April 7, 2012.

4.6 mi | 1500′ ele. gain | 1:45 hr.

It was brother weekend, 2012. I get to see my brother once every year, when he makes the cross-country journey to Oregon. I try to take him on different adventures every year: the coast, Mt. St. Helens, the rock gym, Beacon Rock, etc. We’d been to the Gorge before, but mostly for short sight-seeing adventures and not on an actual hike. Angel’s Rest was the perfect introduction to hiking in the Gorge.

We arrived just before 10 am and scurried up the trail. The sky was clear so we got picture-perfect views of the snow-capped mountains across the gorge. From the talus slope we turned to look back over the majestic Columbia River, sending volumes of water towards the Pacific Ocean. A river that size could swallow the entire state of Rhode Island, I thought. That’s where we grew up. Things were much different here. The scale of everything: rivers, trees, mountains, is huge compared to what we were used to back home. I was glad to be able to take my brother out here.

At the summit, there were plenty of people to take our photo, so we stood firmly in the blowing wind as we got our annual portrait.

Hiking across that narrow ridge is always fun in the wind so Jake stopped there to strike a pose too! It wasn’t a full day hike, but it felt great to share a couple of hours with my little bro. Where should we go next year?