The Dry Side of the Cascade Mountains

We start the day leaving Hood River and traveling to one of the Columbia’s tributaries, the Deschutes River, and the dry side of the Cascade Mountains.  That sounds contradictory---a river in a dry area.  But mountains block the moist air that forms over the ocean and provides rain on the west (ocean) side.  The clouds carrying that precipitation are rarely high enough to make it over the mountains, so the east is dry...and we're heading east.

Just five miles from Hood River, the average rainfall drops from forty inches a year to fourteen inches a year. 

The Dry Side of the Cascade Mountains

Hiking on the dry side

After our morning hike, we stop at The Dalles for lunch.  This was the area that developed as pioneers migrated across the country only to be stopped by Mt. Hood and the raging Columbia River. 
From here we go to the Historic Columbia River Highway, a scenic highway built in the early 20th century. 

This road was the vision of entrepreneur Sam Hill (yes, there really was a Sam Hill).  Hill was an attorney whose early practice focused on railroads.  When he moved to Seattle in 1901, he started to act on his theory that transcontinental transportation would require more than trains.  He advocated establishing good roads: highways that would not only facilitate movement across the country but would also maintain and respect the natural environment in which they were built. 

Hill and others began to plan the Columbia River Highway with a trip along the anticipated route.  Remember the early pioneers who had to use ropes to lower their wagons down steep hills and extra animals to pull the wagons up?  Hill encountered similar circumstances as he traveled from Portland.

Engineer Sam Lancaster  designed the Highway so it adhered to to Sam Hill’s vision: expedite travel without harming the surrounding beauty.  Engaging Italian stonemasons to try to replicate the designs of European roads,  the team created tunnels and installed rails that did not interfere with nature. This was one of the first US roads built on a cliff face and was the first “scenic highway” in the country.

Unfortunately, I have no photos from this hike.  Not sure what in Sam Hill happened.  I have a feeling that I was so excited about hiking on volcanoes, especially knowing that we were on our way to Mt. St. Helens, that everything else seemed secondary to me.  I regret that now,  but this site can give you more information and some great pics.  http://localadventurer.com/rowena-crest-viewpoint-oregon/

Our route takes us over the  Rowena Crest and alongside the Tom McCall preserve. On a section now closed to motor traffic, we walk the final miles into Hood river, back to the rich vegetation on the rainy side of the mountains.  Lush forest growth reminds us we've gone from an area with fourteen inches of rain a year to an area that gets forty inches.  and dinner. :)