A virtual spring meadow walk & hike on the Mosier Plateau Trail, with no talk, no music, no close-up shots of my ugly mug... just nature & relaxation. The full journey in real-time, 4K video.
When the skies of Portland are gloomy and gray, savvy locals pack up and head east, past the Cascades & its rain shadow to the dry, sun-drenched hills of the Columbia River Gorge in Eastern Oregon. In spring, the drab brown rolling hills transform into a glorious green & wildflowers carpet their slopes. Some beauty spots are accessible by road, but many of the best can only be seen on foot.
Many of these trails are increasingly crowded with hikers, but just off the highway the Mosier Plateau Trail offers plenty of scenery with relative peace & quiet, and for less sweat than most other routes. Starting from the quaint little town of Mosier, the trail visits (from a respectful distance) a historic pioneer cemetery, surprisingly grand Mosier Falls & its canyon (mislabeled "Husum Falls" in the intro, yikes), and an oak-studded hillside before climbing to the namesake plateau with its blossoming yellow balsamroots and far-off gorge views.
The gap between releases should be much shorter next time around *knock on wood*. The weather this year has been awful (for recording purposes, at least) until fairly recently. I had several recordings in my back pocket for that very occasion, but to my great frustration they were all unusable for one reason or another. This year I'm sporting a more reliable setup, with this video serving hopefully as a humble appetizer to the full meal of outings I have planned... weather permitting. Enjoy!
Highlights:
00:00 - Intro
01:26 - Hike Start
07:15 - Pioneer Cemetery
13:35 - Mosier Falls View
17:45 - Mosier Creek Gorge & the Scramble Down
24:45 - Big Trees & the Climb Up
41:40 - Balsamroots & Gaining the Ridge
48:20 - Top of the Plateau
1:04:35 - A Quiet Loop & More Views
1:08:15 - Peering Down the Edge
1:13:39 - Outro
Trip Stats:
* Distance: 3.5 mi / 5.6 km round-trip
* Elevation Gain: 780 ft / 238 m
* Trailhead GPS: 45.6848, -121.3940
* Restrictions: None that I'm aware of; leashed dogs allowed
* Camping Available: no
Filmed April 2023. I'm still ironing out the camera setup, as well as the format/structure for future videos. Please feel free to comment on the good, the bad, or the ugly; this is an on-going learning experience. My hope is for each video to improve on the last.