It was a beautifully perfect day. The sun was out and the breeze was perfect to keep you from overheating with occasional GREAT gusts for fun. It was probably one of the more beautiful hikes I've been on. Just breathtaking. WTA Volunteers were working hard that day. You're service is very much appreciated. Lost my wallet on this hike and had to backtrack about a mile before I ran across WTA Volunteers who had a couple ask if there was a Melissa in the group. There had been an older couple about an hour or so behind me most of the trip. Headed back to the trailhead/parking lot and by sheer luck ran into them!! MIRACULOUS!! TIP!!!: If you do not have a map or are unfamiliar with the trail system write down the directions given in the description and have a way to know how far you've traveled or you will not stay on the right path. Lots of intersections and other trails running through.

We left Vancouver around six a.m. and were the first to arrive at the trailhead, my dog Zoey, hiking buddy Gavin, and his dog Kember all excited for the day ahead. Poison oak was plentiful and our dogs certainly found their way into most of whatever we passed. We started up abandoned Hwy 8 for the Labyrinth Trail under the morning sun, pausing to take pictures of the numerous wildflower species in bloom. The trail through the Labyrinth was the highlight of the trip, aside from the sheer cliffs of the wall itself. We explored the small cave and, using a flashlight, found some gypsum growing in the back of it. We also made the dogs wash themselves off in the stream by the small waterfall, but this would ultimately prove futile as there was poison oak everywhere during the whole hike and they seemed quite adept at diving into it. We took pictures of the bright yellow moss, the oak forests, basalt columns, and eventually made our way to the bottom of the cliffs. We followed the looping bike trails up the hill, fighting a strong wind and stopping periodically to peer over the edge. We found a gopher snake under some old boards and a ridiculously photogenic fence lizrard, and we passed through the forest to a road we spied at the top of the hill. Here we stopped for lunch before making our way down the road all the way until it passed a house and joined a main road. We turned around and found a salamander and some more wildflowers before heading back on the Crybaby trail. I started down the trail to the valley, but got a bit lost and decided to hike back above the cliffs rather than below them and made a tough climb back up to the main trail. We followed the trail back to where we had crossed over to the road before and did the same thing, again pausing to for some food. We headed down the road in the opposite direction this time and soon found ourselves ion private land, passing by a young vinyard on the way. We eventually made our way downhill through a beautiful open pasture while the dogs chased each other through the fields of wildflowers. I found a tick crawling on me and we spotted dozens of hikers headed down the ridge of the cliffs. We decided to wait for the crowds to pass and stopped for trail mix while we watched the people pass from afar. We headed back down the trail, this time taking the Coyote Wall trail and we found ourselves cursing the bikers are their swooping S shaped trails. We cut through the meadows when we could, passing bikers and hikers alike until finally making it down to Hwy 8 again. We stopped to let the dogs swim in the lake and hopefully wash some of the oil off and we saw an osprey guarding its catch from a covetous crow. The osprey flew right above us with a big trout in its talons. We covered about 13 miles according to Gavin's pedometer app, and arrived back to a packed trailhead. Although I had intended on parking courteously, I ended up looking like an asshole since my car was parked perpendicularly to every other car around it. Over all it was a great trip and we stopped for beers and sandwiches on the drive back.

We began our hike at the TH on Old HWY #8. At 0.5 miles we turned right and hiked to the first fork where we went left to begin a 6 mile loop. We passed through a waterfall garden area and continued to the Atwood Road after first taking a short side trip to view Coyote Wall. We returned passing the waterfall along the former "Plunge"Trail which has been rerouted to a smooth and easy grade. Thank you to WTA and all who have worked to improve the trails in the loop we walked. We saw over 30 varieties of wildflowers. The lupine are in full bud and just beginning to bloom. The wind was strong with even stronger gusts, but we had sun, beautiful white fluffy clouds, threatening dark clouds but no rain! :)! The poison oak is plentiful. Sections of the narrow Hidden Valley Trail require careful watching to not touch the oak!

During the past two months WTA volunteers have worked to open up three re-routes on the Labyrinth trail designed to reduce erosion and protect the natural resources there. You'll know that erosion is going on when the trail starts to cup, of form a v-shaped valley, Most often this occurs when trails go down the fall-line rather than traversing across the slope. Water bars or check steps are one way to manage erosion, but they aren't that friendly to mountain bikes and they merely slow down the erosion, they don't eliminate it. Thanks to a generous grant from the National Forest Foundation and Skamania Lodge WTA engaged in a year-long project to design and build the highest priority re-routes in the Coyote Wall area. To do so we worked closely with the Columbia Area Mountain Bike Advocates (CAMBA) to design the reroutes in accordance with the Forest Service Recreation Plan. As you hike the new routes you'll notice they are more circuitous - that is to discourage water from running down the trail, but also to add some interest and challenge for mountain bikers while reducing their speed in a way that is more fun that just putting up speed bumps (e.g. water bars). SIDE NOTE - this trail is designated as a mountain bike designed route that is open to hiking and equestrians. Please help nature reclaim the original routes by sticking to the new routes even though they are a bit more meandering - after all it is called the Labyrinth Trail! Thank You to all the volunteers who helped to make this project a reality!

We began our hike at the TH on Old HWY #8. At 0.5 miles we turned right and began a gentle climb keeping right to a waterfall at 0.8 mile. Here there is evidence of trail work on a much needed improvement of a steep section of the trail. Thank you, WTA, in advance! :)! At 1.8 miles we took the left trail which climbs steeply to the Atwood Road. A mountain biker told us this was the Hidden Canyon Trail. When we reached the Burns Farm sign, we turned left and after lunch at this spot, we headed down and took a west trail to Coyote Wall. One section of this part of the trail was being widened with a small mechanized vehicle with multiple attachments--grader and backhoe were being used today. We then descended to the road and returned to the TH. Spring was "on the trail" today with warm temperatures and many wildflowers blooming! Grass Widows were the star of the show! We also saw prairie stars, buttercup, saxifrage, gold stars, yellow desert parsley, and purple desert parsley. We saw 2 canyon wrens. There were hikers, runners, and in the afternoon many mountain bikers.