Janet (the travel guru) had found an access point for the trail near Lolo pass. It was indeed beautiful, with minimal traffic and a great view of Mt Hood! Like any high mountain, Hood can "make its own weather" and a few clouds obscured the peak all morning. But it was still a great backdrop for part of the episode. Filming went well though it took a while as we hiked further and further down the trail for each successive scene. We also had several interruptions to reapply bug spray as the mosquitoes that had haunted us at the Chapel the Spruce in CO returned. And they brought their friends, the flies. Greg said at one point a fly flew so close to the camera lens that it looked like a bat. There were many retakes to try an get an insect free version of each scene.
Along with being insectville, this shoot was actually rather hot, probably because of the direct sunlight and lack of any wind. I was wearing a backpack for much of the time since I was talking about...well...backpacking. Backpack+hot day+no wind=sweat. Lots of sweat. My film crew kept telling me that my sweat stained shirt was a sign of authenticity. I just thought it was gross. I sure hope they were right. So with the sweat and flies, there will be no doubt that this episode was shot outside instead of in a cushy studio with green screen.
About half way through our work two hikers came down the trail, moving at a pretty fast clip. We asked how much of the trail they were hiking and they said the whole thing! They had started at the California/Mexico border 10 weeks ago and weren't going to stop until they reached the Washington/Canada border. Considering only a handful of people thru-hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail each year I was astounded that we were in the right place at the right time to meet them. Not that they stopped to chat or anything. You don't walk 2650 miles in one summer by dawdling.
We wrapped up filming by 3pm and headed to Government Camp for lunch, which was long past due. The Ice Axe Grill turned out to be a perfect place to rest and refuel. It also provided my first latte of the trip. How I made it more than 24 hours in Oregon without a latte is still a mystery.
Our original hope was to film a second episode that afternoon but time was quickly running out. We decided to head north and scout out the waterfall location we would need but wait until Saturday morning to actually film the episode. This turned out to be genius planning because we were able to get lots of bonus footage while having a little more time to explore the waterfalls along the Columbia River Gorge without the pressure of needing to get an episode filmed.
Our drive north did provide a quick peek at Mt Adams and also the beautiful scenery of local vineyards and orchards. One orchard looked too good to pass up so we stopped to purchase some fresh fruit. The peaches were divine. And I say that as a religious professional.After the snack break we headed west along the Columbia River Gorge, and turned onto the Historic Highway which is wonderfully maintained by the forest service. We stopped first at Horsetail falls, beautiful but much too close to the highway to be a good filming location. A short but steep hike up the side of the gorge took us to Pontytail falls, actually just an upper portion of the same river as Horsetail Falls. Ponytail is a unique waterfall though because the trail actually travels behind the water spray.
After leaving Horsetail Falls we took a quick stop at Multnomah Falls to grab some bottled water and then drove a few more miles to Bridal Veil falls. Hiking just a few minutes down the trail we knew that Bridal Veil was the perfect spot for Saturday's shoot. It was a great discovery since we were out of waterfalls and also out of daylight.We drove home and after a light dinner of fruit (mmmmm peaches) and cheese we called it a night.
And to think, there are two more days of Oregon Adventure to come!
aCross Creation is in ministry with Woodland United Methodist Church. Episodes will be shown at Woodland's "Daybreak" service, 9:30 Sunday mornings starting September 12
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