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| Bonneville Lock Dam and Hatchery, OR | |
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| | Bonneville Lock Dam and Hatchery, OR | | | |
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Bonneville Lock Dam and Hatchery, OR
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| Walk / Tour | 0.50 Miles |
50 AEG |
| | Walk / Tour | 0.50 Miles | | | |
| 50 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Day 3 of the Columbia River Gorge was forecasted for an all day rain event with up to 1" of precipitation. The first decision I made that morning was to break my dispersed camp and find a spot in a State Park Campground down in the Gorge itself. Even with a 4x4, I was uneasy about negotiating that road back and forth with that much precipitation. Less drive time, less worry about slipping and sliding on grades, or getting stuck in the mud. I ended up at Viento and it was a good decision. After dinking around with that for a few hours, I drove west and checked out a few places on the west end of the Gorge, but the rain had begun, so I went into Troutdale for a leisurely late breakfast. I pretty much figured that I wasn't going to hike today, there were landslide warnings all up and down the gorge. It wasn't such a bad idea to take a "day off". I'd been going non-stop for several days and it felt good to slow down.
I had been looking for a good trail map of the Gorge, but was having absolutely no luck in finding one. The touristy map of the Gorge was pretty much superficial and I wanted some deeper insight to what trails were out there. After several stops and no luck, I was finally told to hit up the Bonneville Dam Visitor Center. I had read some reviews about the Lock & Dam, the Hatchery and even the Visitor Center itself and apparently it was quite the place. By the time I got there, it was almost closing time for the Visitor Center itself, because it's inside the Lock & Dam site, which is the Army Corp of Engineers and has a Guard Gate. So for the Visitor Center and Lock & Dam itself, I was rushed. But it was so amazing I actually went back a few days later to see more of it. I found my map and managed to get down to the underwater viewing area of the Fish Ladders for a few minutes and actually talked to the fish counter. Yes, Fish Counting is a full-time job. He sits at his desk with his computer and watches the fish enter the Fish Ladders through an underwater window. It was fascinating to watch and he was a wealth of information. But then I had to go. It wasn't just the Visitor Center closing. You had to be out of the Guard Gate and Secure area as well. But thanks to the Fish Counter, my next stop would be the Hatchery which was open for a couple more hours.
Herman the Sturgeon. You gotta read the story, it's pretty amazing. https://myodfw.com/articles/herman-sturgeon The current Herman, is Herman #5. 10 feet long, 500 lbs and 85 years old. He is supposed to be the largest White Sturgeon in captivity in the world. There is an underwater viewing area where he shares a pond with several others, a few almost as big. And he wasn't the only attraction. The buildings in the entire Bonneville complex are all historic and are officially listed in the National Registry. There is a ton of history here. The Hatchery has grounds that are unbelievable. If not for a few Hatchery tanks, you would never even know it was a Hatchery at all. The landscaping was incredible and I probably hit it at the perfect time of year. Everything was blooming. Even though it was raining, sometimes pretty hard, I just couldn't help just walking around the place. One of the historic buildings also housed a gift shop and it was a pretty nice gift shop. Ended up with a nice long-sleeved Hiking themed shirt from there and all proceeds go to an Oregon Wildlife Foundation.
This was a great rainy day stop for sure. Due to the heavy rain and the late hour, I was pretty much the only person there too. Make a point to see this place if you're ever in the Gorge. This was on the Oregon side. And if you're a fisherman, bring your gear. You can fish a couple of the islands just below the dam and I was told it was really good. There is also a complex on the Washington side with a Visitor Center as well. You can also fish that side. I visited that one on my 2nd, very short trip to the Gorge which was all on the Washington side.
All photos and video were shot with my new phone. Way too wet for the camera.
[ youtube video ] Herman
[ youtube video ] Herman
[ youtube video ] Herman
[ youtube video ] Fish Ladder View |
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| Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty & well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out & proclaiming, "Wow What a Ride!" |
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