Table Mountain is that prominent peak on the other side of the Columbia River near Bonneville Dam. If memory serves me well, I have climbed there at least three times via the Heartbreak trail. Yes, the name is appropriate for this trail as it climbs relentlessly to the top passing by a rock slide and numerous switchbacks where you have to make multiple stops to catch your breath. The rewards are incredible as you can get to the very edge of an incredibly high and vertical cliff that overlooks Bridge of the Gods, the river and Mt Hood in the distance. From the top, you can hike to the north, pass the actual summit hidden within a small forested area and come out on the northern side that offers equally impressive views. From that point, I noticed in the past a faint trail that continued on the ridge and got lost in the forest to the north. Most books and guides don’t show this route as it’s not an official trail but looking at map, you can make certain features that make this access possible. The most important aspect is that the PCT goes around Table Mountain so any access would veer of this major trail. After doing a bit of research, I learned that you had to navigate of trail towards the power line and then follow very old and abandoned jeep roads and user paths to reach the summit of Table Mountain. What proved to be hard was finding the trailhead though. After driving for a bit around different forest roads and realizing were close to the trailhead but not on the right road, we opted for just parking the cars and bushwhacking to the trail. That added a bit of extra adventure and a bit of a warm-up for what lay ahead. Soon after we were on the PCT walking thru the forest with more than a couple of openings offering views of Helens, Adams and even Hood. As we traveled south, we reached a point where the PCT veers hard to the right to start descending towards the valley skirting the power lines. At that point I found a very faint path that continued down towards one of the towers. Once we got down there things got a bit more complex as we found a service road for the power lines and not one but two jeep tracks following south. Making my best judgment, I opted for the road on the left which proved to be the correct option. Certainly this road has not seen traffic in a long time given the undergrowth and obstacles we found. Still it was not very difficult to navigate this mile long road to the end. After that, we continued on a faint footpath that followed the ridgeline switching back and forth between the east and west side. On this section we found one of the most beautiful wildflower displays we had seen so far this season. The hike was very interesting as well as we had pretty steep cliffs on both sides of the ridge. After about a mile and a half off cuts, bruises and some heavy bushwhacking, we finally came to an opening that I recognized as the faint trail that is visible from the top of Table Mountain. Further ahead was the actual peak which required a very short but very steep climb to reach. The views were magnificent as expected so we stopped for a while. Before heading back, we decided, since we were already there, to hike to the south view point and enjoy the views of the Columbia Gorge. The return was easy, following the same path we did to get up there, but after doing this trail and considering that it certainly has less elevation gain that the Heartbreak Trail; I can’t say for certain it’s easier. The effort for the elevation we didn’t gain was certainly used to bushwhack our way there but it was totally worth it
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