上看，聖海倫斯火山的風嶺(Windy Ridge)觀景點離公路不遠，但實際距離有16英里之遙，山路彎曲窄小。儘管天氣預報說了這裡下午有陽光，3點鐘了，還是雲遮霧繞，火山口依然真人不露相。比兩天前還是好了許多，看到了大片的山地，上得一山樑，看見了火山留下的巨大深坑，30年前，大量土石涌至，製造了這個高原。遍地野花怒放，安慰著那些山坡上倒下來，燒焦了的樹木。被燒烤過的山體還在呻吟。我們盡了自己的努力，其餘的只有任其自然了。

火山遺址

8. 回返俄勒岡

沒有時間也沒有理由生氣，罵人，或者自怨自艾。世間一切，包括我們自己都是大千世界的一部分。為了避免心灰意冷，我們決定回訪哥倫比亞大河谷。六年前來訪過，但出於種種原因沒有看全很多從山崖跌落的眾多瀑布。再加上我們已經人在內陸，直下進入哥倫比亞大河谷正好進入瀑布群，然後再順大河谷朝海岸線方向回歸高速公路。

Mutlnomah瀑布

換路一次又一次，繞著大山，深谷，河流走，到了卡爾森。車過神明橋(Bridge of the Gods)時，已是下午6點多了。河谷沿岸有瀑布二十多座，因為是回訪，沒用幾分鐘就找到了地方。還是只能走訪路邊的瀑布，徒步爬山追尋是萬萬不能的，沒有時間哪。就這樣，在半個小時之內，我們還是看到了Elowah, Horsetail, Lower Oneonta和Mutlnomah幾個路邊瀑布，其中Mutlnomah最大，屬所有瀑布之最。一路走來，7點45左右在波特蘭找到旅館。

9. 回歸加州

歸途無話，驅車千里。早晨八點鐘多點上路，傍晚7點多到家，一路走了11小時。

遠瞧珊斯達山峰(Mount Shasta)

當高大的珊斯達山峰(Mount Shasta)以其皚皚白雪裹頂出現在眼前時，內心為之一動。明媚，山峰從不拒絕見客。

旅途：2009年8月11-15日

英文：2009年8月18-24日

翻譯：2009年8月24-26日

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Paradise Missed

1. Life's Little Desires

In life we often encounter advices telling us to curb our greed. It is said that desire corrupts the purity of life. But it seems to me that reasonable desires are the driving forces of life. For example, after having lived in California for many years, it's only natural to desire a slightly wetter place for the summer. Here in California it doesn't rain for five long months from late Spring to mid-Autumn. We did take some trips to Oregon but the summer scene there failed to distinguish itself from that of California. So, we thought about a bit more up North, like the State of Washington.

Reflection Lake, Mount Rainier National Park

The plan to drive up to the Olympic National Park at the Olympic Peninsula just west of Seattle was on the table one summer ago. But the gas price under the Bush Administration went up over $4 per gallon. The trip had to be postponed for a year.

The Great Northwest experienced some historic heat wave early in August. Seattle was scorched by triple digit heat. But due to different work schedules, we didn't catch any of the great sunshine and tremendous visibility. Our trip started out promising as we had brilliant sunshine in California and even Oregon. Only when we reached the destination of the first day, Salem the capital city of Oregon, it started to rain about 7 o'clock in the evening. The rain felt so soothingly at the beginning, for we hadn't seen any real rain for the past three months plus. The air was, indeed, moist and soothing to the skin. Everyone went to bed feeling blessed.

2. Missing Mountains

The next day greeted us with cloudy skies but no rain. As a matter of fact, there was a little breaking on the horizon as if a sunny day was to emerge. There was nothing to celebrate, however, for we were still in Oregon. By the time we drove past Portland and crossed the mighty Columbia River, the State of Washington was saturated with moisture. It was showery with pockets of heavy downpour. Some part was so stormy that the big rigs on the highway kicked up some fiery balls of water mist. It was hard to see where we were; as a result, we drove by the exit to connect from Highway 5 to Route 503 without any notice. The original plan was to loop around the south side of Mount St. Helens in order to have a glance of the most recent erupted volcano on the continental US. From there we could proceed on to the northeast side of Mount Rainier National Park.

Unfortunately, by the time we could see the sign that read "Mount St. Helens Visitor Center" we were looking at Route 504, a scenic bypass built just Mount St. Helens. This was a trap as this 50 mile drive had no outlet at the other end. In other words, we were looking at a hundred mile round trip. Anyway, missing connections and going extra miles was all part of life on the road.

Mount St. Helens was hidden in the clouds and rain. We could see most of the elements, like deep valleys, lush green hills, waterfalls, flowers, and burnt tree stumps and newly planted trees. Route 504 was excellent. well paved with wonderful viewpoints. In a good day, one should have a wonderful time stopping by and see the mountains around, erupted or not. But the mountain peak or the erupted crater was entirely absent, enshrouded in stubborn clouds and thick fog. It rained lightly but the white clouds simply wouldn't relent for the duration of our short visit.

Mount Rainier Model

We had no time to laugh or cry, for we must move on. A swift connection from 505 (a northwest slant from 504 towards Highway 5) led us to Route 12. The clock was fast ticking towards 3 pm. The rain stayed off and on along the way.

Again, the road condition was excellent. Soon Route 12 led us to Route 123. Five or six miles later we found the Ohanapecosh entrance to Mount Rainier National Park. The gate agent was very polite and apologized for such low visibility. The entrance was still at a fairly low altitude. In spite of all the clouds, one could still see the trees, the valleys and some part of the mountains. We found many folks taking pictures at Silver Falls right by the road. That was nice. The moisture and mild temperature provided some comfort; nothing was irritating, yet. A few minutes later, we were at Box Canyon where the water mixed with rock powders grinded off by glaciers roared down a canyon. The canyon was so deep and so narrow that one must stand right atop of the canyon (on a bridge) in order to see the rushing water at the bottom. Standing some 100 plus feet above, I still could feel the anger, the rush, and the power of the water in murky chocolate milk color. This was a well-established park. We took a half mile walk to cross a foot bridge just to be with the roaring water. At this point, the sky became dark and the trees were wet. Still, the roaring river made one feel the day would never sleep.

Parking Lot Fox

Paradise was our destination of the day. It was one of the most decorated point of the entire park. Along the way we stopped at the Reflection Lake by the road. It was said that on a good day one could see the reflection of the snow peak of the majestic Rainier in this beautiful body of green water with pine trees lined just under the white snow peak. Today the peak was missing; so, we could only see the lake and some trees and plenty of fog.

Tourists Looking at Narada Falls

At Paradise, the same theme repeated itself. It was said that this part of the park had extensive fields of gorgeous wildflowers. On a sunny day (ah, such a painful concept), one could see huge meadows of flowers extending into the tree lines, the snow covered peak would be just above the timber. It would have been a fairy tale picture unfolding gracefully in front of our eyes, a photographer's dream. Instead, the rain had picked up at the higher elevation. We could only tour the fabulous Henry M. Jackson visitor's center and left. There wasn't much we could do anyway.

3. Life Is Still Beautiful

No doubt there was a little disappointment, for nobody wished to drive 1,000 miles to be stood up by mountains However, there was no sadness. All the time, I felt like a child in the arms of Mother Nature. I might not be able to see her beauty in her fabulous entirety but I could feel her wonderful presence of softness and elegance.

A Viewpoint along the way to Hurricane Ridge

We had to get out of the mountains and find a hotel for the night. On our way down, Narada Falls stopped us. On the almost empty parking lot, there was a fox sniffing the tables and gutters in search of food dropped by tourists. At the edge of the parking lot we saw this really energetic water fall dropping down into a deep gorge. It was hard to take a decent picture of the fall. So, we took a short walk into the gorge. The waterfall was gorgeous even in the steady rain. The mountains had many waterfalls but not all of them were by the road. With no time to wonder off the road, we still ran into about five waterfalls along the way.

A Deer Family

After many changes of routes, we arrived in Olympia around 7:45 in the evening and found a hotel. The sunset was beautiful, everything seemed nice and easy.

4. Hurricane Ridge

Maybe the reason we didn't feel it was such a tremendous loss to miss seeing the spectacular peaks of Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier was that our trip was to see Olympic National Park. The trip was such a stretch that we drove for two days and haven't reached the destination. As a matter of fact, Olympia was still a good three hours away from Hurricane Ridge, presumably the best portion of the park.

At Hurricane Ridge

We left Olympia around 8 in the morning and quickly found the east fork of Highway 101. And around 11 we arrived at Port Angeles, a port city on the shore of the narrow but gigantic Strait of Juan De Fuca that shaped the Olympic Peninsula. The Pacific Ocean reached deep into the land here to make this part of the world scattered. Because of that, there were so many beautiful places and marvelous scenes to behold. However, we could not linger, as we had our plate full for the day.

It was an 18 mile drive from downtown Port Angeles to the visitor's center on Hurricane Ridge. The road was marvelous. The rain had stopped. Faint sunshine tried to break through clouds that clung to the mountains and forests. It was such a tremendous thrill to be able to see snow covered peaks around Mount Olympus. Some of the permafrost or glaciers were clearly visible. The sun was breaking through now and then. We took a mile long hike along the ridge trail. A mommy deer lead two small deer were searching through grass and benches for lunch. People were happy to be in the arms of Mother Nature. We had our best moments of the trip there, though we only had a little over two hours there.

5. Ruby Beach

At the visitor's center, we mentioned to a trip adviser that we wished to see Hurricane Ridge and Hoh Rain Forest at the park. She said that the driving distance from the highway to the Hoh Rain Forest was a whopping 20 miles. The road was narrow, winding and mountainous thus a round trip would take more than one hour. Thus she suggested to try the Quinault Rain Forest with only 8 miles one way. Along the way we could stop by Ruby Beach.

I mumbled that we had nice beaches in Northern California, she said that the beaches here was more rugged. I had no idea. Ruby Beach was right there by the highway. Not only were there many people but also many large dead trees on the beach. The trees were washed down by flood water all the way from the mountains to the ocean. Then waves pushed them back onshore. Still there was nothing spectacular about Ruby Beach.

What was interesting was how lumber was harvested in the Great Northwest. Trees were planted and were given a few decades to mature. They they were clear-cut for new planting. Huge wooden boards were erected bearing the history of planting and harvesting.

6. Quinault Rain Forest

After snacking and breaking at Ruby Beach, the time had passed 3:30. We hurried up to catch some daylight for the Quinault Rain Forest. We arrived at the Ranger's Station around 5 pm. Nobody was there, except a few tourists. Following the information that seemed to suggest self-guided tours, we hiked into the darkness of the forest. The rain forest wasn't that spectacular as moss grew on tree branches and some hanging vines. The light wasn't so good so it was hard to see all the details. Still, it was amazing how much rain this part of the world received each year, for the altitude was rather high. This wasn't any tropical rain forest but cold water rain forest.

Hanging Moss in Rain Forest

We didn't our one mile plus loop trail in the woods and came through an old orchard farm to find our car. After that we had quite a few miles to drive through the towns of Hoequim and Arberdeen, two names I stared at a lot taking airplanes across the Pacific. When we were almost back to Olympia, we caught up the front of a fierce rainstorm on Highway 101. The downpour was so ferocious that the windshield swipe didn't offer any help. I had to slowed down from 70 miles per hour to around 45. It was such a bless that there weren't many cars and everyone drove slowly for about 15 minutes. We checked back into the same hotel in Olympia before 8 pm. Whew, that was quite a day.

Wild Flowers in Rain and Fog

It should be mentioned here that both Hoh and Quinault were ancient Indian tribes. Washington State seemed to pay a lot more respect to Native Americans than other states we had been to.

7. In Search of the Missing Peaks, again

This entire trip was to see the Olympic National Park. However, Mounts Rainier and St. Helens had aroused a lot of interests. On our way down south, we wanted to give the two mountains another shot. Plus, the forecast said that the weather might improve for Friday. Just might. As we were departing Olympia, there was first faint sunshine then some bright sunlight. Everything seemed promising thus far.

Myrtle Falls in the Rain (Mount Rainier)

It was not to be. The visibility was good all the way to the gate of the Park. It did not rain but the fog stubbornly hanged around the mountains. The fog was weeping big tears; heavy drizzles made the ground wet and slippery.

Creeks and Flowers in the Rain

We were determined to make the reverse loop intended two days ago. When it was dark and cloudy, we concentrated on the views in sight, in a cliché, "taking what life gives us." Christine Falls was gorgeous and Longmire offered a nice shop and a small museum. When we arrived at Paradise, there was no rain but the Jackson Visitor's Center was enshrouded in manacing fog. It was impossible to see the building from its own parking lot. With information about hiking and a simple trail map from the visitor's center, we went out to take a hike, in spite of the horrendous absence of the mountains. Ah, there were so many wild flowers, smiling, under heavy fog. There were waterfalls, creeks, even glaciers, aplenty. The heavy fog that became progressively thicker made us wet. At the end, we couldn't even see those who ran into us at the same narrow trail. Still it was a four mile hike, good to breathe in some fresh air with true moisture. The downhill drive in the fog was an hair-standing experience. All in all, it was nice to be so close to nature.

Wild Flowers in the Fog

From the map, the Windy Ridge observation point seemed rather closer to the main road. The actual distance was a whopping 16 miles of winding and narrow road. In spite of the forecast of a sunny afternoon, at 3 pm the sky was still cloudy and the volcano site was no show. The only improvement from two days ago was a lot more land came into sight. We climbed up a ridge and saw the giant crater, it was created by the run-offs of the volcanic eruption almost 30 years ago. There were many wild flowers, providing consolation to those fallen and burnt trees all over the hills. The scorched hillsides were still moaning. After all, we made our effort and the rest was in the hands of natural forces beyond our control.

Mount St. Helens

8. Back to Oregon

There was no time or reason to be upset, to curse or to feel sorry for ourselves. Everything, including ourselves, was part of nature. To add some brightness, we decided to revisit the Columbia River Gorge. We went through the gorge about 6 years ago but didn't see all the waterfalls dropping down from high cliffs. Also, we were already so far inland; therefore, a straight drop into the Columbia River Gorge area would land us right among the clusters of waterfalls. So, it made sense to come out to the coast along the river and under many waterfalls.

After many switches and winding around mountains, valleys, rivers, we reached Carson. By the time we crossed the Bridge of Gods, it was already quite a few minutes past 6 pm.

Horsetail Falls, Columbia River Gorge

The river gorge was narrow but long with over 20 waterfalls. Since this was the second time around, we managed to find those waterfalls within minutes. Our policy was to stop by those waterfalls by the road and avoid hiking up the narrow gorges for waterfalls off the road. We simply didn't have the time. Still in the frame of half an hour, we saw Elowah Falls, Horsetail Falls, Lower Oneonta Falls, the mother of all falls, the Multnomah Falls (for the second time). When we found a hotel in Portland, Oregon, the time was around 7:45.

9. Back to California

The return trip was nothing but a long drive. We hit the road shortly after 8 am and got home shortly before after 7 pm. So, it was an 11 hour affair.

Windy Ridge, Mount St. Helens

The mind was touched once again when the majestic peak of Mount Shasta with plenty of snow around the top came into view. California had so much sunshine that the mountains rarely went hiding.

Trip: August 11-15, 2009

Written: August 18-24, 2009

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發表評論評論 (70 個評論)

回復 poi 2011-12-7 04:18: 沙發了

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 04:23: poi: 沙發了
可惜音樂不響，8288不鬧。哈哈

回復 poi 2011-12-7 04:34: RidgeWalker: 可惜音樂不響，8288不鬧。哈哈
真漂亮。音樂可以聽見呀

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 04:36: poi: 真漂亮。音樂可以聽見呀
剛才我自己的瀏覽器出故障了。

回復方方頭 2011-12-7 04:50: 謝謝好文。基本都去過，又勾起了回憶，尤其是那颶風嶺

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 04:53: 方方頭: 謝謝好文。基本都去過，又勾起了回憶，尤其是那颶風嶺
開車好幾千英里，旅行還是比較辛苦。

回復 bluemei 2011-12-7 04:56: 碼字辛苦，送花。
如此記錄，沒去的也不遺憾。

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 04:58: bluemei: 碼字辛苦，送花。
如此記錄，沒去的也不遺憾。
氣候濕潤，就是不見天日。呵呵

回復方方頭 2011-12-7 04:58: RidgeWalker: 開車好幾千英里，旅行還是比較辛苦。
而且你還步行山路。我們基本上是走馬觀景，主要景點下車遊覽。Hurricane Ridge給我印象最深，還寫了詩。你的照片很漂亮，通過你的圖文重溫了自己那次旅程，也看到了自己當時錯過的景色

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 05:06: 方方頭: 而且你還步行山路。我們基本上是走馬觀景，主要景點下車遊覽。Hurricane Ridge給我印象最深，還寫了詩。你的照片很漂亮，通過你的圖文重溫了自己那次旅程，也看到 ...
走路比開車輕鬆，只是大霧將水分滲入相機，報廢了。

回復方方頭 2011-12-7 05:09: RidgeWalker: 走路比開車輕鬆，只是大霧將水分滲入相機，報廢了。
有那麼嚴重？你一定走進了深山老林

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 05:11: 方方頭: 有那麼嚴重？你一定走進了深山老林
沒有，就在 Paradise，隔著停車場看不到接待中心，開車不敢超過 15 miles per.
那大霧有些邪乎。

回復方興未艾 2011-12-7 05:44: 有了隨遇而安的心態，即使境遇強差人意，也能自得其樂。欣賞你的美圖美文。
Enjoying EN more, it』s as smooth as silk.

回復 RidgeWalker 2011-12-7 05:48: 方興未艾: 有了隨遇而安的心態，即使境遇強差人意，也能自得其樂。欣賞你的美圖美文。
Enjoying EN more, it』s as smooth as silk.
出門了，只能隨遇而安了。
I attached the English just for thou.