Little Cougar Rock

Winema Pinnacles

I am including this rock because the story below is such a great one! While this is physically located along the next segment of the CRH, I am including it at Multnomah Falls since it seems to be the most easily viewed from this location.

Tim Olson, Gorge Classic Climbs: Historical Summits and Adventures

Little Cougar Rock (Winema Pinnacles) protrudes from the south wall of the gorge one mile east of Multnomah Falls at 1683' elevation. This objective can be seen from the Multnomah parking area when looking east. This rocky promontory juts out against the green forest and sits defiantly like a vulture watching over its prey. Located immediately above it, but not visible is Big Cougar Rock...

The origin of the name of this pinnacle is mentioned in the Crown Point Country Historical Society's 2006 newsletter as follows:

An early settler in the area in the 1890's named George Pau [George Paugh, according to Z. Arrington] was trying to climb to the viewpoint of the Columbia River Gorge. He found a tree lodged against the rock which afforded him handholds to do so.

As he neared the summit, he spotted three cougar kittens in a den in the rocks. The kittens' mother came out of the trees at him trapping him at the top. The cougar slashed at him and finally lunged for him. Pau used the cougar's momentum to fling it off the cliff.

Bleeding from several wounds, he was able to climb down and make his way back to help. The next day, he and some fellow loggers went back, rescued the kittens which were taken to the Portland zoo. After this, it was named Cougar Rock.

"Cougar Rock is a 300 foot tall monolith towering over the Columbia Gorge about 1 mile east of Multnomah Falls. The name of the rock is said to have come from a story about a Multnomah Basin homesteader who survived a cougar attack while hunting nearby. While it's not possible to get to the rock itself, there two viewpoints overlooking it. You can follow a defined ridge over the top of a rocky spine to a viewpoint overlooking the rock, but the better view is to take the faint trail downhill and to the right. It hugs the east side of the aforementioned ridge and heads down to a nice open viewpoint just to the southeast of the rock."

"The high rock pinnacles midway between Multnomah falls and Oneonta gorge have been named 'Winema,' a Lutuamian term meaning chieftainess, and applicable because of a mythical tale in which a maiden rallied her tribesmen and inflicted defeat on a band of invaders. She fell in the battle, and Talapus raised the pinnacles where she fell."

Ak-Wanee Trail

Gorge Trail #400 Segment

"This is the junction where Gorge Trail #400 heads east from the Larch Mountain Trail #441. The Larch Mountain Trail is a very early trail, dating from 1915. This section of the Gorge Trail was called Ak-Wanee Trail when it was built in 1978. The name means 'Til our paths meet again'. Today it is simply referred to as a section of Gorge Trail #400."

"Hike up the Larch Mountain Trail #441 to the Benson Bridge, along with scores of day hikers and tourists. About 1/2 mile from the lodge, you'll come to a switchback where the unpaved Gorge Trail #400 connects. Continue east on the Gorge Trail, signed the 'Ak-Wanee Trail.'"

The Elevator Shaft

"Various hiking guides show it to be lost, found, or even 'not as lost as it once was.' Plan ahead, wear good boots for the rocks, long pants for the poison oak, and plan on working hard."

OregonHikers.org: Elevator Shaft

Elevator Shaft is one of great challenges in the Columbia River Gorge. Part trail, part talus slope, and all switchbacks — this steep section of abandoned trail climbs 1,200 feet in a mile. Although forgotten by many book authors and no longer maintained by the United States Forest Service, locals and old salts know it well (some by its former name, "The Fire Escape"). After hiking it, you'll understand the appropriateness of both names.

The Elevator Shaft is about a 1/2 mile east of Multnomah Falls running north/south almost vertically. You can pick it up off of the Gorge Trail #400 [Ak-Wanee Trail].

The first 300 vertical feet of the scree field is obvious, but the "trail" itself is a bit hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for. You literally hike up a the rocky slope, about 900 feet high and 60 feet across — certainly the result of a rock slide. Local hikers have counted the switchbacks at more than 100! They are short and tight, and almost indistinguishable in the often mossy and always slippery rock. But do your best to stick to the trail as best you can — it will preserve the trail for future generations.

The trail has three somewhat distinct segments. The lower section is a mix of talus and undergrowth — mostly poison oak, blackberry, and young deciduous trees. The middle section is all open rock face, while the top section enters the forest high above Multnomah Falls and eventually connects to a light east/west trail.

OregonHikers.org: Cougar Rock via Elevator Shaft Hike

It's easy to suspect that the Elevator Shaft is limited to what you can see from the Gorge Trail, as the scree meets a solid bank of trees and low brush about 300 feet above. Were it just this, it would still be an impressive climb. However, once you work your way through a tangle of poison-oak and blackberry bushes, the forest scrub relents to another wide-open scree slope more than twice as high as the first — you have nearly 700 feet to go!

This main section of the Elevator Shaft is series of short, faint switchbacks. Local climbers have counted the switchbacks in excess of a hundred. Years of cross-cutting have made the trail sometimes indistinguishable amid the rocks. If possible, do your best to resist the temptation to head straight uphill — your hiking is the only maintenance this trail gets!

When you've reached about halfway up the visible section of the shaft, keep your eye out to the left — you'll start to see the remains of a large and quite violent landslide, a powerful reminder of what it is you're standing on.

Unless you're in incredibly good shape, it likely will take you more than an hour to get to the top of the rockslide. From here, the unofficial trail enters to the forest off to the right (west) at the top — take a moment to see if you can locate it before simply continuing uphill. And before entering the forest, don't forget to look behind you. Archer Mountain is the peak directly across the river. You're now high above Gorge Trail 400 and Interstate 84, and you've gained about 1,000 vertical feet in less than a half-mile.

Upon entering the forest, you may be surprised to find that your climb is far from over. In fact, you have another 700 vertical feet to gain before reaching the ridgecrest of Multnomah Basin. It's not quite a quarter-mile and some strenuous hiking before you get to an unmarked trail junction.

OregonHikers.org: Elevator Shaft

Most hikers will pick up the trail heading east up to the Multnomah Basin at 1,800 ft., and then Cougar Rock, Franklin Ridge, and back into to the upper sections of Multnomah Creek along the Larch Mt. Trail.

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway

CLICK HERE to continue exploring GORGE TRAIL #400