Retired Skamania County Commissioner
 L. W. 'Bud" Quinn hikes
 Cape Horn Trail

BUD QUINN celebrates birthday #83 by hiking CAPE HORN TRAIL on  09/25/06.  Having survived the hike, he nicknames it Quinn Trail in honor of his accomplishment. 

BACK TO CAPE HORN TRAIL GENERAL INFORMATION

All photos by Christina Brittain ©2006. All rights reserved.

Cape Horn Trail provides incredible views of the Columbia River Gorge for those brave enough navigate the rustic, narrow trail that hangs along the edge of sheer cliffs above and below WA State Highway 14 about 9n miles east of Washougal, Washington.

Parking at the Cape Horn Trailhead near the bottom of  Salmon Falls Road is a challenge on sunny days as the makeshift gravel lot along WA State Highway 14 fills up early in the day.

Bud heads across Salmon Falls Road to begin the hike on a beautiful fall day just after the Autumn Equinox. It is just a short trek from Quinn Mountain on Canyon Creek Road to the Cape Horn trailhead.

CAPE HORN TRAIL VIEWS

View from edge of Cape Horn Trail looking east to sandbar by Tucker Rock. Extreme care is required on many sections of trail because it is constructed dangerously close to the edge of a severe vertical drop. People who have a fear of heights: BE WARNED!

A view from Cape Horn Pioneer Point looking east toward Multnomah Falls. The Stevenson family farm and barn can be seen through the branches of the big fir tree. Boats on the river

A view from atop the trail near Pioneer's Point where the first expansive view of the Gorge looking across at Rooster Rock State Park and the expansive summer sandbars. Narrow trail that hugs the edge of the bluff is along the right in this photo.

The Cape Horn Trail along the sheer edge of the  Pioneer Point bluff offers a breathtaking, unobstructed view of the Columbia River Gorge looking west toward Crown Point and the summer sandbars of Roster Rock State Park. Green pastures of the Stevenson Ranch, still owned and farmed by descendents of the original pioneer family, spread out below.

The immense power of the east winds howling down the Columbia River Gorge winds, which often exceed 50 mph on top of Cape Horn, are no match for the faint of heart. Even this old fir tree couldn't withstand the wind's fury any longer and was ripped out of the ground.

A speed boat is just a faint blur from the Cape Horn Bluff, distinguished only by its wake as it passes Tucker's Rock, named for Tucker's Landing and the man who ran a ferry across the river in this area.

Expansive pastures throughout the Stevenson Ranch below the Cape Horn Bluff in the Columbia River Gorge lay like velvet along the river shore. Cattle and sheep graze peacefully on the lush grass.

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