A different kind of beauty in the eastern Columbia River Gorge

From the wide waters of the mighty Columbia River to the top of the blue and gold wildflower buttes above, Columbia Hills State Park is all about the past, the present and the future.

Everywhere you turn you find the presence of the area's natural and cultural history, from the glacial flood-scoured walls of the eastern Columbia River Gorge, to exquisite petroglyphs left by people who first lived here, to old barns and corrals left by ranchers.

"It's definitely an area of deep historic connections, whether you look at it geologically, the Native American history, Lewis and Clark, or the pioneers," says ranger Fritz Osborne. "It's always been a thoroughfare for trade and traffic, and it's also an area in transition."

At 3,546 acres, Columbia Hills State Park actually is two pieces of property that were joined in 1993 when the state acquired some 6,000 acres of the Dalles Mountain Ranch, just to the north across state Route 14 from the former 300-plus-acre Horsethief Lake State Park.

More than 3,100 acres of the ranch became state park property, and it was joined with the Horsethief Lake park property and ultimately renamed Columbia Hills State Park.

Just less than 3,000 acres of the former ranch went to the state Department of Natural Resources as a natural area preserve, which now protects the area's largely pristine uplands habitat and three threatened wildflower species -- obscure buttercup, hot-rock penstemon and Douglas' draba.

Although activities on the preserve are restricted to walking its access road for the expansive views and wildflower appreciation, the park attracts rock climbers, hikers, hang gliders, anglers, campers, history buffs and those who come to look at the ancient images on the basalt rocks above the river.

This includes the famous and exquisite Tsagaglalal or "She Who Watches," a combination pictograph (made with pigments) and petroglyph (pecked out of the stone) that shows a wide and spooky, moon-eyed face.

A row of petroglyphs placed at the park after being removed from a nearby area flooded in 1957 by The Dalles Dam can be seen anytime. However, those left in place along the basalt rocks well above the river may be visited only by guided tour. These are conducted every Friday and Saturday, and during a recent visit we joined one and found it fascinating.

It was guided by park volunteer Peri Muhich of Camas, and she cautioned all participants not to touch any of the rock images, because oils from the skin can damage the pigments of pictographs, and because this place remains sacred to area tribes, including the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla and Nez Perce.

"They believe this is a very special place," Muhich said. "We believe that's why there are so many petroglyphs here. And it's important to tribes from all over, not just the local tribes."

Lewis and Clark passed here twice during their expedition. They found a village of 20 plank houses, and tribes from near and far gathered to barter and trade. Before The Dalles Dam was built, this part of the river was a rapids known as the Long Narrows, and for centuries it was an important salmon fishing site. Lewis and Clark noted 107 stacks of dried salmon that might have weighed 10,000 pounds. The people who lived in the houses were called the Wishram.

The tour, along a trail of less than a half-mile, passed by a horizontal boulder with circular depressions in it where pigments had been mixed, a stone fence built for uncertain reasons, and dozens of poignant images.

"I've had Native American people come with me on the tour who say they feel the spirits of their ancestors here," Muhich said. "A lot of them come to leave offerings, usually tobacco."

We passed many images in the rock, most of them fading pictographs in red, white and black, showing owls, bears, faces, humans and other figures. No one really knows what they mean or how old they are, Muhich said. But it is known that people were in this region for at least 11,000 years, perhaps more than 15,000, and some of the images might be very old.

The tour ended at the haunting "She Who Watches," which Muhich said the local tribes associate with death, and perhaps the tragic epidemics of smallpox, influenza and measles that devastated Columbia River tribes in the 1700s.

"Some think it was a warning, that there was disease here," she said. "There was a cemetery near here. There are a lot of Native Americans who don't like her image used."

Whatever the image was meant to say, it feels profound, and you get a similar sense in other areas of the park -- definitely a sense of time.

Crowning the area above the river and lake like a castle is Horsethief Butte, a buttress of basalt columns that is popular among rock climbers and makes an excellent short hike, perhaps a mile out and back. A trail that leaves the south side of state Route 14 just east of the main park entrance circles the west side of the butte and then climbs into its interior. While we were there, the large blossoms of balsamroot lit the path with bouquets of gold.

"There are nooks and crannies all over the place to explore," says ranger Osborne. "It's just a neat natural feature. It's busy with rock climbers, even in the summer."

We hiked the butte in the early morning and were alone with views that stretched out over the gorge and were buffeted by its characteristic winds. The butte is a marvelous place to contemplate the topography of the region, its mantle set by lava flows millions of years ago and then sculpted by cataclysmic Ice Age floods about 15,000 years ago. The flows were an estimated 1,000 feet deep in the gorge.

If there were any people here then, they could have survived only on the slopes above, and that's where the upland portion of the park stretches, the former Dalles Mountain Ranch. There are 3,000-plus open acres of wildflower/bunchgrass slopes and rock outcroppings to wander here, plus the old ranch house, barns, outbuildings and an assortment of rusty farm implements to poke around.

This ranch is reached via the gravel Dalles Mountain Road, which leaves Route 14 less than a mile west of the main park entrance. We visited on a recent Saturday, during the park's annual Wagons and Wildflowers event.

Park manager Andy Kallinen said one of the goals of the event is to alert the public to this land and its recreational opportunities.

"It's really underutilized," he said. "But there's a wealth of natural and cultural resources here that are available to the public."

These are open hills, and on the state park properties -- but not the natural area preserve above -- one can wander at will. However, Kallinen said visitors tend to walk the roads, visit the old ranch complex and leave.

A six-mile network of trails just above Route 14 and roughly wrapping around and climbing along Eightmile Creek is in the planning stages. It will be open to hiking, horse-riding and mountain biking.

"It will fill the bottom quarter of the ranch," Kallinen said. "It's going to be single-track, but we will capitalize on existing ranch roads and game trails. There's a real need for more trails in the eastern gorge."

For now, you can simply wander, and many hikers use Eightmile Creek as a rough template. There's a trailhead on the north side of Route 14 just east of the butte trail, and it follows a gated gravel road up the hill, shortly reaching a pretty waterfall. Views out over the butte and gorge improve as you climb, and at 2.5 miles the Dalles Mountain Road is reached.

Most years in May these slopes are aflame with mostly yellow balsamroot and stunning blue lupines, and while we were there the lower slopes were quite lovely with them. But this year's wildflower show is late due to the unseasonably cool spring.

We participated in a wildflower tour of the natural area preserve as part of the Wagons and Wildflowers event, led by DNR staff.

"Usually this time of year the balsamroot would be up to here and very showy," said botanist Carolyn Wright, gesturing with her hand about thigh level. "But we've had a cool spring and it's also been unseasonably dry here recently. It will be very showy here in June."

It was not a complete bust, however, and we spotted many pretty bunches of balsamroot, crimson paintbrush and white phlox, among others.

All in all it proved an intriguing visit, an excellent way to experience the lesser-known eastern gorge.

"It's a hidden treasure," said ranger Osborne. "Most obviously, the gorge itself is beautiful. But coming from the west side, where you're used to the lushness and green, it's arid and seems desolate. Once you spend some time here, you realize how much at the surface all these resources are. The ecosystem here is as important and diverse, but very different."

IF YOU GO

* Columbia Hills State Park is spread across 3,546 acres on both sides of state Route 14 in Washington just north of the Dalles, Ore.

About 3,000-plus acres of the former Dalles Mountain Ranch reach from the highway north up Stacker Butte, which is popular among hikers, wildflower enthusiasts and birders.

More than 300 acres on the south side of the highway include the former Horsethief Lake State Park and Horsethief Butte, popular among rock climbers, anglers and campers.

Both these sections offer a window on the past, from the Native Americans who have lived there for thousands of years to the ranchers and farmers who homesteaded the region beginning in the 19th century.

Another 3,000-plus acres north of Dalles Mountain Ranch are managed by the Department of Natural Resources as the Columbia Hills Natural Area Preserve. The state park offers 20 first-come, first-served campsites, and boat ramps on the lake and Columbia River.

* The petroglyph area of the park is open by guided tour only, conducted each Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. April through October, and limited to 25 participants. Make a reservation at 509-767-1159.

* To find out more, see the State Parks pages at goto.seattlepi.com/r1416 and the DNR pages at goto.seattlepi.com/r1418.

* A good reference for hikes in the park and region is "Desert Hikes Washington" by Alan L. Bauer and Dan Nelson (Mountaineers, 251 pages, $16.95).

P-I reporter Greg Johnston can be reached at 206-448-8014 or gregjohnston@seattlepi.com.

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