Coyote Wall

We headed to the Gorge hoping to find some sun and open spaces. Our destination was Coyote Wall, on the Washington side of the Gorge. The weatherman said mostly clouding with a chance of rain, yesterday we drove to the coast through nonstop rain with a generous amount of fog thrown in, so any hint of sun would be welcome. We had some rain and hail on the way but the sun was winning out by the time we got to the trailhead. The trail starts out at the base of Coyote wall and follows old Hwy 14.















They must have gotten tired of removing the rocks from the highway, if you look close you can see the old highway on the right and the new highway on the left.



From the bottom, the wall looks tall and level, but the eye is fooled. The hike to the "top" of the wall was nothing compared to the hike along the top edge of the wall, it was steep.

We hiked up through meadows where wildflowers were starting to bloom and we had gorgeous views of the the river below us.

The wind was getting stronger so we had our lunch in the shelter of some large rocks, the sun felt good and we could smell the wild garlic growing nearby. Then the wind really picked up.

Not quite as bad as Saddle Mountain, but strong enough to take your breath away. And cold despite the sun.

The plan was to follow the wall back toward the hills and then find a trail down the face of the wall. But the wind made it scary to be near the edge so we followed random trails (meaning we got lost) down the back side.

The area is criss-crossed with many trails which can be confusing, but it is mostly open meadow with views for miles so being lost isn't really being lost.

The day was a good one, we found the sun and open vistas we were craving, it seems Spring has finally arrived.