Rock of Ages Hike

Today Clay, Emily, Kelli and I braved the Rock of Ages hike in the gorge and let me just say that this is by far the most difficult hike I've done in the gorge. 10 miles, 3000 feet elevation gain (all of which come in the first 2.5 miles!). We're talking hand over foot climbing for the first two miles it's so steep. That alone took about 3 hours! The next 8 miles took 5 more hours.

It wouldn't have been as bad but the first 2 miles, it's all straight up with no switchbacks, absolutely brutal. By the time you get to 3200 feet you're exhausted and unfortunately have 8 more miles to go! Ouch.

This is a hike I've been wanting to do for a while but I can honestly say, once was enough! About 6 creeks to ford, a brutal initial climb, poison oak all over the place, it's all there! The last 3 miles were nice though, we got to go by Triple Falls which we love but unfortunately we were too exhausted to really enjoy it. In any case, I'm glad to be home!

Got some more pics here on Facebook if you're interested.

The Devil's Backbone.
This was a cool rock formation, kind of scary to walk out on. As you can see, the right side drops off to a couple of thousand feet also known as certain death. Fun stuff.















A better pic of Devil's backbone.



















Kelli and I on Devil's backbone.













Me about the push Kelli off of Devil's backbone.












The Rock Arch


















Got to go by Triple Falls on the loop back which is one of our favorites in Oregon.