| A VALLEY LESS KNOWN
Recreation & beauty abound
By Fred Delkin Just over an hour’s drive from our state’s densest urban area, one can enter a charmed land that, despite myriad appeals of scenery and recreation, remains undervisited by the denizens of the Portland/Vancouver metro area.
Some 60 miles upriver along this winding, uncrowded route you reach
the hamlet of Bingen and turn left uphill on highway 141 into the town
of White Salmon atop the towering bluffs above the Columbia, with a magnificent
southward view of Hood River and its Mt. Hood backdrop. Leaving town,
the road swings north above the White Salmon River. Back on the main route upvalley, you’ll soon spy the greens of Husum Hills golf course, a nine hole, hilly little number with absolutely no country club pretensions. Soon 141 crosses the impressive White Salmon Gorge and brings you to Husum. This community, like Bingen below, was founded in the mid-1800’s by German immigrants reminded of their mountainous Rhine River homeland. A sign here points left a mile or so along the north fork of Spring Creek Road to the Wind River Cellars winery, offering a tasting room for sampling and sales of the Germanic wine varietals produced here. White water beckons North four miles from Husum, 141 passes BZ Corner, a port for white
water rafting adventure where you can find craft and guide to take you
on a brief but thrilling voyage along the White Salmon’s rapids.
Leaving BZ Corner, the straight arrow highway points directly at Mt. Adam’s
premanently snowclad bulk, passing through grassy expanses of horse and
llama ranch properties (the latter offer a chance to get up close and personal
with these
Now you approach Trout Lake, terminus of 141, 26 miles from the Columbia shore. This rustic village offers unpretentious dining facilities, gasoline and groceries. It is also the headquarters for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and a visit to the Mt. Adams Ranger District office on the north edge of town is recommended. Here, you can get directions and details on nearby attractions along the network of forest roads in the area. Back to the south edge of Trout Lake at the Chevron station, facing north, you’ll find a road branching to the right. Follow over the bridge a quarter of a mile northeast and seek the sign to Glenwood on the right. The Trout Lake-Glenwood Road goes east in the shadow of Mt. Adams and allows you to fully appreciate the sheer size of this 12,276 ft.-high volcano, second only to Mt. Rainier in size among the glacial peaks of the three state Cascade range. Check out the wildlife En route to Glenwood, you’ll pass the Convoy Lake National Wildlife Refuge on your right. This is a sprawling marsh amid surrounding evergreen forest and provides a seasonal home for ducks, swans, geese and cranes. A two mile Willard Springs Trail provides up close wildlife viewing. Glenwood, 12 miles from Trout Lake, was homesteaded in 1879 and surrounding horse and cattle ranches were developed in the 1880’s by German immigrants (not a lot has changed since).
From Glenwood, take the Glenwood-BZ Corner Road south through forest and ranchland some 12 miles to drop back into the White Salmon River Valley at BZ Corner, where 141 will return you to the Columbia. You can cross on the Hood River bridge and return to urbanity via Interstate 84 on the Oregon side. Should you hit Hood River at dinner time, the Hood River Hotel on the east edge of town and the Colmbia Gorge Hotel on the western border both offer outstanding dining. Pauses that refresh Should your touring mode lend itself to overnight stay, the Mt. Adams route offers two excellent bed & breakfast inns. The Farm, on Sunnyside Road southeast of Trout Lake is more than comfortable and provides a sumptuous morning repast. In downtown White Salmon, you’ll find the Inn of the White Salmon, with 16 private rooms, a Victorian décor and lavish breakfast choices that include frittatas, quiche, chile rellenos and good ol’ ham & eggs. Climate is a major Mt. Adams area benefit . The upland valley is in somewhat of a rain shadow, with Mt. Adams and Columbia Gorge cliffs relieving passing clouds of their burdens. The scenery of the valley of the White Salmon resembles the pine studden alpine meadowland that is Deschutes county in central Oregon. However, unlike that center for resort proliferation and Californian visitation, developers and tourists have yet to make a major impact on our recommended tour region. Photos: Most of the photos included here are winners in the Mt. Adams Klick Klickitat Photoshoot 2000. Credits: top photo Brad Amer, second photo (the Grand Prize winner), by Gary Ward, third photo (1st Place Scenic) by Bob Koch, fourth photo (2nd Place Scenic) by Donald Witaker Photo Contest Page | Mt. Adams Chamber of Commerce *** |
We speak
of the White Salmon Valley, winding its way from the snowfields of Mt.
Adams southward to the Columbia River. Mt. Hood and the Hood River
Valley have earned international attention, yet most of their specific
charms are also just across the Columbia in markedly less populated surroundings.
To reach this nirvana, we recommend taking Washington state highway 14
eastward along the Columbia from Vancouver.
Some four miles along, a side road on the left leads down to Northwestern
Lake, a large repository for the river’s water before it reaches the Columbia.
A park here offers a good picnic site and productive trout fishing from
the lakeshore.
The
Flying L Ranch is a notable facility here, offering a 4,000 sq. ft. lodge
with overnight rooms, a five bedroom guest house and two completely equipped
cabins. This is an ideal base for hiking, fishing, riding and climbing
in the Mt. Adams wilderness.