Triple D
The "Triple D" is the crazy challenge of hiking Devil's Rest, Mt Defiance, and Dog Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge, all in one day. Apparently it started as a Mazama thing but is also documented on Portland Hikers. Somehow, one of us brought this up and we decided to do it as our November day-off-work run. Ann swears it was me, but how can that be true when I had only heard of it from her?
Ann picked me up with bagels and coffee, and we got an early-ish start. We got to the Wahkeena Falls trailhead to run Devil's Rest, and were at first concerned that the trail was closed. Fortunately, this was the trail going the other way. Phew!
Devil's Rest was a great start. At 7 1/2 miles and 2550 feet of elevation gain, it was surprisingly runnable and a great warm-up. Now is when I admit that as we got near the top, I stopped for lots of really cool mushrooms-- a PURPLE ONE!-- and for the views. It was pretty foggy, but I kept trying.
Although there are views along the way, the top is pretty anticlimactic. It's a sort of rock lump in the middle of the forest. And it was foggy. We ran back down, thankful that it wasn't raining, or cold and windy.
Next up was Mt Defiance. We drove east to the trailhead. Ann does this hike every year, but I had never done it. Now I know why. You run along the highway for a bit, which isn't very pleasant, and then up. Forever. Up so steep that you can't run. Up so steep you can barely hike or walk. Up so steep, you worry about how you're going to get back down.
About a 3rd of the way to the top of Mt. Defiance you get an awesome view of the Columbia Gorge, but it is remanence of a false summit.
By the time we reached our car after Mt. Defiance it was close to 4 and it would of taken 20 minutes to drive to Dog Mountain. It was starting to get dark around 5pm, even though we had new awesome headlamps we decided we didn't want to run that long in the dark and cold. So instead of Dog Mountain we finished our Triple D at Double Mountain Brewery with beers. Some days you have to make hard decisions.
We will complete the real Triple D next summer when we have more day light, but I am sure it will end up being a Quadruple D with Double Mountain at the end.
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| Construction at Wahkeena trailhead |
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| At the start of our Triple D |
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| Wahkeena Falls |
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| Ann crossing at Fairy Falls |
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| Fairy Falls |
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| It's all uphill |
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| Autumn in the woods |
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| A beautiful purple mushroom-- violet cort |
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| Violet cort from below |
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| Another neat emerging mushroom |
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| Viewpoint near the top |
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| View near the top |
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| Panorama of the view and trail-- Ann is ready to keep going |
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| At Devil's Rest |
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| Devil's rest |
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| Hole in the Wall Falls, near the start of Mt Defiance trail |
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| Hole in the Wall Falls |
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| Ann passing Lancaster Falls |
About a 3rd of the way to the top of Mt. Defiance you get an awesome view of the Columbia Gorge, but it is remanence of a false summit.
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| Columbia River views on the way up |
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| Mountain views on the way up |
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| Ghostly mushrooms-- haven't ID'd yet |
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| Hatfield Wilderness-- and Ann leading ever onward |
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| Sweeping views as the trail opens up and we hit the ice line |
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| As if any way is "easiest" at this point |
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| Geometric ice in a rock basin |
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| An undulating sea of trees |
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| Follow the leader across the icy rocks |
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| Mt Hood, distant and majetic |
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| SNOW |
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| At the top-- freezing, windy, and rather ugly with those radio towers |
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| View from the top |
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| Warren Lake on the way down Starvation Creek trail |
We will complete the real Triple D next summer when we have more day light, but I am sure it will end up being a Quadruple D with Double Mountain at the end.
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| Third and final D-- Double Mountain |
A great finish for what looks like an even greater day! Loved the pics!!
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