Spared from a frigid hike out of Herman Creek area; beware of ice covered creek crossings

Icy creek along Herman Creek

The cat-like “quicks” are gone (if they ever existed). Not yet a sloth, I move more like the aging old dog that I am. That is why I nearly took a bath in an icy stream in the Columbia Gorge recently. Fallen logs over rushing Casey Creek, ornamented with dangling icicles, hinted at a potentially slick crossing. Testing one of the creek’s ice-covered boulders by stepping on it with little pressure also told me that trying to cross the creek on boulders would most likely land me flat on my back in the middle of the rushing, frigid creek – quite uncat-like.