In Awe of an Ancient Monolith

Beacon Rock, the exposed core of an ancient volcano, dominates the middle section of the Gorge. It stands 848 feet tall above the mighty Columbia, and in these parts is considered to be the second largest monolith in the world, next to Gibraltar.
My husband and I hiked this last Friday and made it half way before the hard rains hit. But, the rain wasn't the main concern! The winds were!
We are so in love with the beauty of the Columbia River Gorge area, we will be traveling back again soon!
Some history on the area:
Beacon Rock served as a landmark for river travelers for hundreds of years. The Indians knew it marked the last of the rapids on the Columbia River and the beginning of tidal influence from the Pacific Ocean, 150 miles away. Lewis and Clark were the first white men to see the rock. They camped at its base in November of 1805, noting the rock in their journal and giving it its present name. In 1811, Alexander Ross, of the John Jacob Astor expedition, called the rock 'Inshoack Castle,' and it was known as 'Castle Rock' until the United States Board of Geographic Names officially restored the title of 'Beacon Rock,' in 1961.
Henry J. Biddle purchased the rock, in order to build a trail to the top, and constructed the original trail from 1916 to 1918. In 1935, his heirs turned the rock over to the state for use as a park. Additional development was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps. (history courtesy of the State Park's website)

Comments: 13

David K. Oct 7, 2009, 9:53pm EDT

It's beautiful. Thanks for showing us.

Carrie Marie P. Oct 8, 2009, 10:33pm EDT

Thankyou for checking out my post, David!

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Clifford N. Oct 7, 2009, 10:05pm EDT

Carrie,
I have driven by the Beacon but did not know that a park nor a trail was to be found there. My oldest son and family lived in Kelso and later in Port Ageles. We visited them there and for some reason never went to this wonderful place. There is so much wonderful and exciting to see and participate in the area till we always ran out of time before we could do all we wanted to do.

Yo have added greatly to my enjoyment of what I already know about the area so I want to say,"Thank you" for a wonderful post and the remarkable photos.

If I get back, I must visit the Beacon. I don't really have the words to describe my emotions when viewing such beauty from the lofty grandeur of such a place. Yo are blessed to live among such marvelous scenery.

Carrie Marie P. Oct 7, 2009, 10:34pm EDT

I noticed it alongside the road on a trip one day to Oregon and told Mark to stop!!!! We didn't know what the giant rock was either.... until we got out to take photos and saw a little sign that was a trail! :) It takes about an hour to walk to the top too.

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