The most exciting and perhaps unusual (even rare according to a fellow hiker) aspect of the hike to Angel’s Rest was the cougar that ran across the trail path. My friend and neighbor had a better view, as it fled about 20 feet in front of her. She saw its cat-like face; I merely caught a glimpse of the tan body and tail. We froze in place, which I later learned is probably the best defense mechanism- either that or waving your arms and talking loudly to give the perception that you’re bigger than you actually are. I understand the rationale but would anyone actually do this? I have poor reflexes so I tend to stop in place when anything out of the ordinary occurs. The worse thing to do is run like prey. We continued with a certain level of timidity- every rustle in the woods would cause us to jump just a little bit. Closely following the incident, we came across a lone hiker who thought we might have encountered a rare sighting of a puma. According to wikipedia however, a cougar, puma, and mountain lion are all the same animal, different terms are used in different regional areas. I also learned that cougar attacks are not common, a cougar attacks a human only out of starvation or when threatened. Dogs attacking humans are infinitely more common.
Angel’s Rest is a pretty good metaphor for reaching the top of the bluff and gazing down below at the awesome view of the Columbia Gorge. It was a hot, fairly clear day and the breeze at the top felt refreshing. On the way back, we decided to take a detour to the road that would eventually lead to our parking lot to avoid having to backtrack along the same hilly path. It entailed an additional 2+ miles of walking along a paved road. We attempted to hitch, I half-heartedly stuck my thumb out with the expectation that no one would pull over and no one did.
After our excursion, we drove the 35-minute drive home, showered, and indulged in girly martinis at a neighborhood spot. I had the gingersnap with cinnamon sprinkled on top– mmm…it was good.
Tales of the Dingy Church 