Fall and spring weather is less predictable than winter and summer. There is a local joke that you can tell it’s spring in Portland when the rain starts to get warmer. By the time May and June roll around, the skies are still all too often covered with clouds, and people start to get frustrated. Statistically, there are a lot more sunny days at this time than we’ve had in the previous six or seven months. Taking advantage of these welcome brighter days is highly rewarding. Spring hikers will be treated to a natural world positively bursting with new life that has definitely noticed the increase in life-giving sunshine.
Autumn in the Portland/Vancouver area produces weather that is best described as variable. In some years, it starts raining in September and everyone knows that it won’t really let up until the following June. In at least one year in three, however, we enjoy a glorious Indian summer, with nice weather extending all the way into October. This is one of the best times to go hiking, because the temperatures are cool, the bugs are gone, and many areas feature wonderful fall colors. After Labor Day the trails are virtually deserted. On a day just after the first light dusting of snow in early October, be sure to make a trip to the high trails on Mt. Hood. The mountain really comes alive with this first covering of snow. You can also take some spectacular photographs of the snow-dusted peak, over the golden meadows framed by the red splashes of huckleberry bushes. Down in the valleys, and especially in the Columbia River Gorge, the fall colors remain excellent into mid-November. Be aware, however, that in the deep, shady canyons on the Oregon side of the Gorge, the sun goes down very early. In November, you should expect darkness by about 3 PM. Bring fast film and a tripod to take photographs in this low light, and carry plenty of warm clothing for the hike back out.
The mountains and valleys surrounding the Portland/Vancouver area cause different wind and precipitation patterns that create localized climates. One of these so-called microclimates is the small, but noticeable, rain shadow just east of the Coast Range. The downsloping hills of Yamhill and western Washington counties get noticeably less annual rainfall than do the upsloping hills in eastern Clackamas, Multnomah, and Clark counties.
The most important microclimate in our region is the Columbia River Gorge. As those familiar with it already know, the Gorge is almost always windy. The violently twisted trees and the abundance of windsurfers attest to the strength of the winds here, so hikers must come prepared for often bitter wind chills. For most of the year, the prevailing wind is from west to east. But during the winter months, the Gorge often acts as a funnel for cold air from east of the Cascade Mountains. As a result, the almost-sea-level Gorge stays much colder than anywhere else in our region. Consequently, the Gorge gets a lot more snow and freezing rain than do neighboring Portland and Vancouver. An inch of cold rain in Portland may fall as a foot or more of snow in Cascade Locks, even though Cascade Locks is only about 20 feet higher in elevation. This means that the aforementioned elevation rules for snow-free hiking generally don’t apply in the Gorge. The much sunnier Washington side melts out a lot faster and, in fact, often provides the nicest early-spring hiking in our region. For photographers, and those who can stand bitterly cold temperatures, it’s also fun to visit the Gorge during a mid-winter cold spell. With luck, the waterfalls will be encased in a spectacular coating of ice.
Trail Safety & Courtesy
Although generally very safe, the sport of hiking does involve a certain level of risk. In the Portland/Vancouver area the risks are relatively minor, but they are real, and good preparation is important to help minimize the potential dangers.
Preparation & Equipment
The most important preparation for a hiking trip is being in good physical condition. The trips in this book range in difficulty from quite easy to extremely strenuous. Each trip is rated as easy, moderate, difficult, or strenuous. Trips rated as “easy” are the easiest and should be enjoyable to anyone, although a small degree of conditioning is always helpful. Trips rated as “strenuous,” on the other hand, are beyond the abilities of all but a handful of the best-conditioned hikers. Before selecting a hike, be honest about your physical condition. Don’t overextend yourself by taking a trip that is beyond your fitness level. After all, you go hiking to enjoy yourself, not exhaust yourself, and, most important, a wilderness trail miles from your car is not the place to suddenly realize that your body is not prepared for strenuous activity. On average, about one hiker a week has to be rescued on the backcountry trails of the Portland/Vancouver area—don’t let yourself become a statistic. There are plenty of hikes in this book at every ability level. Work your way up to the more difficult trips, so you can enjoy every outing comfortably and safely.
Although the weather in the Portland/Vancouver area is often cold and wet, we humans are most comfortable and perform best when we stay warm and dry. The proper clothing is the best way to resolve this discrepancy. For strenuous activities like hiking, your best bet is to wear several layers of synthetic or wool clothing. It is relatively easy to regulate your temperature by simply adding or removing layers. Years ago hikers had only two options for clothing fabrics—cotton and wool. Wool kept you warm but was scratchy and uncomfortable. Cotton was comfortable but provided no insulation when it got wet—a certain recipe for hypothermia in our rainy climate. The science of fabrics has come a long way since then. Today there is a dizzying array of synthetic fabrics and special wool blends that wick moisture away from your body, are lightweight, feel comfortable against your skin, keep you warm on cold, rainy days, and help you stay comfortably cool in hot weather. More new fabrics are developed all the time.
The first layer against your skin should be something like Capilene or Coolmax, which are warm, comfortable, and wick away your perspiration on hot summer days. The next layer depends on the season. In colder winter weather, opt for a long-sleeve wool or synthetic shirt. On warm summer days, you may go for cotton. Regardless of the season, you should carry or wear some sort of outer shell. A waterproof windbreaker is ideal. In the Columbia River Gorge, where the wind never seems to stop blowing, a windbreaker is practically indispensable. In winter, you’ll also need to carry a warm coat. A fleece jacket is a good choice because it provides insulation with minimal weight.
Below the waist, forget cotton jeans and go instead for lightweight nylon pants, which stop the wind and provide insulation even when they get wet. In winter, you might consider wool pants to keep your legs warmer. Few local hikers travel in shorts, but on hot summer days you might do so, as long as you also carry long pants should the weather turn ugly or the trail turn out to have lots of brush or poison oak.
Gaiters are also nice to have along, and some hikers wear them all the time. These usually cover from your shoe tops to just below your knees. They keep your feet and lower legs dry, especially when you are traveling through brushy or grassy areas that are often covered with dew or water from the last rain shower. Gaiters also keep snow and mud from crawling over the tops of your boots and getting your feet wet and uncomfortable.
The miracle fabrics discussed above have also done wonders for socks. Today’s high-tech hiking socks provide cushioning comfort while wicking moisture away from your feet to reduce the chance of blisters. I usually wear two pairs of socks. The first is a synthetic wool blend and the second is made of thick, cushy wool. With this system and comfortable boots, I haven’t had a blister in almost a decade of rugged hiking.
As for footwear, the debate about hiking boots versus lightweight shoes has gotten an amazing amount of attention in recent years. For decades, the standard advice was to wear heavy leather hiking boots to keep your feet dry and your ankles supported and to protect your feet on rough wilderness trails. Proponents of super lightweight hiking, on the other hand, scoff at this advice and wouldn’t hike in anything but comfortable running shoes. Luckily, you don’t have to choose because there are a whole range of lightweight hiking boots that rely on synthetic fabrics instead of heavy leather to keep water out. They also provide necessary traction, with soles designed to grip the ground. A good pair of these will meet your needs for most trails. If you are backpacking or traveling on particularly rough or muddy trails, however, you will probably want to rely on a pair of tried-and-true leather boots.