A Muddy Hike Through the Labyrinth

Although I try to ski as much as possible during the winter months, due to crowded slopes, I refuse to ski on weekends.  So when the weather provides a dry weekend day, I rally my friends for a hike.  Which is what I did one sunny, but chilly late January day, recruiting my hiking (and skiing) buddies Young and John.

An icy Labyrinth Falls

John suggested we travel further east in the Columbia River Gorge and check out the Labyrinth Trail.  A favorite hike for all of us, it's a great place to visit in the winter, as well as spring and fall (but way too hot for my liking in the summertime!)  Sadly, this area was decimated by a large wildfire last July, and had been closed ever since.  But recently reopened for hiking, my friends wanted to check out the damage.

At trail's beginning

On a sunny, but very cold morning, John piloted his truck towards the Labyrinth trailhead, located on the side Washington State Route 14.  As my friends and I changed into boots and loaded our backpacks, John made a terrible discovery.  In his haste to get out of the house that morning, he'd forgotten to grab both his and Young's trekking poles.  Although not totally necessary, the poles provided stability on downhill trails, as well as saving wear and tear on the knees.  The older I get, the more I depend on my trekking poles to avoid falls.  So my friends weren't too happy about hiking sans-poles.

Brown trees - evidence of last summer's fire 

But we were already here, and John wasn't about to drive home to get their poles, so down the trail we went.  This hike began on an abandoned road, the asphalt slowly deteriorating.  Not far from the trailhead, we passed by a lovely little cascade, informally named "Labyrinth Falls."  Cold evening temperatures had caused frosty icicles to form on the surrounding vegetation.  So beautiful!  I even spotted a tiny rainbow near the waterfall's base.

In some places, the trail was a nice rock-paved path

After a half mile of asphalt trekking, my friends and I came to the official trailhead.  Rocky promontories rose up from the surrounding hills and the ground was covered in bright green vegetation.  So unusual to see these green slopes in January!  Sadly, any tree left standing bore dry, brown leaves - a somber reminder of the past summer's wildfire.

More reminders of the fire

It was here the climbing began.  We wandered up, up, up through rocky outcrops of columnar basalt, winding through a few narrow gaps and passing beside a cliffy area.  Kind of like going through a maze, I think this is what gave the Labyrinth it's name.  My friends and I passed by another pretty waterfall, sadly now framed by lifeless, brown trees.

The lone ridgetop tree survived

My friends and I clambered atop a high ridge and gaped at the Columbia River spread out below.  I recognized a prominent lone oak tree situated at a high point, and was relieved to see that it had survived the fire.

Walking through a very rocky slope

After about a mile of climbing, we came to a trail junction.  Turning east, my friends and I followed a fairly level path as it contoured across a wide open meadow, now littered with rocks and burned out trees.

Huge hole in the side of this tree!

Past a large tree with an enormous hole on the side (a great place for birds and animals to take shelter) we hiked a winding path that took us downhill and then through a forest that had been absolutely torched by the fire.

More fiery devastation

It was especially sad to see the blackened tree trunks and scorched forest floor.  Further along, we walked through a rocky area, the barren boulders dark with ash.  Not much green growing here.  The only good thing about this wildfire, it did open up the views ahead to tall cliffs near the Catherine Creek area.

Views through the trees

Wandering around the area directly below these cliffs, I spotted the first purple grass widow of the season.  Such a surprise!  These tiny wildflowers usually don't start blooming until late February at the earliest.  Wow, this was way too early!  A consequence of this unusually mild winter.

Looking up at Catherine Creek ridge

My friends and I then began our climb to the top of the cliffs.  Following a beaten path through a large talus slope, we huffed and puffed our way to the wide plateau above.  Then we all followed the cliff's edge, climbing higher.  Our goal was an old track called Atwood Road, which we would follow back towards the Labyrinth.

First grass widow of the season - way too early!

The early morning's cold temperatures kept the trails frozen and firm as my friends and I had hiked through the Labyrinth and on the side trail towards the cliffs.  But by midday radiant heat from the sun's rays had warmed things up enough to start melting the firm, icy ground.  After veering away from the cliff's edge, we started following an old dirt road towards the top of ridge and Atwood Road, and found this track coated with thick, slippery mud.  It was so bad everyone had trouble keeping traction while slogging uphill.  I felt especially sorry for Young and John - without their trekking poles providing some stability, conditions were doubly treacherous.

Climbing up the cliff face

After what seemed like a very long trudge, my friends and I finally arrived at the junction with Atwood Road.  Climbing done, it was time for a mostly level trek back to the Labyrinth trail.  Unfortunately, we discovered Atwood Road was just as muddy and slippery.  Gingerly, we all made our way along this next leg of our hike.

Hiking along the clifftops

Happily some of the forest along Atwood Road had been spared the wildfire's flames and appeared to be green and intact.  Diving into these forested areas, we discovered much lower temperatures in the shade.  The surrounding air was still cold enough to keep the muddy trail frozen - at least firm enough that we could walk without slipping and sliding.  A welcome break!

Young inspecting a large, blackened tree

The shady, treed areas along Atwood Road were so cold that in some areas I discovered large patches of hoarfrost still intact.  A white, feathery type of frost that forms through sublimation, or water vapor turning directly into ice, hoarfrost is created during cold, calm nights.  My friends and I poked at the delicate, hair-like crystals, marveling at the fact that Mother Nature could generate such intricate formations.  It appeared as if these icy spires had grown right out of the mud!

Hoarfrost on Atwood Road

Now way past noon, my tummy was rumbling mightily.  I implored John to make a lunch stop soon.  However, he wanted to find a spot with a view, and remembered there were a few places not far away.  So on we trudged, until coming to a large clearing with some fantastic wide-open Gorge panoramas.  Insisting that we make this our lunch spot, my friends and spread out our sitting pads (because the ground here was quite muddy!) and took a load off.  John was right - having lunch with this spectacular view was worth the wait.

Very interesting phenomenon!

After satisfying our hunger - both our tummies with food and our eyes with views, it was time again to get back to struggling through the muddy trail.  After sliding around for another half mile, my friends and I came to the Upper Labyrinth trail junction.  Now all we had to do was walk downhill for two miles to get back to John's truck.

Lunch with a view

Downhill - of course that was the problem.  This Upper Labyrinth trail was as slick with mud as Atwood Road had been.  Plus throw in the fact that it veered steeply downhill made for extremely treacherous conditions.  Here is where trekking poles would come in not only handy, but necessary for stopping sliding feet.  Now John was kicking himself for forgetting his and Young's.

Sweeping river views

However, my friends and I wanted to get back to the parking area, and this trail was the shortest way down.  So gingerly, we began our descent.  We all quickly found out that walking in the muddy tread wasn't going to work.  Instead, my friends and I chose to place our feet on the grassy area next to the trail, which we found to be much more stable.  Yes, I know technically you're not supposed to hike off-trail, but in the name of safety we chose to bend the rules a tiny bit.

Rocky promontories

Although the grassy area next to the trail was also soft at least it wasn't near as muddy.  My friends and I were able to quickly cover this steep segment back to our original junction with the trail heading towards Catherine Creek.  From there, it was a repeat of the morning's trek, however this time with more mud.  Passing by the largest of the columnar basalt outcrops, I was surprised to see a group of rock climbers rappelling off its near-vertical faces.

This block of columnar basalt was being used by rock climbers

Despite missing their trekking poles, Young and John did very well navigating the muddy trail and grassy edges.  Luckily no one fell and the only casualty was extremely dirty boots and pant legs.

Lovely green vegetation lines the trail

Another great day to be outside!  Despite the fire damage, the Labyrinth trail was still outstanding, with wide-open views, green landscapes, and even a couple of very early season wildflowers.  I could have done without the mud, but it does make for a good story.