Not only is Portland area known for its biker friendly roads, but it also has many beautiful hiking routes located right outside of the city. We planned to hike only 5 to 6 miles. However, things can go wrong even when it’s only a short distance…

A nutritious breakfast: scrambled eggs with chives, roasted yukon potatoes, creamy steel cut oats, toasted French baguette, and bloody orange, before hiking.

Another shot of Mount Hood on the way to our hiking destination.

We arrived Multnomah Falls at 3:00 pm, which is sort of late for hiking…

At the start of our hike, which is about 5.5 miles according to the information center clerk.

A quick glance at the map (the route follows the outline of the shaded region), 5.5 miles…off we go.

On the way to the top of the waterfall, the cliff on the other side of the river looks tiny. Nonetheless, I had already been overwhelmed by the gigantic pine trees in the Pacific northwest region.

Finally, it took us approximately 40 minutes to get up to the top of the waterfall. We only hiked one-tenth of the 5.5 miles that we had originally planned.

The trail was amazing and breathtaking. Nature can be overwhelming but soothing at the same time.

For most of the hike, we walked on a 3-foot wide path with snow covered on it. Any one of us could have fallen with one misstep.

We also met other obstructions: fallen tree trunks, rocky paths, water falls (smaller ones), etc. The hike was extraordinary and amazing until…

we got lost and decided to turn around.

By the time we decided to turn around, we had only 1 hour of day light left. The sky finally darkened while we tried to find our way back. We slowed up our pace to avoid falling off the cliff and used our cellphone lights as the guide. We even called 911 to report our location as precaution. Finally, with a stroke of luck, we followed the right path back to the parking lot.

Never go hiking in the afternoon with only few hours of daylight left…lesson learned.