Smith Rock Hike

The weather had been nice so we decided it was time for another visit to Smith Rock last Tuesday. Smith Rock is a state park and a mecca for rock climbers. Now with respect to rock climbing, not us! However, there are some nice hiking trails so off we went. We decided to


take the "Misery Ridge" trail rather than one of the trails that meanders along the river. When we were on the trail, which is quite steep and has a number of switchbacks, Nancy got a case of the "heebie jeebies"; notice that she is staying away from the downside edge of the trail. Once the idea of height and steepness gets in the head, it is hard to shake. But she hung in there and we got to the top where there are a lot of large rocks and nice views.

As we explored the area on top, Isabella and I found an opening under a couple of huge rocks. I


would like you to think that we had to crawl up through the hole to get on top, but alas, that would not be true. At least it looks like we might fall into the river if we fell through the hole.

Here is a video of Nancy and the dogs with some nice views of the mountains in the



background. For some reason, the audio part malfunctioned.

The tower of rock in the photo is called Monkey Face. It is one of the rock faces that rock


climbers like to go up (they are nuts!). While there weren't any climbers on Monkey Face, we saw a handful of climbing parties scaling the walls at some other parts of the park that we walked by on the way out. The temperature was in the 50's by the time we left so it was a great day to enjoy being outside.