Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on

Other great rivers add power to you
Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too
Sandy, Willamette and Hood River too
So roll on, Columbia, roll on

Words by Woody Guthrie  © Copyright 1936 (renewed), 1957 (renewed) and 1963 (renewed) by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. & TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)

Photo credit: Paul Thompson

The Columbia River is the fourth largest river in North America. Originating in British Columbia, it flows 1,214 miles to the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. 

In November 2006 the Hood River (to the east as you walk on the Spit) blew a rock-and-debris cork off the slope of Mount Hood and sent millions of tons of water, mud and debris down the valley, knocking out roads and bridges and creating the recreation-friendly Sandbar (but better known by locals as THE SPIT), where the Hood meets the Columbia. The Spit is the large delta that reaches far out into the Columbia, almost to the Washington state border. Walking out to the end of the Spit will make you feel that you are in the middle of the mighty Columbia River and you are! 

The Spit can vary in length and size due to many factors. 

1. Snow melt and debris which flow down the Hood River to the Columbia primarily in winter and spring can add length and width to the Spit. In fact, if the Spit grows out into the shipping lane on the north side of the Columbia, dredging will be necessary. *On rare occasions during storms, some of the Spit could be underwater. 

2. Water level on the Columbia River is regulated by 10 dams upstream and the nearby Bonneville Dam downstream. Reasons for water release by the Army Corps of Engineers can be hydro-electric needs, flood control, irrigation and navigation. In addition, salmon and steelhead populations and spawning are taken into consideration. *Due to water release during some summer days or weeks the water level may be high and the Spit under water.

***WARNING: Sharp drop offs into the river. Swimming is NOT recommended. People have drowned swimming off the Spit***

***WARNING: This is a popular Kite launch and landing area in season. Keep your eyes open!***

This is an earth cache. THERE IS NO PHYSICAL CACHE TO FIND. Difficulty and terrain are based on walking on sand as far out on the Spit as is safe (up to 1 mile roundtrip.) The above map shows the route that is generally most ideal but may have kite boarding activities in season. **This is a VERY POPULAR off-leash dog area.**

CACHE LOGGING REQUIREMENTS: (Send the answers to 1-3 through our geocaching profile.)

1. According to your GPSr or phone, how close were you able to get to the posted coordinates? 

2. Briefly describe the sandbar at the most northern point you could safely walk (for example: width, depth, debris)

3. Why do you think the Columbia River was at the water level it was on your visit to the Spit?

4. You must take a selfie picture from your most northern point with Washington State in the background.  If camera shy, a photo with a personal item will be acceptable.

***Logs may be deleted if answers not sent in a timely manner or photo not attached to log.***

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Here is the Hood River News report from the period when the Spit was formed:

Nov. 6, 2006: A Sandbar is Born

Nov 5, 2016 Updated Jul 27, 2020

Ten years ago, the landscape of Hood River changed to a dramatic extent unseen since a half-century earlier in the extensive in-fill project that prepped the Columbia River edge for construction of the interstate freeway.

But the change seen Nov. 6, 2006, happened literally overnight. Torrential rains pelted the Gorge and slopes of Mount Hood, causing tons of debris to cascade off Eliot Glacier and down the Hood River valley, wiping out 20 miles of Highway 35, damaging local irrigation district pipelines and powerhouses, interrupting Mt. Hood Railroad traffic, among other impacts.

The roads, pipes and rails have long-since been repaired, but one impact — the significance of which was unknown in late November 2006 — is still with us: the storm and inundation of the Hood River dumped acres of wood, mud and rocks at the mouth where it meets the Columbia.

First-week coverage in this newspaper focused, justifiably, on damage to roads and water district facilities. Relatively little damage occurred at the river, and people generally assumed that the piles of wood would wash away. Most of it did, but much of it stayed, and while the Sandbar edges do shift in places thanks to winds, water level changes, and the sculpting of the currents, all that the silt and debris turned to solid ground, now terra firma in places.

The jumbled debris choked the Nichols boat basin from riverboat traffic and caused fears, unfounded, that Columbia River traffic and recreational use of the river would both be adversely affected. Today, only a small, wadeable channel connects the Columbia to the boat basin, making it a haven for paddlers, kayakers and swimmers. The debris field settled at the mouth just east of the Event Site, and in the coming months the community realized, to universal relief, that it had a much bigger beach.

The Sandbar was born in 2006 and christened in 2011. That year, the Hood River News and The City of Hood River teamed up for a naming contest for the storm-created landscape that stayed and proved itself not a bust but a boon for windsurfers, kiteboarders and standup paddlers.

A city proclamation from then-mayor Arthur Babitz, stated whimsically, “I proclaim by whatever authority I might have in this situation, that this sandbar shall heretofore be known as The Sandbar. I further encourage all residents and visitors to Hood River to enjoy sports and leisure activities on The Sandbar for as long as it shall grace our waterfront.”

Hood River News editorialized in 2011:

“The Sandbar” puts a capital S on what has always been the generally accepted name for the landmass that abruptly emerged after the storm five years ago.

“The Sandbar does change shape with the seasons and behaviors of the Hood and Columbia rivers, but it is definitely here to stay, and is a welcome piece of real estate that is there for all to enjoy.

“Admire it, yes, but also respect it. The Sandbar is a manifestation of nature’s power. And nature will never be done with The Sandbar.

“The 2006 storm came five years after another destructive storm event that changed the flow of the river. Highway engineers, geologists, recreationists and farmers are still adjusting to the massive shifts in debris and the resulting changes to the river — and landscape from both those storms.

“In the case of The Sandbar, something constructive came out of destruction. Yet it reminds us of the enduring natural forces that are beyond our control.”

— Editor Kirby Neumann-Rea

This cache was created by an

Congratulations to Ceredwyn for FTF!