Beacon Rock | Columbia River Gorge, Washington State

Beacon Rock is a basalt monolith on the bank of the Columbia River near Camus, Washington. It's 253 meters ( 848 feet) high and once you're topside, the views are stunning from all directions. Somebody went to a lot of trouble to build this amazing walkway onto solid rock. That somebody was Henry Biddle: he spent three years, 1915 to 1918, building a 1.2 meter (.75 miles) trail with 51 switchbacks, handrails and bridges. It took us about an hour to walk to the top but we stopped frequently to take pictures. And, yeah, switchbacks galore but the grade is fairly easy.

EOS 10D & EF 24-85 3.5-4.5 USM

Beacon Rock is visible in the distance behind and to the left of Vista House.

EOS 5D MK II and EF 24-105 4L IS USM