Beyond beautiful -- The Columbia River Gorge is gorgeous

AT THE COLUMBIA GORGE, Wash. -- So this where the word comes from ...

Gorgeous.

Purple lupine, golden balsam root, orange poppies, all gently swaying above the surging river below. Fringes of basalt columns, a snow-topped mountain in the distance -- this is dazzling.

There is nothing quite like the Columbia Gorge.

The Gorge is a treasure practically in our front yard, an easy drive that beckons with unparalleled loveliness.

This pristine canyon surrounding the Columbia River, shared by Washington and Oregon, has no doubt been a place of beauty for eons, but this year marks the 25th anniversary of federal protection; that's when it became all of ours to share. Forever.

It's just a speck of time, really, considering that cataclysmic floods carved this spot more than 10,000 years ago.

But, still, 25 years is a significant landmark.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act into law, bringing large segments of an 83-mile stretch, roughly between Washougal on the west and Wishram on the east in Washington and the Sandy to the Deschutes rivers in Oregon, under federal protection.

The idea was to balance growth as well as preserve the most stunning features -- recreational, cultural, scenic and natural.

And its beauty is no secret. Two years ago, National Geographic Traveler magazine ranked the Gorge sixth out of 133 tourist destinations around the world.

To celebrate the scenic act's silver anniversary, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, a conservation group headquartered in Portland, is offering a series of free, guided hikes through July 17 to highlight some of the area's gems.

The group is urging folks to hike one trail this year to commemorate the 25 years of preservation. For the more ambitious, it's also challenging folks to hike the Top 25 Trails in the Gorge by Oct. 31.

Or, for more relaxed views, there are driving tours. (Information about all outings is listed on the group's web site www.gorgefriends.org).

Friends of the Gorge and its founder

Founded in 1980 by Nancy Russell, a Portland volunteer who was determined to keep Gorge lands from being sliced up by willy-nilly development, Friends now has 5,000 members.

Its main focus is keeping the Gorge unspoiled.

This is how Kevin Gorman, executive director, puts it:

"Here's a world-class, beautiful place, but it's next to a major urban area, where 70,000 people live, with two dams, an interstate highway, a state highway and barges on the river -- and if you told someone all that, they'd say, 'Oh, it must be trashed.'

"But it's not," he emphasizes, a tone of awe lacing his voice.

Indeed, the Gorge today offers panoramic views, etched rock formations and basalt tiers, more than 70 waterfalls, open spaces, forested trails, not to mention 800 species of wildflowers.

Gorman calls Russell a visionary who worked with a "laser focus" to protect the Gorge.

Once the scenic act passed, the Friends group segued from an advocate for passage to a champion for continued care -- part watchdog, part booster.

"Our job is to make sure the act lives up to its potential and to advocate for funds that Congress has promised for recreation and economic development," Gorman says.

In the 300,000 acres, there's a complex mix of federal, private, state, county, city and tribal lands. Residences and businesses co-exist with the largely undeveloped federal lands, which make up about 35-percent of the area.

Every year, Friends members lead 80 hikes in the Gorge, from spring through fall, part of a mandate to showcase the Gorge's gifts.

"We wear a lot of hats," Gorman notes.

The group also operates a land trust to acquire private land it feels needs to be protected. Gorman points out that half of the 80 yearly guided hikes are on land that wasn't available to the public 25 years ago.

Dancing Rock

A favorite spot on the Gorge is Dancing Rock, 64 acres of undulating land about 20 miles west of downtown Goldendale. Covered with wild flowers, it's on a breathtaking ridge above the Columbia, with Mount Hood looming in the distance like an immense vanilla ice cream cone. The river flows below, steady and lovely. All along the banks, spring is coming alive with new growth.

Not all the captivating features reveal themselves at once. A circular kolk pond, excavated by swirling, ancient flood waters, lies just out of sight; a hidden meadowlark trills, wild grasses dance in the breeze like ocean waves.

Once privately owned, this parcel was being readied for development, says Kate McBride, Friends land trust manager. Instead, the trust stepped in and bought the acreage in 2008. "We wanted it to belong to the public," she explains.

Eventually, the group hopes it will be transferred to federal or state purview.

Its geological features stand out: basalt spires, swales and scab lands. They're stark, yet fascinating, reminders of the mighty floods, 1,000-feet deep, that carved the area thousands of years ago.

"There were so many reasons we thought it needed protection," says McBride, citing the spectacular vistas, riparian area vital for wildlife, evidence of ancient Native American activity and unusual geological characteristics.

"This is a premier spot for geology and botany," says Barbara Robinson, a retired Portland Community College biology instructor. A Midwest native, she says she fell in love with the Gorge when she first gazed out over Rowena Crest near Hood River, Ore., some 40 years ago.

It takes volunteers, hard work

On a recent spring day, McBride, Robinson and about a dozen volunteers convened at Dancing Rock for a 25th-anniversary work party. Ranging in age from 50s to 70s, they were there to help clear away invasive species of weeds.

Keeping an eye on the scenery (how could they not?), the group tackled colonies of two nasty plants, skeleton weed and knapweed.

They occasionally paused to taste wild onion and Indian celery, known as cum-see in some Native American dialects, and talk about their favorite Gorge hikes -- Hamilton Mountain, Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls, Lyle Cherry Orchard. And more.

Bev Linde, a retired teacher from of Goldendale, turns out for Friends work parties several times a year (in 2010, more than 130 people volunteered on similar projects). "I love flowers, and I enjoy getting out and broadening my knowledge," she explains. "And the friendship -- you can't meet better people."

Donna Enz, a volunteer from Camas, became acquainted with Russell, the Friends founder, on a hike years ago. Russell died of Lou Gehrig's disease three years ago when she was 76.

"The last time I saw her, she said to me, 'Please protect the Gorge,'" Enz recalls.

"And here I am, doing it weed by weed."

Friends take that protection mandate to heart, concurs Gorman, the executive director. More land could always be safeguarded in the Gorge, he believes.

"Our ultimate goal is a trail system that wraps all the way around both sides of the Gorge," he says. "That's going to take 25 or 50 years."

What's been accomplished in the first 25 years is substantial, says Friends volunteer Mike Harrison. "I'm all for public access, and I'm glad this was protected in 1986," he notes.

"I would hate to see the area become Disneyfied or Walmartized."

Not if Friends of the Columbia Gorge have a say. That's one reason Friends leaders are eager for people to come out and hike around with them. As McBride says, "Once you get people down here on the land, they see how stunning it is.

"Then they're hooked."

* Jane Gargas can be reached at 509-577-7690 or jgargas@yakimaherald.com.