A Lovely October Day in the Columbia River Gorge

I'm trying to be a bit more spontaneous when it comes to hiking, so when Ruckle Ridge seemed too sketchy to solo in the rain today, I headed wherever my little heart desired. Which usually means to the mountain.

On the way I jogged up to Mitchell Point, an easy, short scramble which ordinarily I wouldn't have bothered with. It was fun, and the colors in the Gorge across the river were incredible, despite my iPhone's inadequacy.

I stopped in Hood River after and bought some saltwater taffy made locally, and bit into a terrible locally-picked apple that tasted of pure sulfur. I don't even get what was going on there. Behind the orchards, Mount Hood was covered in thick layers of blue and gray clouds, making the parts that were visible even more ominous. I drove up its backside, pulling over randomly at the Tamanawas Falls trailhead. I'm not sure why I chose to do this little hike at 3pm, but I'm really glad I did. It was beautiful, and being so short and relatively easy I probably would've overlooked it otherwise.I really want to come back and do this one in the snow.

Now home, we're drinking a leathery, smokey cab and watching "Melancholia," which I think I'm in love with. I'm really happy. Also, this morning in Florida my mom won a custom-built bike in a raffle at a 5K to benefit breast cancer, of which she is a survivor. She deserves it.