It's Fall, and it's time to head for the Columbia Gorge and the days of heading off to Mt. Hood are coming to a close for me. Today was totally overcast without rain, so perfect lighting and weather for forest photography.

Left the house at 06:00 AM and got on the trail at Horsetail Falls (elevation 60 feet) at 7:00 AM when the lighting was very orange. This route also features Triple Falls, one of the most popular spots in the Columbia Gorge. But only one person was company when I arrived, but dozens of people were there coming back.

It was 2.9 miles to my furthest point at a bridge across Oneonta Creek at an elevation of 1,250 feet leading to Franklin Ridge (which I've done in the past but is too much for me now). Return trip bypassed Horsetail Falls Trail and went down to Oneonta Gorge and then along Scenic Highway 35 to the car, a distance of 3.5 miles, for a total hiking distance of 6.4 miles and a total climb of about 1,500 feet with all of the ups and downs.

That doesn't sound like much, but it was an utterly exhausting and stressful hike, with incredibly steep and loose rocky pitches, including a landslide that required assistance on the way back from two very eager and friendly good Samaritans: the first time in my life I ever accepted an offer of assistance.

As an indication of the difficulty and exhaustion I experienced on this hike, the hiking time was 548 minutes and 38.4 seconds, or 9 hours and 9 minutes, one of my longest (in time) hikes in years, and disgraceful for a mere 6.4 mile hike with a 1,500 foot climb.

The guidebooks recommend taking a 10 minute break each hour of climbing, which I didn't do, but definitely should have. At my age, this resulted in a great diminishment in my sense of balance, and my progress slower than a snail's pace. Yet, never did my muscles ache and I did not feel anywhere stiff or sore the next day. I just ran out of gas and simply didn't have the strength to strain myself. One of the anomalies of old age (72 years). Even my judgment goes out to lunch, which adds to the danger. Next time I find myself losing my balance like this, I'm going to take a rest break.

Once I got back to the Scenic Highway, I did take a 15 minute lunch break, and my recovery was amazing, but the going was much easier along the easement of the highway, taking hand-held pictures of the cliff formations bordering Oneonta Gorge. All other photos were taken on the tripod. Once I left Triple Falls on the way back, I put my camera away and used my tripod as a walking stick, so I had support with both arms: ice axe on one, tripod on the other. I'd be lying dead on the bottom of Oneonta Gorge without these supports.

Took 209 photos of which 89 made the cut. Until I reached my high point at the bridge leading to Franklin Ridge, the lighting was perfect for photography in the forest, with even, 100% overcast, and the temperature was just above 60° so it was perfect weather for photographic hiking. I never had to wear my gloves or heavy shirt, and after a while, I even took off my hat and never used sunscreen today. But the sun came out as I reached my turnaround point and the lighting for photography in the woods and along a creek wasn't much good until I got back to the Scenic Highway and I started photographing the crags around Oneonta Gorge. I took several full frame fisheye shots during the early part of the hike, none of which were corrected, so they exhibit strongly curved lines near the edges, which I didn't find unattractive. The distance shots of forest showed just the beginnings of fall colors.