Ben Mayer Goes To Portland Part II

With Ben's final day in Portland we returned to the Columbia River Gorge, this time to Eagle Creek. This time I only had my 55-200mm lens, usually reserved for bird-watching. Not usually the best for landscape or waterfall photography, but I had to make do. But there were certainly perks. Snow on the ground being one of them, the incredible blueness of the river being another, along with its huge swelling flow, so big that the popular view of Punch Bowl Falls was completely covered by the fast-moving river. And as a final bonus I got to see easily missed Metlako Falls (as shown above) and sexy Loowit Falls.

Punch Bowl Falls as seen from above. I took this shot with the lens that no longer works. As you see, it does indeed generate photographs with recognizable content. However, the colors are duller and darker. I must fix it.

Impact! Eagle Creek hammers into a rock.

A side stream makes its way to Eagle Creek. This time of year, with all the snow melt, the canyon walls practically oozed streams like this one, complete with a host of seasonal cascades and waterfalls. Gorgeous!

A surfable rapid in Eagle Creek

The top of Lower Punch Bowl Falls, which boomed impressively... not the small falls I jumped off in the summer!

Sexy Loowit Falls has that seductive curve at the base. I'm not sure how tall the falls truly is - I've heard 60 and 100 feet... very different figures, but I'd err towards the 100 side - but it sure it elegant. Between the swirling pool and the voluptuous twist at the bottom... what a model!

This is the last photo I took with my broken 18-55mm.

Snow covered the hills as we walked by. It made a better picture in my mind than in reality. As was many pictures of the day with the lens I wasn't used to.

Eagle Creek

Loowit Falls as seen from later on the trail.

Loowit Falls meets up with Upper Punch Bowl Falls. They both fall into the same pool. Rats. I guess this means Loowit's already taken.

Metlako Falls is 100 feet tall and can only be seen downriver from a lookout ridge. This is the only view you get. But to get there you have to follow a trail that looks like it's leading you amiss - it's not marked until you get there for some reason. Anyway, here it tumbles into Eagle Creak, making its own cloud of mist above. We could see the cloud of mist for about a quarter of a mile before we reached the waterfall. Beautiful.