After hiking Angel’s Rest Trail with Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, I felt the urge to revisit it. This time, I wanted to go by myself or with a friend where I wouldn’t be as distracted by shooting photos or paying attention to a dozen other fellow hikers.
The summit of Angel’s Rest affords hikers a sweeping view of the Columbia River Gorge and a reminder — thanks to the proximity of Interstate 84 and railway lines — of life’s constant hustle and bustle. It’s not a hike to go on to truly get away from it all because “it all” is nearby the whole time, even if the forest momentarily muffles the noise.
The drive from Vancouver is about 35 minutes, making it a hike that can be accomplished after work on long summer days. For that reason, I keep maps of the hiking loops near Multnomah Falls as well as Washougal’s Cape Horn Trail in my glove box.
This past Monday was sunny and mildly warm. The trail was less packed than during the Saturday hike with the church, which was an overcast day. Samantha Fisher and I — friends since fifth grade at Hockinson Intermediate School — ascended the trail in late afternoon. Chatter with a good friend made the winding, rocky trail less arduous.
The trail climbs 1,450 feet and covers 4.8 miles round-trip, according to OregonHikers.org.
When we got to the top, we scrambled up a rock overlooking the precipice that hikers meander around. From this vantage, I could see a couple of hikers laying on rocks — resting, as the trail’s namesake goes. One reached both hands toward the sky.
“What is he reaching for?” I thought. I laid down on the slanted rock, using my sweaty hair tied back in a ponytail as a makeshift pillow. It should have been uncomfortable lying on a slab of rock, but it wasn’t once I found the right angle. The sky was speckled with clouds and one of the formations had five prongs like a hand. Like the other hiker, I reached a hand upward and lined up my fingers to the clouds. Even with sunglasses on, the sun was blinding, and I closed my eyes.
The wind blew against my face and the sun prickled my skin. I heard the sound of rushing water. Wahkeena Falls, or Fairy or Mist Falls, perhaps. Samantha laid silently next to me. Despite the sounds of nature, there was also that relentless rumbling of cars and trains, an odd sort of symphony of nature and civilization. I’m not sure how long we rested there.
By the time I opened my eyes, the clouds had morphed into entirely different shapes.
