|
Tanner Butte,
Columbia River Gorge |
|
Tanner Butte has always fascinated me as far as backpacking to it and camping overnight on it's summit. It may be the lure from the history of the once dominant fire lookouts that graced this entire area. I don't know, but it is there none-the-less. I was not feeling especially strong this trip as I feel I was fighting off some kind of bug. I set out in the rain, not liking the start of this trip already, happy enough with the summit on my mind. A feeling of melancholy came over me looking at all the dead, spawned out fish that lay at the bottom of Eagle Creek. Whenever I see something resembling an end at the start of a trip, things do not usually bode well for me. This time was no different. The rain started as soon as I got out of the truck and never let up. I walked up the Eagle Creek trail for a couple of miles to see if my thoughts were true to me.
I stopped to look at Punchbowl falls to see if the superstition held any weight in my mind. Things went from bad to worse as my knee, never before, started hurting terribly. I tried to walk it off and after a mile, sat along side the trail. Plop! Just then, my camera, the one I used for all my trips so far, fell out of the pack's side pocket and into a strategically placed puddle. It was the only puddle on the trail within view in either direction. I know when I am beat and turned around. Probably best not to attempt this trip today.
|
