Location: The Eagle Creek trail is located within the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.  It is along the Columbia River on Oregon’s northern border.  The Columbia River Gorge offers some of the most scenic waterfalls and streams in the world, with crystal clear water, lush forest canopies of oak, maple, and cedar, and dense carpeting of vibrant green moss.  There are several other hikes in the area that could be combined with this one to make a full day of hiking and photography. To get to the Eagle Creek Trail, go east from Portland on I-84 for approximately 41 miles.  Take exit 41 for the Eagle Creek Recreation Area and turn right at the stop sign.  Follow the road approx 0.5 miles to the trailhead.  Coming from the East, you’ll have to take exit 40, and get back on I-84 heading East to exit 41.  You’ll need a Northwest Forest Pass or pay a single-use day fee.

Hiking:  This hike takes you through a fabulous gorge carved by Eagle Creek.  There are various destinations along the hike, so you can choose how much of an adventure you are up for.  The most popular hike is 6.4 miles out and back to high bridge, although you can carry on further to other waterfalls and campgrounds.  The hike has minimal elevation gain, but there are some areas with a very steep drop off, so you’ll have to be careful with children (and yourself!). There are four main waterfalls to see along the hike to High Bridge.  Metlako Falls is approximately 1.5 miles down the trail.  This falls is viewed from a high vantage point at some distance.  At 1.8 miles, there is a spur taking you creek side to view Lower Punchbowl falls.  To get to Upper Punchbowl (pictured), you can continue to work your way upstream to view at water level or head back up to the trail and continue 0.1 miles to view from above.  At High Bridge, Loowit Falls is visible.

Photography Tips:  The iconic shot of this hike is of Upper Punchbowl falls taken at water level.  The best time of year to visit is in late spring.  The moss is very green at this point, and the water flow is starting to slow a bit.  Visiting in fall offers a wide variety of opportunity to shoot some fall color.  To get this shot, you need to wade out into the stream (yes, get your feet wet!).  Don’t worry, the water isn’t very deep, you’ll only have to get wet to mid calf at most.  Arrive early in the morning, or shoot on a cloudy day.  Once the sun starts to shine into the gorge, you’ll have trouble controlling the highlights.  You’ll need a tripod and I highly recommend a circular polarizer.  Be careful on the rocks, they can be very slippery!

Kevin Pieper http://www.pieperphotography.net/

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Camera data: 20D 17-40L @17mm 10 sec @ f/19 ISO100 Gitzo TripodSingh-ray color combo polarizer. Some manual blending in photoshop of a 4 sec exposure to control water highlights. Shot in RAW format