This was a little hike I decided to do just to keep active. Since weather hasn’t been cooperating much I wanted something somewhat easy, in the forest but with potentially good views. This hike is on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge right across from Bonneville Dam. Being part of the PCT, you can actually make this hike as long as you want but for a short day hike, the Greenleaf Overlook is a great option. The first part of this hike goes gently uphill in a fern covered forest but then, after you pass the ridge and cross a forest road, you start descending to Gillette Lake. This little gem is so close and easy to get to that most people just ignore it. There are several camping options around it for easy overnight stays that are not that far from the highway (which can be a good and a bad thing). From thee we continued up thru the forest passing another little lake tucked within the trees. Soon we came to an open area with open vistas of the Columbia Gorge. At this point, the trail turns and starts heading away from the river and into the forest so there’s no more views for quite awhile. We decided to stop at that point and have lunch while we enjoyed the views. Unfortunately that didn’t last very long. The weather got worse and colder so we started heading back soon after. At least I was able to get some hiking done so it’s never bad.
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