Date: Sep 17th, 2006
Height: 4,960 feet
Location: 10 miles east of Cascade Locks, Oregon
Route: Starvation Ridge trail to Mt. Defiance trail, returning on Mt. Defiance trail.
Length: 12.5 miles round-trip
Elevation Gain: 4,935 FT
Mt. Defiance is the highest point in the gorge, it’s unfortunate it has the worst looking summit (view the pictures to confirm for yourself). The trail starts at Starvation Creek State Park, take the Mt. Defiance trail west of the parking lot unless you want to start your day with a steep climb up on the Starvation Ridge trail. A fair warning though, the elevation gained will be lost when you join the Mt. Defiance trail a mile or so later. Never the less, the Starvation Ridge trail is pleasant after a few steep switch-backs and offers several views of the Columbia River Gorge.
The Mt. Defiance trail starts with ~2 miles of steep switch-backs. Bring some trekking poles as your knees will appreciate it on the descent. The trail will level out for a 1/4 mile or so before a good ~3 mile stretch up the mountain (with few switch-backs). Watch for rock outcroppings, they seemed to offer the best views. The summit of the mountain is rather disappointing, it’s crowded with communications equipment
View the rest of the pictures here, or view a slideshow.