Journey to the Pool of the Winds

Beacon Rock State Park, Washington

Rodney Falls and the Pool
of the Winds on the 
Hamilton Mountain Trail.

-S. Kramer, Photo

Most people who have visited the Columbia Gorge are familiar with Beacon Rock. Many have hiked to the top of this eroded volcano, and many return to their cars and drive off without giving its surroundings a second though. But few of these people know about the falls on Hardy Creek, or the breathtaking "Pool of the Winds." Beacon Rock is just the centerpiece in Beacon Rock State Park, a large forested natural area. And it is in this expanse of forest, far above the rock itself, that the falls are hidden.

To climb Beacon Rock, you pull off SR-14 to the right, but to reach the falls, turn left at the Rock, down the road that disappears into the woods. This road passes a picnic area, and playground, which doubles as a trailhead for an extensive network of trails leading to Hamilton Mountain. Unless you research the area, or read guidebooks, these falls seem to be a well-kept secret: a waypoint on a much larger network of dirt paths.

The Trail to Hamilton Mountain

The CCC-built picnic shelter near
the Hamilton Mountain Trailhead

-S. Kramer, Photo

The hike departs from an old stone masonry picnic shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Upon setting out on the hike, the forest gets thicker, and the air, colder. The wind in the canopy, along with the bubbling song of a Swainson's Thrush, and creaking trees form a mellow background track along with the distant rushing of cars on State Route 14. For those who merely pass through the gorge, and see a wide blue river lined with grass and cottonwoods, and beyond that, a sea of coniferous forest blanketing the basalt walls of an ancient canyon. But beneath this canopy lies an understory full of diverse wildflowers, creeks, waterfalls and wildlife: out of sight to those on the highways. Entering this understory, the trees obstruct your view of this larger scene, and you are left inside this forest, experiencing it in person, acre by acre. And for one with an appreciation of nature, it is very easy to enjoy.  In late may, bleeding hearts are finishing and going to seed, anemones and thimbleberries are in full bloom, and in various places, the orange buds of tiger lilies hint at their upcoming majesty.

Like A Waterfall Collection

M. Kramer on a rock ledge
on the edge of the trail.
-S. Kramer, Photo

The trail climbs through the ancient landslides and hills of the Gorge, passing from thick coniferous forests, into an open area beneath a Powerline with shrubs, wild strawberry and vine maple, and back into the woods, though they are thinner now, and warmer. after a little over a mile, the trail comes to a junction at the Hardy Falls Overlook.

Unlike most notable waterfalls, the first "falls" it isn't a single waterfall at all, but a collection of lesser waterfalls. A series of cascades tumbles down a basalt Rick pile forming hundreds of tiny waterfalls in the process. Left of this, beside the lookout, a small creek tumbles down a sheer wall. Both meet at the bottom, and continue in a large horsetail-like falls, out of sight from the lookout, and nearly impossible to see from any angle. It’s reminiscent of some sort of surreal "waterfall collection" like some wizard gathered waterfalls on his travels and brought them to this mountain for display. I can't speak for other travelers, but having grown up visiting the likes of Multnomah Falls, I had been hoping for something a bit more, and I mistakenly believed we had reached the main attraction. I had been promised waterfalls after all, and I had found falls, and had I been alone, I may have turned around, but thankfully I wasn't, and our party continued onward half a mile uphill, downhill, around a bend, then downhill to an ancient, yet sturdy bridge lashed together with logs and primitive planks, passing over a stretch of white water. And unlike the previous waterfall collection, the bridge went right over Rodney Falls: it's impressive, and impossible to miss. I smiled at Rodney Falls, then I looked uphill and…

My Jaw Dropped.

The summit of Hamilton Mountain
seen from the clearing on the
Hamilton Mountain Trail.

-S. Kramer, Photo

From the trail approaching these upper falls, you see nothing but a shoot emerging from a hole in the rock. It's just enough information to grab your curiosity, and draw you in. Approaching it you feel a Sense of awe and apprehension. Then you scramble up the last few feet of rough basalt guarded by an iron fence, and look in on the Pool of the Winds.

For a place with such a name, you would expect a scene from a fantasy novel, something extraordinary: that is exactly what you get. Hardy Creek over time dug a slot canyon into the hillside, forming a waterfall, Rodney Falls, almost entirely walled in, draining into a shallow basalt room filled with water: the Pool of the Winds itself. This drains through a small keyhole just wide enough for the creek. There are some places where God puts his handiwork on display: you don’t want to leave the falls.

But you have to. Some continue on to Hamilton Mountain, while others make the return trip down to the parking lot. We all have lives to return to in the modern world, but we do so having pulled back the metaphorical curtain, and explored just a bit of the wonderland hidden beneath the forest canopy. -KP

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Sources:
Washignton State Parks Map of Beacon Rock State Park:

https://parks.state.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/1840/Beacon-Rock-State-Park-PDF

ProTrails "Pool of the Winds" Gallery:

https://www.protrails.com/gallery/740/oregon/portland-columbia-river-gorge/pool-of-the-winds#image-8