Natural Bridges

We're almost at the end of our 10-day vacation in Hood River. Today we spent the day on the Washington side of the Gorge, sort of a nostalgic trip into the past. Dave & I used to hike and backpack in the mountains near Trout Lake, notably the Indian Heaven wilderness area. We didn't get even close to those old stomping grounds today, there's still too much snow on the ground, and a lot of forest service roads are still closed. But we did visit the ice cave, picked up some nearby geocaches, and went to an area called natural bridges. Not sure how long this signage and trail have been here; we didn't remember it from our earlier visits.

Up a short walk from the parking area are two bridges that span a deep gully. These are remnants of the top curve of a massive lava tube, two pieces that didn't collapse when the rest of the tube fell in. The gullies were full of huge bolders, but we found some fairly decent "trails" to use to scramble down the side. Behind Dave is the second natural bridge, and the area is networked with trails along both banks.