Benson Plateau Loop Hike

Overview

The Benson Plateau is a flat-topped ridge on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge just south of Cascade Locks. The north side of the ridge was sheared off by the Missoula Floods about 12,000 years ago. The plateau itself is thickly forested by youthful conifers shading a carpet of bear-grass, but that has not always been the case. In the first half of the 20th century, shepherds drove flocks up to the plateau and set up sheep camps at the many meadows. There are small tarns and springs on the plateau, so there's the opportunity to overnight; however, wide-ranging views are limited due to the forest cover. The Benson Plateau was little damaged by the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, being singed only around the edges. You could also start this hike at the Bridge of the Gods Trailhead, adding an extra three miles to the round-trip. The Benson Plateau is not named after the philanthropist Simon Benson but rather honors Thomas C. Benson, who arrived in eastern Oregon in the 1860s. He moved to Cascade Locks around 1900, and apparently was one of the stockmen who herded sheep up to the plateau. The path drops from the Herman Creek Trailhead but then switchbacks up twice before traversing. There are two more switchbacks in shady big-leaf maple, hemlock, and Douglas-fir woods. Reach the powerline corridor and cross it, heading up to the right to reenter the woods. Here, you'll begin to see the effects of the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, with the understory burned away but slowly recovering and the conifer canopy mostly intact. The trail winds through an area of large, moss-covered boulders and then passes an old forest track leading off the left. (This track drops down to Herman Creek Road.) Pass around the nose of a ridge, switchback twice, and traverse up to the junction with the Herman Bridge Trail #406E, 0.6 miles from the trailhead. Bear right here, and descend the slope. At a talus opening, you'll get a view up to Nick Eaton Ridge. After you bend left to follow an old road bed, you'll hike along a forested rim. Switc

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