Total hiking time: 5 hours, 46 minutes and 11 seconds. Length of time from trailhead to top of paved trail (0.8 miles, 800 feet climbing): 59 minutes, 44.76 seconds. Time to destination at Franklin Ridge Trailhead: 2 hours and 18 minutes. Lunch break: 22 minutes, 49.94 seconds. Total return time to trailhead: 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 36 seconds.

Distance: 7 miles round trip. Today took my tripod. Climb: 1,700 feet. The approach to Multnomah Creek from the view of 650 foot Multnomah Falls from the bridge is a mile climb of 800 feet of 11 switchbacks. The climb from there to the Franklin Ridge Trailhead, a 900 foot climb in 2.5 miles, was not stressful. The way back was all right until I hit the loose rocks and big steps down just before the top of Ecola Falls. I am very depressed about my performance once I hit these loose rocks, because the hike down from then on, negotiating the rocky trail, was much more strenuous for me than the trouble-free climb up, and it utterly exhausted me. By the time I got to the paved switchbacks back to Multnomah Falls, I was practically crawling down the steep pavement, on the verge of falling backwards from lack of balance. Meanwhile all the youngsters (those age 50 and below) were, laughing, screaming, and streaming by me effortlessly and joyfully. Aside from the opening killer 2 mile hike on Maui, no hike I went on then compared to how exhausted today's hike made me feel. For example, the 11 mile East Maui crater hike was a very pleasant piece of cake compared to today's killer.

On the way up, I met a woman with a rescue greyhound who was very vocal, loudly howling his greeting of me. She told me her greyhound was unusually vocal. I thought it was funny and charming. Such beautiful dogs, those greyhounds.

I also met a middle aged East Asian who had never been in the Gorge before in his life and I recommended that he at least hike to Wiesendanger Falls for some of the most beautiful scenery in the Columbia Gorge. He hiked with me from the top of the paved switchbacks to Wiesendanger Falls, and he let me take a picture of him. He was a weak hiker and did not have the proper footwear, so was happy to turn around at Wiesendanger, but expressed great gratitude for recommending that he move on from the top of the Multnomah Falls to observe the wonders of Multnomah Creek.

I'd done today's hike fairly recently but was on that hike blocked by a creek crossing about a quarter mile from the Franklin Ridge Trailhead Today however the water level allowed me to cross. When I turned around, I knew I was going to have trouble crossing the steep rubble, so I put away my camera and I used my tripod as a walking stick. The sun started coming out anyhow, and so any photography I would do would be in the woods under a blue sky which would have ruined my shots anyhow. It was only the double use of the tripod as a walking stick combined with my mountain axe that allowed me to survive my fatigue.

Took only 96 photos of which 69 made the cut. Many of them were with my full frame fisheye, so I wouldn't be duplicating the thousands of photos I'd take on the Larch Mountain Trail over the years.