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About Appeal tribune. (Silverton, Or.) 1999-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2021)
2B | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2021 | APPEAL TRIBUNE Angel’s Rest Left: Tony Barnes, left, and Cindy Morical, both of Vancouver, Washington, hike along the Angel’s Rest Trail in the Columbia River Gorge on July 5. Continued from Page 1B Angel’s Rest is an exposed bluff on the west end of the Gorge, offering dra- matic views of the Columbia all the way back toward the Portland-Vancouver area. The trail started out in the shade of a lush green forest. The bases of some large Douglas firs showed scorch marks from the 2017 Eagle Creek fire, which burned over much of the trail’s route. Due to its proximity to Portland, An- gel’s Rest is a popular trail, and on this day, a federal holiday observing July 4, it was noticeably crowded. As we yielded to descending hikers and let some others by, we passed two waterfalls: 150-foot Coopey Falls and smaller Upper Coopey Falls. The trail continued along switch- backs up and up, and soon we were out of the forest canopy and feeling the heat of the sun on the exposed path. At one point, when we knew we were close to the top, Cindy looked straight up to the top of the bluff. “We’re going up there?!” she lament- ed. I shared some of her dismay but kept it to myself. But the switchbacks made the climb doable and not terribly chal- lenging. We even saw several small children making the ascent with their parents. As we neared the summit, we negoti- ated several rocky areas and the Colum- bia River appeared far below, winding its way toward the Pacific Ocean. At the top, a long, rocky perch was surrounded by cliffs and offered an im- pressive panoramic view. Just across the river on the Washington side, we could see Beacon Rock, Larch Mountain and Silver Star Mountain. To the west, the river flowed impressively to Sand Is- land and toward Portland. We took in the views and snapped photos along with dozens of other hik- ers. As we descended the trail, we were relieved to return to the shade of the for- est on the hot afternoon. Predictably, the trip down was much faster than the trip up, and we completed the entire trek in about three hours. It was the per- fect amount of hiking on a perfect sum- mer day in the Columbia River Gorge. Other hikes in the Columbia River Gorge h Multnomah Falls: The most popu- lar hike in the Gorge begins at Multno- mah Falls, Oregon’s tallest waterfall at 620 feet. The paved trail crosses a few Miller Continued from Page 1B al Youth Outdoor Day events at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area until the pan- demic put the brakes on those. “We typically had 300 kids a day going through that area on the shot- gun range,” he said, adding that they made sure every kid scored a hit. “We put up at least one of those hanging clay targets out there at about 10 to 15 yards to make sure they could hit at least one,” Wasson said with a chuckle. “They break one clay target hanging on a string out there and they just light up ear-to-ear with a big smile; that makes it worth it.” Volunteering is in Wasson’s blood. “I refereed high school football for 27 years and high-school basketball for another seven or eight (through- out the Willamette Valley),” he said, adding that he ground up both of his knees in the process and has surgical replacements. Wasson grew up hunting quail and pheasants around the family home in Carlton. “I always played football,” he said Bottom: Coopey Falls is along the Angel’s Rest Trail in the Columbia River Gorge. PHOTOS BY MARK MORICAL/ THE BULLETIN scenic bridges then climbs to an over- look at the top of the falls. The loop, 5 miles with 1,600 feet of elevation gain, continues on Larch Mountain Trail and to Wahkeena Falls, a moss-covered 242- foot falls. h Dog Mountain Trail: Located on the Washington side west of White Salmon, this hike is known for its wild- flower displays in May and June, but the views across the Gorge make it popular all year long. The Dog Mountain Trail climbs 2,820 feet in only 3 miles, mak- ing it quite challenging. The trail returns back down 3.8 miles on Augspurger Mountain Trail. The total hike is 6.8 miles. h Latourell Falls: Located in Guy W. Talbot State Park, this trail offers pictur- esque bridges, deep forest and the 249- foot Latourell Falls, as well as a second double-tiered falls. The main falls can be seen from the parking area. A short hike leads to the base of the falls and continues on a 2.4-mile loop to Upper Latourell Falls and then back down. h Cape Horn: Just east of Vancouver on the Washington side of the Gorge, this trek includes a high bluff that has stunning views and a forest of big-leaf maples. The hike is 7 miles round-trip and climbs 1,630 feet, making it difficult. The trail begins off Salmon Falls Road and leads to a forested summit area, be- fore descending to an underpass below Washington’s state Highway 14. The lower section of the trail features 2 miles of waterfalls and views of the Columbia River. about high school. “My senior year, right after football practice, I’d grab my shotgun vest and my shotgun and walk out across the grade school baseball field into the stubble field.” He laughed. “I managed to bag 27 roosters (pheasants) my senior year. You’ll never see that again.” Wasson shot clay targets for the first time at the base skeet field dur- ing resupply stops at Subic Bay in the Philippines while in the Navy serving on board a destroyer during the Viet- nam War. “For a buck 25 you got a box of shells, and you could pick a shotgun off the rack,” he recalled. “And they had trapper boys there (running the clay target launchers) scoring your cards.” Hitting 27 in a row while shooting head-to-head with some Marines got him hooked. Exposure to a defoliant used in Vietnam has caused a laundry list of health problems. The Veterans Ad- ministration in December classified Wasson as 80 percent disabled. “The old Agent Orange stuff snuck in, and it’s kind of played with my bal- ance in my feet with peripheral neu- Simple Cremation $795 Simple Direct Burial $995 Church Funeral $2965 SALEM 275 Lancaster Drive SE Salem, OR 97317 (503) 581-6265 TUALATIN 8970 SW Tualatin Sherwood Rd Tualatin, OR 97062 (503) 885-7800 PORTLAND 832 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97232 (503) 783-3393 TIGARD 12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy Tigard, OR 97223 (503) 783-6869 EASTSIDE 1433 SE 122nd Ave Portland, OR 97233 (503) 783-6865 MILWAUKIE 16475 SE McLoughlin Blvd Milwaukie, OR 97267 (503) 653-7076 “Easy Online Arrangements” OR-GCI0571428-02 www.CrownCremationBurial.com Dick Wasson mentors a participant at E.E Wilson Wildlife Area during one of 14 events at which he volunteered for the shotgun range. HENRY MILLER/SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL ropathy (pain and numbness), and Type 2 diabetes now, and ischemia (a heart condition caused by expo- sure),” Wasson said about his time in the Mekong Delta and the Saigon Riv- er. Despite the setbacks, Wasson said he’s going to keep on volunteering as long as he can. The recognition by the Hall of Fame for two decades of teaching and mentoring kids is a nice reward, he said. But the best things are the memo- ries of all those thousands of kids with the ear-to-ear grins after bag- ging their first clay disk. “You kind of got them started in a safe way,” Wasson said. “OK; that’s my reward. That’s what makes it all worth it.” Quote of the week: They got it wrong. Hell hath no fury like an an- gler snagged – Henry Contact Henry via email at Henry MillerSJ@gmail.com
