Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls

People on either side of the man-made tunnel in Tunnel Falls

A few days ago I did the longest hike I'd ever undertaken in the Columbia River Gorge: the 12-mile round trip Eagle Creek trail leading to 120-foot Tunnel Falls. This is one waterfall I didn't expect to be able to see simply because the hike is too long for me to be able to convince someone to go, but Jay, the guitarist from our band One Moment, was willing to take me there and brave the distance. Here's some photo documentation of the all-day escapade!

Eagle Creek at a bridge about 3.7 miles along the trail

Eagle Creek about 5 miles in. The creek is almost always seen from high above, from anywhere between 100 and 150 feet. The telephoto lens came in handy for this shot.

Tunnel Falls, one of the only shots my non-wide-angle lens could get of the whole thing. It both free falls and slides along a slanting cliff, looking almost like a water slide. You can see where the trail continues in the indentation in the rocks on the right.

Tunnel Falls as seen from the trail, flower level.

Tunnel Falls from the base again, one of the only shots form this angle I got without having any mist on my lens.

Just beyond Tunnel Falls is this waterfall, named "Twisty Falls" on Wikipedia and "Unnamed Falls" by Jay, who I trust more on this issue (the source Wikipedia cites admits that "Twisty Falls" is the unoficial name of the waterfall). Whatever its name, this waterfall actually has a second tier below this one of about a hundred feet, which could be seen from a slightly scary part of the trail where there was no clear or safe view for photos.

Above Unnamed Falls. If it had been darker, I could have made a spiral at the base of the cascade. It's a new photo technique I've been working on. Almost there!

On the way back I noticed Tenas Falls from the trail, a double falls from a side creek (also unofficially named). It's 25 feet tall.

The Tenas Falls shots came out wonderfully!

The Eagle Creek trail leads past Punchbowl Falls, a very famous and picturesque 30-footer. I didn't get to the angle that's so well-known, though. I've already seen it from that perspective.