I’m in the middle of the story about loving the Gorge to death (“Columbia Gorge sites pay the price of popularity,” July 23). I love going out into the Gorge. I love the hiking trails. I love the scenery, the wildlife, and the wildflowers.
However, I don’t love crowds. I don’t love traffic congestion or not being able to find a parking place. I also don’t love the risk of my car being broken into. I’ve gone to some of these trailheads and seen the remains of someone’s window in the parking lot. I go to the forest to get away from these things, not to find more of them.
Because of these issues, I generally don’t go to the popular sites in the Gorge during the summer months, and I rarely stop at Multnomah Falls because that’s always the worst. I go somewhere else that’s not so overrun with people. Perhaps it’s necessary to start charging congestion pricing for the vehicles parking at these sites during the summer months. Maybe the funds raised from that could pay for patrols to prevent car break-ins.
