10.5 miles of hiking • 4000' elevation gain •
A classic figure 8 loop: up Cedar Mountain to the PCT, up Westway Ridge to Table's summit, descend on Table's north ridge to the PCT for a return to the TH. Sunny in PDX, cloudy and VERY WINDY in the Gorge. Once we climbed above the inversion layer, it got warmer and calmer, giving us a front seat row to the crazy weather brewing in the eastern Gorge. Beautiful frozen fog on the summit of Table Mountain, lending a magical fairy-like feeling to the mountain. This was the first time I've descended off the north ridge and I wasn't sure what to expect. We had white-out conditions and "snow" due to a stubborn cloud bank, but it wasn't overly treacherous. It was warm and sunny (out of the wind) on top of Table, but in the high 30's and windy at the trailhead. A great day!
