One of the tasks many of us had the opportunity to take part in was the Rock Wall project.  The goal was to provide a scenic outlook for people who will utilize the wheelchair accessible trail when it is completed.  The project was worked on over several days.  The first stage required several people to dig back into the mountain about 3 feet to widen the area in preparation for a picnic table which will be placed at the site.  I don't know if any pictures exist of the area before work began but the following pictures pick up the project as a small ditch was being dug to anchor some large rocks to makeup the base of the wall.  From there, many of us had the opportunity to hunt for large rocks to makeup the wall itself.  These were brought up by the "tote," dumped nearby, and placed by some of the crew who built the wall that day.

The first picture is of the ditch being dug.  This women was not a part of the crew but learned about the volunteer effort and drove up from Portland Oregon for the day to help.  You may notice the gray and rust colored "dirt" along the mountain side.  This "dirt" is actually ash from Mount St. Helen's that fell during its eruption 20 years ago.

    If you look closely, you'll see a local squirrel checking out the rock wall as it was taking shape.  The "glue" holding the rocks together is the Mount St. Helen's ash and some gravel we brought up in the tote.

The following two pictures are of the completed rock wall and some of us who worked on it that morning.  From left to right, Johann, Robert, Don and "The Tote."

From left to right, Johann, Robert, myself and "The Tote." 

These two pictures are the view that people will be able to enjoy when the picnic table is placed at the rock wall when the wheelchair accessible trail is completed.  The first is looking eastward upstream of the Columbia River towards Bonneville Dam.  It was an overcast day and the clouds were not much higher than the local mountain tops. 

    The view here is looking Westward downriver of the Columbia.  The large rock on the left side of the picture is Beacon Rock.  The rock is an old volcano core that is hikeable via a series of switchbacks.  If you are in good shape, the hike will only take you 15- 20 minutes to scale the 850 feet.