I convinced my friend Nikki that we had to go on an adventure together and I chose this special place to make that dream a reality. To get here take exit 28 off of I84 turn right at the first stop sign like your going to the Vista House ( which is also something we did together even though I was in pain and covered in dirt...more on that later)
For this hike I wore Hiking shorts, my cushioned socks, boots, and a t-shirt. It was going to be 75 degrees that day and the hike is a 3 mile loop up a hill and down an hill.
Nikki and I arrived at about 10am at the trail head and proceeded to go up the hill near the picnic tables instead of walking down the hill to the main waterfall as there were too many visitors and I looked like crap...which I tend to do for all my hiking adventures. Why put on makeup when you basically going to hell anyways...right?
Latourell falls is 3 waterfalls in one. When you park your car at the trail head you will see one. As you walk up the mountain you see a small middle falls and when you reach the bridge to loop you around you meet #3 which I think is the prettiest of all.
Now, even though Nikki and I went in July the ground was still wet with all the water that falls of the hills so be CAREFUL. Also, if you bring your dog with you please be prepared that there are lots of people and lots of dogs(I will explain in a second). If your a heavy girl like me take your time with this one...I rushed to the third waterfall without stopping to impress Nikki only to almost run out of gas towards the end, which I think was the start of my demise.
After you reach the third waterfall the trail becomes confusing and hard to hike...broken down areas make it easy to fall or twist your ankle...none of these I did here. My advice is to wear boots and stay to the left as much as you can. At one point I thought we were lost but we can upon a viewing spot of the Columbia Gorge and knew we were coming down. YEAH we made it down without a scratch! But, the trail dumps you out right onto the Columbia River Scenic Highway and if your not careful you will come face to face with a car. You must turn right at the road and cross a small bridge to return to the parking area to get your car. People drive like jackass's!
When we arrived back at the parking lot we decided that since we were awesome and completed that hike with no issues "lets walk down the trail to the main waterfall and get more pictures." That is when my dog Jefferson saw the love of his life...a small white rat terrier. Jefferson, may I add, is a 80 lb lab and Shepard mix. As I tried to restrain Jefferson from meeting his new love a dumb jerk with a camera and video camera was blocking the ENTIRE path (People don't do this it just makes you look like a jerk and if you do do this...help a sister out when she falls on her face!!!) Jefferson pulled me to the left to avoid said jerk to meet his lady love. I didn't realize the path had a 5 inch drop off the left side into mud. This is where my ankle twisted beneath my body weight bent in half, threw me to my knee, and then spit me out onto the wet and dirty pavement. Yeah me! Its always funny to see a fat girl fall!
After whining in pain for a few moments I was able to sit up and tend to my wounded knee with some Kleenex. My ankle was screwed but, since I could walk on it (gingerly and while limping) I knew it probably wasn't broken..THANK GOD my boots are high tops!
Ladies...don't do this...don't be like me...take your time and BE CAREFUL! This has been my first hiking injury and kept me on the bench just long enough to start this blog but, I gained 5 lbs in the process!!
FINAL THOUGHT
Don't do the whole hike if its your first time up to bat. Let this be like one of those hikes you do to prove how good you are at hiking. Make sure you have a friend with you and I would recommend that you not take your dog just because of all the people that tend to gather here on weekend afternoons.
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