North Lake Hike

Overview

NOTICE: The Wyeth Trail between the junction with the Gorge Trail #400 and the Green Point Ridge Trail is closed until further notice because of damage from the Eagle Creek Fire. Please check the list of Columbia Gorge trail closures before you plan for a hike. The steep hike up the Wyeth Trail to North Lake is another one of those vertical Gorge journeys that takes you from river level to montane forest in just a few miles. There are a few views across the Columbia to the Washington side but, in the main, this is a shady wooded excursion that offers some remarkable and lush old growth bench forest below North Lake before reaching that body of water. You can extend the outing by hiking on to Rainy Lake and Green Point Mountain and/or, if you have the legs, loop back to Herman Camp and take the Gorge Trail back to the Wyeth Trailhead. The trail begins on an old road bed that heads south under Douglas-firs and bigleaf maples to the Gorge-Wyeth Trail Junction. To the right is the Gorton Creek footbridge. Go left at the junction on the Wyeth Trail #411. Walk under powerlines in a scrubby area sprouting oaks and ocean spray. The trail drops past a connecting trail from the Wyeth Campground. Cross the powerline corridor and head into woods to cross Harphan Creek, the wend up under maples and Douglas-firs. There is some poison oak for quite a considerable distance up the trail. There are four long switchbacks up to a small forested bench and then the trail heads up. A spur leads right down to a rusting water tank, one of this forest's decaying artifacts. The path swings right here and traverses up. There’s a switchback and the trail crosses a small scree slope with larger Douglas-firs. Switchback twice at a rock outcrop, getting a view of the Columbia through the trees. Under some large Douglas-firs, the understory is formed of hazel, vanilla leaf, bigleaf maple, vine maple, Oregon grape, and sword fern. Switchback and make a long traverse up to a stream, where the trail switchbacks again at some big Douglas-firs.

Trail Stats

Photos

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