Metlako Landslide!

January 31, 2017February 2, 2017 / Tom Kloster / 6 Comments

Metlako Falls from the viewpoint that is no more…

The buzz in hiking circles over the past few weeks has been the massive cliff collapse at iconic Metlako Falls on Eagle Creek. While the falls, itself (and the gorgeous surrounding amphitheater that also includes 100-foot Sorenson Creek Falls) was not affected by the collapse, the cliff-edge viewpoint that countless hikers have visited over the decades is now only a memory.

It started with a crack in the ground…

In late November, local hiker Karl Peterson posted a report with images of a deep, ominous crack in the forest floor above the Metlako viewpoint at his Portland Hikers Facebook group. Karl correctly predicted that some sort of collapse or landslide was imminent, though few expected something of this scale.

The foreboding crack that formed in November (photo: Karl E. Peterson)

Another view of the crack in late November (photo: Karl E. Peterson)

While major landslides and cliff collapses are regular events that continue to shape the Gorge as we know it, Karl’s discovery of the crack appears to be the first time an imminent collapse was observed and predicted in this way. Karl also reported trees leaning toward the 200-foot abyss, a more common predictor of landslides.

Roughly a month after Karl’s discovery, a massive 300-400 foot long section of the east wall of the gorge below Metlako Falls dropped 200 feet into Eagle Creek. The collapse occurred sometime between December 17 (currently, the date of the last known photo taken from the overlook) and 26 (when the first known photos of the collapse were taken), but was apparently not witnessed by anyone – and thankfully, nobody was injured or killed by the event.

Metlako Falls from above the old viewpoint – for reference, the arching maple in front of the falls is the same as the one to the left of the falls in the opening photo in this article (photo: Nathan Zaremskiy)

Given the year-round crowds on the Eagle Creek trail, the lack of eyewitnesses suggests the collapse occurred at night, or perhaps on a day when travel was especially light due to winter weather in the Gorge that week.

The sheer volume of debris in the creek was enough to temporarily block the stream, and a deep pool is still backed up behind the jumble of automobile-sized boulders and smaller material, as shown in these amazing photos by Karl, and fellow photographers Don Nelsen and Nathan Zaremskiy:

A view of the sheer escarpment where the cliff split off and the large pool created by the debris in the creek below (photo: Don Nelsen)

A wider view of the new escarpment and debris at the base of the cliff, with Metlako Falls in the distance (photo: Don Nelsen)

This dizzying view looks straight down from the brink at Eagle Creek, pushed against the west cliff wall by the debris pile (photo: Nathan Zaremskiy)

The escarpment left by the collapse is sheer and still unstable, with trees and remnants of forest floor still dangling on the edge, as shown in these photos taken after the event:

This view looks downstream toward the old viewpoint location and the full extent of the collapse (photo: Don Nelsen)

Another view looking downstream from just below the old viewpoint, and toward the bend in Eagle Creek at the north end of the Metlako gorge (photo: Nathan Zaremskiy)

A portion of the short spur trail to the old Metlako viewpoint still exists… until it ends at this scary abyss:

The old spur trail ends abruptly at the edge of the new escarpment… yikes! (photo: Karl E. Peterson)

Nathan Zaremskiy also created this stunning YouTube video of the scene after the collapse:

Just the Gorge doing its thing?

It turns out that the collapse at Metlako is as routine to the evolution of the Gorge landscape as rain, waterfalls and basalt cliffs, albeit measured over decades and centuries.

Several collapses have occurred over the past few decades, and are fairly well documented. One of the most dramatic occurred on September 6, 1995 when a massive, bus-sized slab of basalt dislodged from the vertical cliff behind Multnomah Falls.

Even in the era before ubiquitous cell phone cameras, one visitor managed to capture this startling image of the of the rockfall exploding into the splash pool at the base of the falls, completely inundating Benson Bridge (you can see it if you look closely) with water and debris:

The astonishing photo capturing the rockfall at Multnomah Falls in 1995 (USFS)

One person on the bridge was slightly injured with flying rock debris, but amazingly, no deaths or other injuries were reported.

In 1973, a massive cliff collapse along Tanner Creek below Wahclella Falls was so large that it temporarily stopped the flow of the creek, cutting off the water supply downstream to the Bonneville Hatchery. The landslide created a lake on Tanner Creek that persisted until the late 1970s, long enough to show up on USGS topo maps:

The lake formed by the Tanner Creek cliff collapse in 1973 lasted just long enough to appear on USGS maps.

Today, this slide is still recovering, and remains one of the most visible and fascinating places to witness the power of nature at work. The trail to Wahclella Falls was rebuilt as a loop in the late 1980s, with the western leg traveling over the toe of the landslide, among the giant boulders left in its wake.

The view downstream toward the Tanner Creek landslide debris field (and west leg of the loop trail).

The giant boulders in this downstream view are at the toe of the Tanner Creek landslide, and initially dammed the creek here to form a small lake.

The east leg of the loop trail climbs high above the creek, providing a birds-eye view of the scene, and true sense of scale of the event:

This view across Tanner Creek canyon shows hikers along the trail section that crosses the debris field below one of several house-sized boulders scattered in the rubble.

Though we don’t know exactly how or when the jumble of house-sized boulders scattered below Wahclella Falls arrived there, they each bring their own story of a catastrophic wall collapse that is part of a continuum as the Gorge streams continue to etch their canyons into the underlying basalt.

Each of the giant boulders scattered below Wahcella Falls has its own story of a major cliff collapse.

A less-traveled canyon just over the ridge from Tanner Creek also experienced a major wall collapse sometime in the recent past. Moffett Creek cascades over its own spectacular series of wateralls, but no trails lead into this remote canyon. Instead, explorers follow the stream, where massive boulders are scattered along the way. In one section, they form a beautiful moss-covered garden, with glacier lilies blooming on top of the boulders in early spring:

Giant boulders scattered along Moffett Creek

At Moffett Falls, the first waterfall on the stream, a major rockfall dropped the garage-sized boulders in front of the cascade sometime in the late 1980s or 1990s:

The huge boulders below Moffett Creek Falls are relatively new arrivals to the scene.

This event also obliterated an alder forest that extended along the canyon floor below the falls, perhaps as the debris dam abruptly collapsed under the pressure of Moffett Creek backing up behind it.

What’s next for Metlako?

Eagle Creek is perhaps the most visited trail in the Gorge, with hikers crowding the area since the trail first opened nearly a century ago, but the history of the old spur trail and viewpoint at Metlako Falls is unclear.

Because of the early popularity of the trail, it’s odd that old photos of the falls don’t seem to exist, compared to the many photos and postcards from the 1920s and 1930s of other waterfalls and overlooks along the trail. This suggests that the viewpoint at Metlako Falls was developed later.

Overflowing parking at Eagle Creek is not new..!

Early photos of Punchbowl Falls and other sights along the Eagle Creek trail are common… so why not Metlako Falls?

The galvanized steel posts and cable railings at the old viewpoint were newer than the original hand cables that famously line several of the exposed cliff sections along the trail, so it seems likely they were added later – perhaps with the spur trail, itself.

One possibility could be that Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers built the spur and overlook in the 1930s, when other trails were being added throughout the Gorge. The railing design also matches that of other trails built in the 1930s and 1940s in the Gorge.

Panoramic view of the old viewpoint at Metlako, now lost to the ages.

(click here for a large view of the old Metlako viewpoint)

The steel railings at Metlako seemed newer than the original trail (and the tagging still newer)

For now, the Forest Service has roped off the short spur trail that once led to Metlako Falls, warning hikers to stay away from the still-unstable area. But the agency is also reported to be exploring the possibility of a new viewpoint of the falls.

Such a viewpoint seems unlikely, based on early reports by hikers. The collapse took away an enormous amount of cliff, yet left a section near the falls that now blocks the view from the new cliff wall downstream. If so, Metlako may live on mostly as a memory for most, though photographers with drones will no doubt attempt to recreate the iconic view that once was!

Like losing an old friend…

…and on a personal note, the news of the Metlako viewpoint collapse came hard, as I had been doing periodic maintenance of the overlook several years ago as a volunteer for Trailkeepers of Oregon to preserve the view.

Improving the view at Metlako Falls

The work consisted of carrying an 18-foot pole pruner to the site and trimming the thicket of bigleaf maple shoots, ocean spray and snowberry that blocked the view and encouraged visitors to climb over the railing (!) for a look at the falls.

It was fun and rewarding work, albeit unnerving to watch the trimmings float over the vertical brink of the 200-foot cliff and into the creek, below. I worked with the sure safety of a the cable fence, but always thought about the rugged early trail builders who worked along these cliffs to create the original Eagle Creek trail – brave souls!

So, to close out this article, I’ll post one of the last photos I took from the old viewpoint in June 2016…

Metlako Falls as it will live on in photographs and memories.

…and along with so many other hikers and waterfall lovers, say goodbye to this wonderful spot…

2017 Campaign Calendar!

December 24, 2016December 24, 2016 / Tom Kloster

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[click here for a large image]

Each year since the Mount Hood National Park Campaign began in 2004, I’ve published a wall calendar to celebrate the many reasons why Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge should be our next national park. You can pick up a calendar here:

2017 Mount Hood National Park Campaign Calendar

The calendar sales help cover some of the costs of keeping the campaign website and WyEast blog up and running. More importantly, they ensure that I continue to explore new places in the gorge and on the mountain, as each calendar consists exclusively of photos I’ve taken in the previous year. In this article, I’ll provide some of the stories behind the photos in the new Mount Hood National Park Campaign Calendar.

The Calendar

Beginning in 2016, I’ve published the calendar at Zazzle, where the quality of printing and binding is much better than my former printer. The excellent print quality shows in the front cover (above), a view of the northwest face of Mount Hood from Cathedral Ridge where the color accuracy does justice to the vibrant cliffs on this side of the mountain.

An added bonus with Zazzle is the ability to include a full-color spread on the back of the calendar. As with the 2016 calendar, I’ve used this space to show off some of the flora I’ve photographed over the past year – and this year, I added berries and a butterfly to the mix, too:

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[click here for a large image]

The monthly layout remains the same as last year, with a classic design that serves nicely as a working calendar for kitchens or offices:

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The finished calendar hangs 14 inches wide by 22 inches tall, with a white wire binding.

The Images

The following is a rundown of the 12 images inside the calendar by month, with a link to a large version of each image, too. This year, I’ve posted especially large versions to allow for a closer look at these scenes (in a new window), and you can see them by clicking the link beneath each preview image.

The 2017 calendar begins with a chilly Tamanawas Falls for the January image. This impressive waterfall is located on Cold Spring Creek on Mount Hood’s east slope:

Tamanawas Falls in winter clothes

[click here for a large image]

This popularity of this trail in winter has ballooned in recent years, from almost no visitors just a decade ago to traffic jams on winter weekends today.

The scenery explains the popularity. While the trail is lovely in the snow-free seasons, it’s downright magical after the first heavy snows in winter. The scene below is typical of the many breathtaking vistas along the hike during the snow season.

Cold Spring Creek gets just a little bit colder

It’s still possible to have the place to yourself, however. Go on a weekday, and you’re likely to find just a few hikers and snowshoers on the trail. Thus far, no Snow Park pass is required here – though that will surely come if the weekend crowds continue!

For February, I picked an image of Mount Hood’s steep north face, featuring the icefalls of the Coe and Ladd glaciers:

Mount Hood’s mighty north face from Owl Point

[click here for a large image]

This view is unique to the extent that it was taken from the Old Vista Ridge trail to Owl Point – a route that was reopened in 2007 by volunteers and provides a perspective of the mountain rarely seen by most visitors.

For March, I selected an image of Upper Butte Creek Falls:

Lovely Upper Butte Creek Falls in spring

[click here for a large image]

This is on the margins of Mount Hood country, but deserves better protections than the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) can ever provide, given their constitutional obligation to log state forests to provide state revenue.

While ODF has done a very good job with the short trails that reach the waterfalls of Butte Creek, the bulk of the watershed is still heavily managed for timber harvests. Who knows, someday maybe it will be part of a Mount Hood National Park? It’s certainly worthy.

On this particular trip last spring, I returned to the trailhead to find these notes on my windshield:

Our future is in good hands!

Not much damage to the car, and the note more than made up for it! I did contact Jesse, and ended up speaking to his dad. I thanked him for being an excellent parent. With dads (and moms) like this, our future is in good hands!

For April, I picked this scene from Rowena Crest at the height of the Balsamroot and Lupine bloom season:

Rowena Crest in April splendor

[click here for a large image]

Just me and a few hundred other photographers up there to enjoy the wildflowers on that busy, sunny Sunday afternoon! Look closely, and you can see a freight train heading west on the Union Pacific tracks in the distance, lending scale to the enormity of the Gorge.

For the May image, I chose the classic scene of Punch Bowl Falls along the popular Eagle Creek Trail in the Gorge:

Punch Bowl Falls in spring

[click here for a large image]

The spring rains faded quickly this year, resulting in much lower flows along Eagle Creek by the time spring greenery was emerging, making it less chilly to wade out to the view of the falls. To the right of the falls you can also see the latest downfall to land in front of the falls. To my eye, this adds to the scene, so I see it as a plus.

This isn’t the first big tree to drop into the Punch Bowl in recent years. In the mid-2000s, another large tree fell directly in front of the falls, much to the frustration of photographers:

Punch Bowl Falls in 2006 with an earlier fallen tree in front of the falls

That earlier tree was flushed out a few years ago, only to be replaced by the current, somewhat less obtrusive downfall a couple of years ago. Here’s a wider view showing this most recent addition, including the giant root ball:

Gravity at work once again at Punch Bowl Falls

This pattern will continue as it has for millennia, as other large Douglas fir trees are leaning badly along the rim of the Punch Bowl. They eventually will drop into the bowl, too, frustrating future generations of photographers!

The Punch Bowl, itself, changes over time. This early view from the 1920s shows a lot more debris inside the bowl compared to recent decades, possibly from erosion that followed an early 1900s forest fire in the Eagle Creek canyon:

Punch Bowl Falls in the 1920s

Look closely and you can see flapper-era hikers on the rim of the bowl and several rock stacks left by visitors on the gravel bar – some things never change!

The June image in the new calendar is the opposite of Punch Bowl Falls. While thousands visit Eagle Creek each year, the remote spot pictured below is rarely visited by anyone, despite being less than a mile from Wahtum Lake and the headwaters of Eagle Creek. This view is from a rugged, unnamed peak along Waucoma Ridge, looking toward another unnamed butte and snowy Mount Adams, in the distance:

A place of ancient significance, yet lost in our modern time

[click here for a large image]

For the purpose of keeping track of unnamed places, I’ve called the talus-covered butte in the photo “Pika Butte”, in honor of its numerous Pika residents. The peak from which the photo is taken is an extension of Blowdown Ridge, a much-abused, heavily logged and mostly forgotten beauty spot that deserves to be restored and placed under the care of the National Park Service.

The view of “Pika Butte” was taken while exploring several off-trail rock knobs and outcrops along Blowdown Ridge, but what made this spot really special was stumbling acxross a cluster of Indian pits (sometimes called vision quest pits). One pit is visible in the lower left corner of the wide view (above) and you can see three in this close-up view from the same spot:

If only these stones could tell us the story behind the mystery!

Nobody really knows why ancient people in the region made these pits, but it’s always a powerful experience to find them, and imagine the lives of indigenous peoples unfolding in the shadow of Mount Hood. These pits had a clear view of the Hood River Valley, with the Columbia River and Mount Adams in the distance. Indian pits often feature a sweeping mountain or river view, adding to the theory that they were built with a spiritual purpose.

For July, another photo from Owl Point along the Old Vista Ridge trail. This wide view shows some of the beargrass in bloom on the slopes of Owl Point on a sunny afternoon in July:

Mount Hood fills the skyline from Owl Point

[click here for a large image]

Since this historic trail was adopted by volunteers in 2007, it has become increasingly popular with hikers. Several geocaches are located along the way, as well as a summit register at Owl Point with notes from hikers from all over the world. A few recent entries among hundreds in the register show the impact that this amazing “new” view of Mount Hood has on visitors to Old Vista Ridge:

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In a few months I’ll share some exciting news about the Old Vista Ridge Trail, Owl Point and the surrounding areas on Mount Hood’s north slope. Stay tuned!

For August, I picked another scene on the north side of the mountain, this time at iconic Elk Cove along the Timberline Trail:

Swale along Cove Creek in Elk Cove

[click here for a large image]

The hiker (and his dog) approaching me in this photo stopped to chat, and I was surprised to learn that he was a regular reader of this blog!

As we talked about the changes to the cove that came with the 2011 Dollar Lake Fire (that burned the north and west margins of the cove), he mentioned finding the foundation from the original Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) shelter in the brush near Cove Creek! We crossed the creek and in a short distance, came to the unmistakable outline of the shelter:

The old Elk Cove shelter foundation is surprisingly intact – but hidden

This structure was once one of several along the Timberline Trail, but fell into disrepair following avalanche damage sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s. This image is apparently from the mid-1960s, showing the still somewhat intact ruins of the shelter:

The beginning of the end for the Elk Cove shelter in the 1960s

The location of the shelter was a surprise to me, as I had long thought the building was located near a prominent clearing and campsite near the middle of Elk Cove. Now that I know the exact location, I plan to reproduce the 1960s image on my next trip to the cove, for comparison.

For September, I chose a quiet autumn scene along Gorton Creek, near the Wyeth Campground in the Columbia Gorge (below). This is a spot I’ve photographed many times, just downstream from popular Emerald Falls:

Pretty Gorton Creek in the Wyeth area of the Gorge

[click here for a large image]

This area has a fascinating history, as today’s Wyeth Campground is located on the grounds of Civilian Public Service Camp No. 1, a World War II work camp for conscientious objectors. The men serving at this camp built roads and trails throughout the Gorge, in addition to many other public works projects. The camp operated from 1941-1946. You can learn more about the Wyeth work camp here.

The October scene is familiar to anyone who has visited the Gorge. It’s Multnomah falls, of course, dressed in autumn colors:

A bugs-eye view of Multnomah Falls?

[click here for a large image]

If the photo looks different than your typical Multnomah Falls view, that’s because I blended a total of eight images to create a horizontal format of this very vertical falls to better fit the calendar. Here’s what the composite looked like before blending the images:

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To young photographers of the digital age, blending photos is routine. But for those of us who started out in the age of film photography and darkrooms, the ability to blend and stack images is nothing short of magical – and fun! While younger photographers are increasingly exploring film photography as a retro art, the digital age is infinitely more enjoyable than the days of dark rooms, chemicals and expensive film and print paper for this photographer.

I paused before including a winter-season photo of Wahclella Falls for the November calendar image (below). Why? Because I’ve used a photo from this area in nearly every calendar since I started assembling these more than a decade ago. It’s my favorite Gorge hike – I visited Tanner Creek and Wahclella Falls five times in 2016 – and have photographed this magnificent scene dozens of times, and yet it never gets old.

Wahclella Falls is a winter spectacle!

[click here for a large image]

I decided to include this Wahclella Falls scene because it captured a particularly wild day on Tanner Creek last winter. The stream was running high, filling the canyon with mist and seasonal waterfalls drifted down the walls of the gorge on all sides.

The huge splash pool at the base of the falls was especially wild – more like ocean surf than a Cascade stream, and if you look closely, you can also see a hiker braving the rain and cold to take in this view:

Roaring falls, big boulder… and tiny hiker

I also liked the turbulent stream below the falls, which also boiled more like ocean surf than a mountain stream:

Tanner Creek comes alive in winter

So, another calendar featuring Wahclella Falls? Yes, and it certainly won’t be the last. This is among the most magical places in the Gorge – or anywhere!

Finally, for the December image I selected a photo from my first official attempt at capturing the Milky Way over Mount Hood. This view is across Laurance Lake, on the north side of the mountain:

Milky Way rising over Laurance Lake and Mount Hood

[click here for a large image]

The glow on the opposite side of the lake is a campfire at the Kinnikinnick Campground, and was just a lucky addition to the scene. While we waited for the Milky Way to appear, there were several campers arriving, making for some interesting photo captures. With a 30-second exposure set for stars, this image also captures the path of a car driving along the south side of the lake to the campground:

Headlights and campfires in a Laurance Lake time exposure

My tour guide and instructor that evening was Hood River Photographer Brian Chambers, who I profiled in this WyEast Blog article in June. Thanks for a great trip, Brian!

The author with Brian Chambers somewhere under the Milky Way

So, if you’re looking to support the blog and Mount Hood National Park campaign or just have an ugly fridge to cover, you can order the new calendar on Zazzle.

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…and finally, given the unusual events in our recent national election, some reflections on what it might mean for Mount Hood and the Gorge…

Post-election deju vu: back to the future..?

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Viewed through the lens of protecting public lands and the environment, the presidential election results on November 8 are discouraging, at best. For those of us who have voted in a few elections, it feels a lot like the Reagan Revolution of 1980.

So, the following is a bit of speculation on what lies ahead based upon what we’ve been through before, but with the caveat that unlike that earlier populist surge against government, the environmental agenda of the coming Trump administration is somewhat less clear and appears less ideologically driven.

Ronald Reagan’s vision for government brought a very specific mission to dismantle environmental regulations and open up public lands to commercial interests. To carry out the mission, President Reagan appointed the highly controversial James Watt to head the Department of Interior, and the nearly as controversial Anne Gorsuch to run the EPA. John Block was tapped to head of the Department of Agriculture (which oversees the U.S. Forest Service). Watt and Gorsuch were attorneys, Block a farmer who had entered politics as an agriculture administrator in the State of Illinois.

James Watt’s radical vision for our public lands threatened to derail Ronald Reagan in his first term

Watt and Gorsuch became infamous for their open disdain for conservationists and the agencies they were appointed to administer. Watt was the Reagan administration’s sympathetic gesture to the original Sagebrush Rebellion. Block focused primarily on an ideological rollback of farm subsidies and programs that dated to the Dust Bowl, and that would eventually be his downfall.

The important lesson is that all three rode in with a “revolution” mandate, and over-reached in their zeal to rewrite American policy overnight. The blowback was instant, and though they did harm our conservation legacy during their embattled tenures, they didn’t have the lasting impact many had feared. Both Watt and Gorsuch were forced to resign before the end of President Reagan’s first term, and Block resigned in the first year of Reagan’s second term.

Even Readers Digest covered the EPA Superfund scandal that drove Anne Gorsuch out of office!

Gorsuch was eventually pushed out by Reagan for attempting to conceal EPA Superfund files from Congress as part of an unfolding scandal, becoming the first agency head to be cited for contempt of Congress. Before the scandal drove her from office, Gorsuch became Anne Gorsuch Burford when she married James Burford, Reagan’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) chief, further fueling concern about whether environmental protections could be objectively enforced on BLM lands.

John Block lasted five years, but was pushed out in early 1986 as the worst farm crisis since the Great Depression unfolded under his tenure. Watt left in more spectacular fashion after stating (apparently a joke) that an ideally balanced advisory panel would include ”a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple.” (and in the age of Google, he has been deservedly forgotten, with the more consequential James Watt – inventor of the steam engine – reclaiming his name in history).

Bloom County has some fun with Oregon’s Rajneeshee saga… and Ronald Reagan’s failed cabinet appointees

Will history repeat itself? We’ll see, but there is no reason to assume that the conservation community – and, importantly, the American public – will be any less motivated to speak out if the Trump administration attempts a similar rollback on public land and environmental protections to what the Reagan Administration attempted.

Yes, there will be lost ground, but there will also be unexpected gains. That’s our system. Recall that the same President Reagan who brought James Watt to the national stage also signed the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area Act into law thirty years ago, on November 17, 1986 (famously “holding his nose”, in his words). In his first term, President Reagan signed the Oregon Wilderness Act into law on June 26, 1984, creating 22 new wilderness areas covering more than 800,000 acres.

As President Obama said in his reflection on the election, “democracy is messy”. He also reminded the president-elect that our system of governance is more cruise ship than canoe, and that turning it around is a slow and difficult process, no matter what “mandate” you might claim. That is by design, of course.

…and the WyEast Blog in 2017..?

Looking ahead toward 2017, I hope to keep up my current pace of WyEast Blog articles as I also continue my efforts as board president for Trailkeepers of Oregon, among other pursuits. And spend time on the trail, of course!

The author somewhere in Oregon’s next national park…

As always, thanks for reading the blog, and especially for the kind and thoughtful comments many of you have posted over the years. The blog is more magazine than forum, but I do enjoy hearing different perspectives and reactions to the articles.

Despite the election shocker this year, I’ve never felt better about Mount Hood and the Gorge someday getting the recognition (and Park Service stewardship) they deserve! That’s because of a passionate new generation of conservations are becoming more involved in the direction of our nation and our public land legacy. The 2016 election seems to have accelerated the passion this new generation of stewards brings to the fight.

Our future is in very good hands, indeed.

See you on the trail in 2017!

Tom Kloster | Wy’East Blog

Meet Brian Chambers!

June 13, 2016June 13, 2016 / Tom Kloster

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Editors note: periodically, I feature local artists and writers in this blog. Brian Chambers is a local photographer in Hood River who has been capturing stunning images of Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. Here’s a recent conversation with Brian.

Brian has also offered to donate a portion of any sales resulting from this interview to the Friends of the Gorge, Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) and the Columbia Land Trust, so be sure to mention the blog if you purchase Brian’s photos! (more info following the interview)

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WyEast Blog: Great to meet you, Brian! How long have you been shooting landscape photography in the area?

Brian Chambers: I first came to Hood River on vacation in 1996. I immediately fell in love with the place and had moved here within one year. That was back in the old days of film. I had done a ton of photography way back in high school and had my own darkroom but did less and less as I got older. I was doing a little bit of photography when I moved here but it wasn’t until I bought my first DSLR in 2008 that my hobby became a full-blown addiction.

Mount Hood from the Eastern Gorge

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

WyEast: What are your favorite Gorge locations for shooting – the ones you go back over and again?

Brian: It changes so much from year to year. I tend to find a new location and maybe pre-visualize some images in my mind. I will go back over and over until I am satisfied with the images I can capture with my camera. I will keep trying until I get that special combination of light and composition that really matches what I had seen in my mind.

The thing I like the most about the gorge is the variety. If I had the energy I could shoot a fresh snow fall on a mountain stream at sunrise, at lunch take on moss covered waterfall, at sunset capture the most amazing wildflower scene, and a midnight capture an abandoned house in the middle of a wheat field. I really feel the options are arguably the best in the country.

Upper Hood River Valley orchards at sunrise

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

Some of my favorites include shooting the orchards of Hood River, Hood River itself with the river in the foreground and the mountain behind it, the view down the gorge anywhere there is exciting light from places like Rowena, Underwood viewpoint, Mitchell point. I have been heading to some of the more off-trail waterfalls and really enjoying the exploring aspect of that. I love Mt Adams in the fall for the color. I could go on all day.

Early in the spring I am really drawn to the east hills. A few years ago it was the Rowena crest, then it was Dalles Mountain, then it was the Memaloose Hills Hike area.

Sunrise a Rowena Crest

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

WyEast: What makes those locations special?

Brian: One big factor is the flowers. Especially this year, although it was an early bloom, it was off the charts good. I don’t think I have ever seen it that good. I love the openness of the land, being able to see the light interacting with terrain. The different compositional options, with 360 degree views and the amazing mountain and gorge views in the background. Sitting in a field of wildflowers all alone watching the rising sun dancing with Mount Hood and lighting up the flowers. It doesn’t get much better than that.

WyEast: What about your favorite Mount Hood locations?

Brian: Well in the winter I spent a ton of time snowshoeing up the White River. It has such an easy access to an amazing mountain view with the river in the foreground. I am almost embarrassed to say how many times I have gone up there looking for the perfect light. I finally got a couple of images I am pretty happy with this year. Persistence can pay off.

Sunrise on Mount Hood and the White River

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

In the summer I often am heading up to the WyEast Basin and Cairn Basin area. I like that you can take several different trails to get there and it is this wonderful mix of high alpine, lush wildflowers, refreshing streams and small waterfalls with some of the best close-up views of the mountain. The number of great subjects in such a small area is almost mind-boggling.

WyEast: Some of your most stunning photos are shot during the golden hours of early morning or evening – do you have any tips for shooting in those conditions?

Brian: Getting up earlier and staying out later is usually the simplest thing people can do to greatly improve their photography. It is very difficult to get as compelling a photo in the middle of the day. The rapidly changing light around sunrise and sunset can really add a ton of interest, color and excitement to your images. Watch the sky, satellite images and weather forecasts to see if there is going to be enough clouds to make the sky interesting but not too many so that the sun is blocked.

Late afternoon wildflowers near Cairn Basin on Mount Hood

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

A tripod is critical for getting clear shots when it is darker. I suggest shooting in RAW not JPEG and bracketing your exposures to capture all of the detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the image.

Be Patient. I can’t tell you the number of times I have been taking pictures and all the other photographers have left and 10 minutes after a boring sunset the sky just lights up.

Autumn sunset at Mount Adams

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

That being said, I would be lying if I didn’t say I am just like everyone else in that I sometimes can’t pull myself out of bed in the early morning and I sometimes head to the brewpub at sunset rather than out to shoot. My family is pretty tolerant of me heading out to shoot but I try to balance life and responsibility with photography. Find the balance that makes you happy.

WyEast: You also have some amazing photos that feature the night sky. How exactly do you capture those images?

Brian: It is surprisingly easy if you have a fairly new digital camera. Have a solid tripod. I suggest getting to your location before it gets dark. Set up all your gear, compose your image and focus. Cameras are unable to auto-focus in the dark so you need to focus before it gets too dark and then set your camera to manual focus so it will not try to refocus.

Start taking pictures before it is totally dark and see what happens. Learn how to adjust your camera in manual exposure. Set your aperture to wide open (the smallest number possible), your shutter speed to around 20 or 30 seconds. Crank your ISO up to 800 or 1600 or even higher and fire away. The beauty of digital is it doesn’t hurt to mess up. If it is too dark crank up your ISO higher or lengthen your shutter speed. If it is too bright turn your ISO down. Look at your results and see what works and what doesn’t. Play and have fun.

Milky Way and Mount Hood from below Cooper Spur

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

WyEast: Those are great tips! Some of your images of Mount Hood and the Gorge also feature lightning, which seems especially challenging to capture. Other than not standing on high ground – which, actually, it looks like you were – what can you tell us about getting a great lightning photo?

Brian: First of all be safe. I think a lot photographers tell stories of risking life and limb to “get the shot”. Probably not worth it and often just an embellishment to make it sound more dramatic. I like to find a place where I can shoot while sitting in the car or at least find shelter immediately.

Thunderstorm lighting up the East Gorge

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

It helps to have a cable release or some other way of triggering your camera like a remote control. That allows you to be safe in the car while the camera is outside. If it is dark and you can use a long exposure you can just set the camera to shoot continuously. Sort of a “spray and pray” method but there is nothing worse than missing that solitary lightning bolt.

If it is daylight, the “spray and pray” method doesn’t work because most cameras get bogged down and stop shooting after 20 seconds or so. In that case you can just watch and try to push the button with every strike. It sounds impossible but it can work with a little practice. We don’t get much lightning here so I have yet to invest in a lightning trigger but it’s a device that senses the lightning and takes the photo for you. Pretty handy if you do a ton of lightning shots.

Lightning at Mount Hood and Lost Lake

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

I have a couple of apps that show you live lightning hits so you can see if it’s worth heading out. And be ready if the conditions change. One of my favorite lightning shots at Lost Lake (above) was purely luck. I was there to take a photo of the sunset when a small storm popped up. I kept taking pictures until I got my shot.

WyEast: You’re based in Hood River, Brian. I’m wondering where you see the fine art scene going in the Gorge over the long term? Do you see art becoming a significant part of the Gorge and Mount Hood economy in the future?

Brian: It is definitely growing. I don’t think there were any art galleries in town when I moved here in 1997. Now it seems like there is one on every block. Many restaurants and breweries also display local artists. Hood River has over 20 new outdoor works of art on display around town. There are so many talented artists in the gorge. I think people are drawn to the quality of life and inspired by amazing beauty at our doorstep.

Stormy Gorge evening

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

Art can play a significant part in the economy. It is just one more great reason for people to visit the gorge and it fits well with the winery and brewery tours, the Fruit Loop orchard tour and outdoor recreational tourism that the gorge is so rightly known for. I think the artwork can be a long-term reminder of the specialness of the area and for both tourists and people who live here. I love when people look at one of my pictures and it reminds them of some special times they have had here.

Spirit Falls on the Little White Salmon River

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

One thing that I am very excited about is helping to organize a temporary art gallery event in downtown Hood River on July 1^st -3^rd week. Eighteen local artists, including myself, have banded together to showcase and hopefully sell our work. We are having beer and wine and small plates of food, with an opportunity to view work from wide variety of different types of artists.

We will all be on hand all three days to discuss our artwork. The event will be at 301 Oak Street in downtown Hood River. I encourage anyone interested to stop in and say “hello”!

WyEast: That sounds like a great event, Brian! As an artist working in the Gorge, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced in becoming established?

Brian: It has been a slow steady process. Sometimes it seems agonizingly slow. When I first started taking pictures I didn’t dream that people would want to purchase them. I looked around and saw so many great photographers.

Abandoned homestead near Dufur, Oregon

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

Early in my progression as a photographer I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Columbia Center for the Arts. At that time it was a critical place of support for me. They encouraged me and treated me as a true artist so that I began to think of myself that way. I started to sell some work and began to grow in confidence. Every year they would have a photo contest and I was fortunate enough to win first place among hundreds of entries, including some really talented photographers.

That was a big step for me. Then I branched out and started displaying my work in local bakeries, restaurants and brewpubs. I started to gain more followers and confidence. In the last year or so, I have started to post more consistently on Facebook (www.facebook.com/BrianChambersPhotography/) and connect with people there.

Brian teaching photography on a recent Friends of the Gorge outing

I have also begun teaching a little (including the Friends of the Gorge hike where we met). It is something I really enjoy and want to get better at, and something I have considered doing more frequently in the future.

Hood River is full of talented photographers and artists and most of them have been really supportive and welcoming to me.

WyEast: When we met recently on that Friends of the Gorge hike, we talked about the controversy over oil and coal trains traveling through the Gorge. Since then, of course, a worst-case scenario unfolded when an oil train derailed in Mosier on June 3 of this year. What are your thoughts on the oil and coal trains moving through the Columbia River rail corridor?

Brian: That was a real eye opener for me. I had been out for a road bike ride in the exact location ½ hour before the accident. When I heard about it I actually went to take pictures from across the river. You can see a time lapse I took on my Facebook page. Just watching all the black smoke block out the view of Mt Hood was really a horrible sight.

Brian captured this video of the June 3rd oil train crash in Mosier, Oregon

(click here to view a large version of this video in Brian’s gallery)

I got stuck in a traffic jam heading home. It took me 2 hours to get home when it would normally take me 10 or 15 minutes. It really made me think about how the unique geography and infrastructure of the Gorge can really amplify any disaster. There are very limited driving options, and if one or two roads are closed people can become trapped.

I also think the accident was not a worst-case scenario. It was lucky it didn’t happen in the center of Mosier or Hood River, where there is a lot more potential for damage and it was lucky it happened on an unusually light wind day. If it had been windy I can only imagine how bad the fire could have been.

WyEast: You’ve hiked the trails of Mount Hood and the Gorge and have seen the growing crowds. Many are concerned that the area is being loved to death. What are your thoughts?

Brian: Wow, what a question. This is something I think about almost daily. Even in my short time here I have seen a tremendous change in the volume of hikers to areas that were once quiet and relatively unknown, like the Columbia Hills Park and Memaloose Hills. I used to go there in the spring and see almost no one. This year they were just packed with people. Which, on one hand, is wonderful that people are out there learning to love the gorge and discovering new places. It is great for society that people are out exercising and recharging in nature. I feel like people will fight to save places once they see how special they are.

Columbia Hills State Park in spring

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

On the other hand, overcrowded trails and unsafe parking lots are a real concern and take away from everyone’s enjoyment. As a photographer, I am always looking for the un-crowded wild places and I am afraid as I share them I might be contributing to them becoming crowded and over used.

There is an area near The Dalles that I am just in love with right now and I went there more than a dozen times the last couple years during the wildflower bloom and saw less than a handful of other hikers, and usually didn’t see anyone. Although part of the reason for that is starting my hike before 5 AM! I am torn between never telling anyone about it and wanting everyone to know how amazing it is. The word is already getting out and I suspect it will be packed in a couple years.

Mount Hood from an “undisclosed location”…

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

I guess I am an optimist. Nature seems to have the ability to not just heal people, but also itself. Just last week I was walking through the Dollar lake fire on Mt Hood. A few years ago it was a scene of total destruction. Everything dead and blackened. Now it’s hard to see the ground due to the huge number of flowers. If we can just try to get out of the way the land can usually do amazing things to recover from damage.

Gorge Sunset near Mitchell Point

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

Ultimately, I think the best answer is more trails. That is why I fully support the work you and others like you are doing. Saving the remaining wild places and creating sustainable hiking trails. I hope as the crowds worsen that will become a bigger priority for more and more people.

WyEast: Last question, and one you probably knew was coming: you’re a veterinarian by trade, so I’m wondering if you’d like to weigh in on bringing dogs into the Gorge? And in particular, what are some tips you would offer for keeping dogs (and people) safe, based on your experiences as a care giver?

Brian: Well, one disease that people new to the area may not have heard of is salmon poisoning. Don’t let your dog eat raw salmon or steelhead. It can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea that can be fatal. As I am sure all hikers already know, there are a few ticks in the area! There are plenty of good tick control medications available for your dog.

East Gorge rainbow

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

There are lots of dangers out on the trails and roads most of which can be avoided by keeping your dog on a leash and using common sense. I just recently saw a dog that was bitten by a rattlesnake on Dog Mountain. I have seen dogs killed by heat stroke, dogs killed by trains, falls from cliffs, cuts caused by skis, dogs lost in the wilderness, attacked by coyotes and other wild animals, falls from the back of pickup trucks, and too many hit by cars to count.

We also have a lot of poison oak in the Gorge. Keeping your dog on a leash is also a good way to make sure he stays out of poison oak, which can also be transferred to you from your dog’s coat.

Spring sunset in the Gorge from Memaloose Hills

(click here to view a large version in Brian’s gallery)

Lastly, just like you and I, you should avoid overdoing the activity level for your dog’s fitness level. If you have an out of shape dog that doesn’t exercise, don’t start with a long bike ride on a hot day. As your dog starts to age you need to start to reduce the length of the hikes and bikes to ones that will not cause them pain or distress.

It can be hard to do because the dogs often want to go, even when their body is unable. Talk with your vet if your dog is slowing down or seeming stiff and sore, as there are plenty of options to help with that.

WyEast: That’s great information! Thanks for taking the time to chat, Brian – and for celebrating the Gorge and Mount Hood with your amazing photography. We look forward to seeing more of your work!

Brian: It really was my pleasure.

_______________

You can support Brian Chambers’ photography by following him on Facebook:

Brian Chambers Photography on Facebook

Through July 15^th, Brian will be donating 20% of proceeds from photos he sells to people who mention this article to the Friends of the Gorge, Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) and the Columbia Land Trust, so it’s a great time to support him! (please note that this excludes the July 1-3 pop up gallery)

Check out more of Brian’s images at:

Brian Chambers Gallery on Zenfolio

And you can contact Brian directly through e-mail by clicking here.

And finally, learn more about the July 1-3 pop up art gallery in Hood River at:

Art in the Gorge on Facebook

2016 Campaign Calendar!

January 3, 2016January 3, 2016 / Tom Kloster

Each year since 2004, I’ve produced an annual “Mount Hood National Park Campaign Scenic Calendar”. It’s mostly for fun and to showcase the mountain (and Gorge) in a way that helps move beyond the too-often heard “it’s too [fill in the defeatist excuse] to become a national park.”

Wrong! In fact, the spectacular scenery, dramatic human history and sheer diversity of ecosystems in such a compact space make it a perfect candidate! Thus, the “idea campaign”, now entering its 12^th year.

Each scenic calendar does put a modest $4 into keeping the campaign website and this blog up and running, but the main reason for picking one up is to simply enjoy looking at our someday national park through every month of the year. They sell for $29.95 over on my new campaign store:

Mount Hood National Park Campaign Store

If you’ve purchased a campaign calendar before, you’ll note that I’ve moved from CafePress to Zazzle for printing. This is in part due to CafePress dropping large format calendars from their offerings. But in truth, I’ve had mixed experiences with the company in recent years, and have heard the same from others who purchased calendars there. So, it was time to bail.

By contrast, Zazzle seems to provide a much better customer experience and the print quality is exceptional – especially compared to CafePress. I’ve been impressed, and I think you’ll be pleased, too!

Now, bear with me as I indulge in my annual reflections from the past year as illustrated by photos from the 2016 calendar…

The Cover Shot

Mount Hood and valley fog from Gumjuwac Overlook

The view on the cover of the 2016 calendar is from a favorite viewpoint that is surprisingly unknown and never crowded. It’s along the Gumjuwac Trail, and the combination of a steady climb and not much information on maps or guidebooks to indicate a viewpoint seems to have kept this spot out of the mainstream… for now!

The cover shot came on one of those bright blue mountain days when the East Fork Hood River valley was blanketed in dense, freezing fog, thanks to a classic temperature inversion.

Silver thaw on vine maple along the Gumjuwac Trail

The temperature at the trailhead along the East Fork that November day was a foggy 28 degrees. The first part of the climb along the Gumjuwac Trail was through a wonderland of glazed trees before breaking out of the fog about 1,500 feet above the trailhead. There, the temperature was suddenly in the 40s and allowed for a relatively balmy lunch in the sun!

The Monthly Images

For the January image in the 2016 calendar, I chose a photo taken along the historic Bennett Pass Road (below) after the first big snowfall of the 2014-15 winter season. As it turned out, it was also the last big snowfall! We soon entered a long year of drought in the Pacific Northwest that left the Cascades with the lightest snow pack in years.

January features Mount Hood from Bennett Pass Road

The February image of the north face of Mount Hood (below) was taken from a mostly bare Old Vista Ridge Trail in mid-May, with a fresh coast of spring snow at the upper elevations of the mountain that belied the ongoing drought. The trail would normally have 5-10 feet of snow on the ground at that time of year, but the drought of 2015 was already well underway, and many mountain trails were eerily snow-free by early June.

February features a close-up of the north face of Mount Hood

For March, I chose a close-up photo of Wahclella Falls (below) on Tanner Creek taken in early May. This has become one of the most popular trails in the Gorge, and remains my favorite, as well. In 2015, I hiked this lovely trail a total of seven times, spanning the four seasons.

On this particular trip, an impromptu, full-blown Bohemian wedding unfolded on the rocks above the falls while I was shooting this image – complete with baskets of rose petals and various acoustic instruments wafting (somewhat in tune) above the roar the falls. It was undoubtedly an unforgettable wedding for the lucky couple, and just another quirky Gorge experience for hikers passing through..!

March features Wahclella Falls on Tanner Creek

The Wahclella Falls photo required a bit more commitment than simply showing up with a tripod. The falls are well-guarded with huge, truck-sized boulders, so to capture this image I packed creek waders and eased out to about mid-thigh in very “refreshing” water to get a clear view of the falls. After 20 minutes in the stream, it took awhile for the circulation to return to my legs…

Thawing my legs after some quality time in the middle of Tanner Creek

This year I started a new guided hike series for the Friends of the Gorge focuses on waterfall photography for beginners. Tanner Creek is the perfect trail for this, with world-class scenery along a short, safe loop trail.

Though the main goal for most hikers at Tanner Creek is Wahclella Falls, the lower creek is especially good for learning the camera basics of long exposures and filters. The April scene (below) was captured during one of these guided hikes.

April features a sylvan scene along lower Tanner Creek

While poking around the boulders along Tanner Creek for a good photo that day, I nearly stepped on a pair of garter snakes (below) sunning themselves in the filtered sunlight. I assume this to be a mother and offspring, but will defer to the herpetologists on that point!

Garter snakes on the banks of Tanner Creek

For the May image, I selected a perennial favorite of a lot of photographers, Triple Falls on Oneonta Creek (below). This is one of those spots that just calls out “national park!” It’s a completely unique waterfall that perfectly captures the elements that make Gorge scenes like this unmistakable: bright, crystal clear streams tumbling over sculpted black basalt, framed by velvet blankets of moss and ferns and shaded by the lush foliage of the Cascade rainforest. It’s no wonder the Gorge waterfalls have become iconic, drawing admirers from around the world.

May features Triple Falls on Oneonta Creek

The trail to Triple Falls was briefly closed on a couple of occasions in 2015 thanks to a large landslide that occurred just below Middle Oneonta Falls, about a half mile below Triple Falls. On the way down from my trip to Triple Falls, I ran into Bruce Dungey (below), a U.S. Forest Service trail crew legend who has worked for the agency for 38 years and in the Gorge since 1992. He had been fine-tuning a temporary route his crew had built through the landslide.

Forest Service trail crew legend Bruce Dungey working on the big slide that briefly closed the Oneonta Trail last year

We chatted as he was packing up his gear and hiked back to the trailhead together. Bruce quietly lamented the collapse of funding for trail crews in the Gorge over the time he has worked here. As recently as the 1990s, three crew leaders (including him) each led a crew of five working on Gorge trails. Today, there are a total of three trail workers remaining for the entire scenic area.

During the same period, Bruce has seen trail use explode, and he and his remaining crew are struggling just to keep up with the sheer numbers of hikers. Making things worse are bizarre new “sports” like trail bombing, where hikers intentionally cut across switchbacks for the fun of it, in a race to get to the bottom.

Bruce will soon be retiring, taking an immense amount of knowledge of the Gorge trails with him. My conversation with him was yet another reminder that we all need to work together to rearrange our priorities, and move recreation funding to the top of the priority list at our federal agencies.

June features Owl Point on the Old Vista Ridge Trail

The June image is another from Owl Point (above), a beautiful rocky perch along the Old Vista Ridge Trail. The trail here was almost lost to neglect after being dropped from Forest Service maintenance in the 1970s, but since 2007, this old gem has been gradually restored by a small army of anonymous volunteers.

Today, the old trail looks better than ever, keeping alive one of the earliest routes built on the mountain. Hikers have noticed: the summit register at Owl Point recorded more than 60 entries in 2015, including visitors from as far away as Japan and Europe, and Owl Point is now featured in several hiking guides.

The Owl Point hike took special meaning for me this year, as I was able to take an old friend and college roommate (below) there for a one-day reunion. We couldn’t have had a more idyllic day. It’s no secret that trails are the perfect place for reconnecting with old friends!

Old friends and mountain trails are a perfect combination!

For July, I selected one of my few wildflower scenes from 2015 (below), captured along the Timberline Trail near Timberline Lodge.

July features the Timberline Trail near Timberline Lodge

The early wildflower bloom caught many hikers by surprise, with places like Elk Cove and Paradise Park peaking a full month early from their typical August bloom time. I was among them, and completely missed the bloom at Elk Cove for the first time in over a decade.

The following side-by-side shows Elk Cove still blooming in late August in 2012 and completely gone to seed by August 4 in 2015:

The August image in the new calendar is also from the Timberline Trail, this time in a sloping lupine meadow captured in early July on the brink of White River Canyon (below).

August features lupine meadows on the slopes of White River Canyon

The vastness of the White River Canyon is always an awesome thing to see, and despite the retreat of the White River Glacier, its rugged terminus is still an impressive sight, too. It’s hard to know just how far the glacier will recede with climate change upon us, but it’s fair to say that the lower extent in this photo from last summer (below) may be gone in just a few years, leaving a few moraines behind to mark its former extent.

White River Glacier is receding in a warming climate…

For September, I chose a photo of the relatively new log bridge on the Trail 400 (The Gorge Trail) over Gorton Creek (below). This handsome footbridge replaced a nearly identical version that had decayed enough to become unstable a few years ago. But the new bridge has quickly weathered to appear as if it has been here for decades, making this is one of the more photogenic spots in the Gorge. It’s rarely busy here, so also a favorite escape of mine on otherwise crowded weekends in the Gorge.

September features the Gorge 400 Trail bridge over Gorton Creek

When approaching the Gorton Creek area, this sign (below) at the entrance of the Wyeth Campground always seems odd – after all, most campgrounds in the Gorge have piped water systems from nearby springs.

Surprising sign at the Wyeth Campground…

But the story behind the water problems at Wyeth unfolds as you approach Emerald Falls, the unofficial name for the photogenic lower cascade on Gorton Creek. A 1930s-era diversion dam and pipe system at the falls has gradually been falling apart, with various jury-rigged efforts to keep the system functioning over the years.

When I visited Gorton Creek this year, the latest fix consisting of a riprap of logs (below) had been placed beneath a new section of water line leading to the campground. It’s unclear if this fix will actually restore potable water at Wyeth, but there’s apparently a renewed effort by the Forest Service to do so.

The fragile, exposed waterworks below Emerald Falls

Fall colors were surprisingly good this year, despite the devastating drought that saw many deciduous trees dropping their leaves in mid-August. By late October, however, many Gorge trails were lighting up with the familiar bright yellow displays we expect from our resident maples, including Elowah Falls (below).

October features Elowah Falls

The Elowah Falls photo is actually a 3-image, blended panorama from a long-forgotten overlook that was bypassed when the modern trails were built in the McCord Creek area. It still provides one of the finest views of the falls, but only if you know where to find the old trail!

November features tunra swans at Mirror Lake, below Crown Point

For November, I selected an image from “the other” Mirror Lake described in this blog article. While I was able to capture some fall colors and even a group of tundra swans flying through the scene, my main goal in visiting this spot was to replicate an 1870s image of this same spot (below), as captured on glass slides by pioneering photographer Frank Haynes.

Echo Bay Comparison (1880s – 2015)

Click here for a larger image

I didn’t quite nail it, in part because I didn’t want to spook the abundant waterfowl resting here, and also because I was running out of dry land to walk on. But it was fun to trace the footsteps of an early photographer. Next time, I’ll try getting a bit closer to the exact spot where Frank Haynes stood by visiting outside of the migratory season for swans, geese and ducks.

For December, I picked a somewhat unconventional (for me) image of a group of mountain hemlock, noble fir and Alaska cedar near Barlow Pass after the first (and only) heavy snowfall, below.

December features a winter wonderland near Barlow Pass

But my real goal on that early snowshoe trip last winter was a different photo, the view of Mount Hood from the Buzzard Point overlook (below) along the historic loop highway. In the end, I thought I’d break from tradition and use a more intimate scene for the calendar – hopefully, you will agree, and apologies if you prefer the alpenglow scene!

Later that evening near Barlow Pass

The new calendar format offered by Zazzle also gives me the back cover of the calendar to design, and that’s a major enhancement over CafePress. I thought long and hard about what to put on the back, and ended up doing a wildflower collage (below), since close-up images of flora never make it into my calendars.

The back cover features nine of my favorite wildflower images

For the curious, the flora were taken at the following locations, starting in the upper left and working across:

Top Row:

Vine maple near Clear lake
Clackamas White Iris near Pup Creek Falls
Fairy Slipper (or Calypso) orchid near Cabin Creek

Middle Row:

Tiger lily along the Horsetail Creek trail
Columbine near the base of Elowah Falls
Paintbrush along the summit of Hood River Mountain

Bottom Row:

Chocolate lily in the hanging meadows above Warren Creek
Gentian along McGee Creek
Maidenhair fern near Upper McCord Creek Falls

That’s it for this year’s calendar! Looking ahead toward 2016, I hope to keep up my current pace of WyEast articles as I focus more of my efforts as a volunteer for Trailkeepers of Oregon, among other pursuits. And spend time on the trail, of course!

“You know, this would make a GREAT national park!”

As always, thanks for reading this blog, and especially for the kind comments you’ve sent over the years. I’ve never felt better about Mount Hood and the Gorge someday getting the recognition (and Park Service stewardship) they deserve! That’s largely because of a passionate new generation of Millennials who are questioning the tactics and somewhat stale vision of the conservation movement’s old guard.

While it’s true that we oldsters have savvy and insight borne of experience, it’s also true that fighting too many battles can leave activists tired and resigned. So, bring on the new blood with their refreshing idealism and optimism! We are about to hand them the keys to the movement, and I very much like where they want to take us.

Happy trails to you in 2016!

Tom Kloster | Wy’East Blog

2015 Calendar… and looking back on 2014!

December 30, 2014 / Tom Kloster / 1 Comment

The view from Owl Point is the cover image for 2015

Each year since 2004 I’ve published a wall calendar dedicated to the special places that make Mount Hood and the Gorge a national treasure — and of national park caliber! You can pick one up for $30 at the Mount Hood National Park Campaign store at CafePress, and you’ll also be supporting the campaign website and this blog when you do!

The following is a preview of the calendar images I picked for the 2015 edition, along with some backstory behind the photos. All of the photos were taken from November 2013 through October 2014. Part of the challenge each year is to come up with 13 new calendar-worthy images, which in turn ensures that I get out on the trail and poke around my favorite haunts, plus a few new spots whenever I can!

For January, I picked a close-up view of the upper Sandy Glacier and the towering cliffs of the Sandy Headwall. This view came from an early snowfall last winter, one of several trips I made to the Bald Mountain and McGee Ridge:

January features the upper Sandy Glacier and towering Sandy Headwall

On one of those trips to the McGee Ridge viewpoint, I had just set up my camera and tripod along the Timberline Trail when a pair of climbers came down from the mountain. They were obviously not typical hikers, and soon I realized that they were the explorers I had just written a blog article about! “Sandy Glacier Caves: Realm of the Snow Dragon!” was written partly in anticipation of the Oregon Field Guide 2013 premiere episode that featured the glacier Caves… and my new trail acquaintances, Brent McGregor and Eric Guth.

Look closely, and you can see Eric and Brent’s boot prints in the snow near the Snow Dragon cave

Brent and Eric pointed out several features around the glacier caves from our vantage point. I was later able to add a postscript to the original article to elaborate on some of the new details about their discovery that I learned that day on the trail.

Eric Guth and Brent McGregor on the trail in 2013

I’ve also been able to help Brent with his historic research on the formation of the glacier caves with a series of images I’d taken of the Sandy Glacier since the early 2000s. I’ve photographed the glacier in detail pretty much every year for more than a decade, mostly because of it’s scenic beauty, so it was great to discover a more practical use for all those photos!

For February, I picked a photo from a memorable winter day on Mount Defiance (below) after a bank of freezing fog had settled in on the mountain for several days. Nearly every surface was covered with long, beautifully developed ice crystals that had grown undisturbed in the almost still air of the freezing fog layer.

February features a frosty forest on the slopes of Mt. Defiance

On that frosty day, I also stopped to photograph the sign shown below on the way up to Mount Defiance, as it showed amazing insight and precision by the Hood River County road department in deciding where to stop plowing!

Winter wonderland ahead!

For March, I picked a scene from the Pacific Crest Trail where it climbs along the west rim of the White River canyon. This section of trail is also part of the Timberline Trail, and is surprisingly overlooked, given the views and close proximity to Timberline Lodge.

March features the White River Canyon from the Pacific Crest Trail

I posted an article in 2011 on the buried forests that can be seen here. The deeply carved maze of ravines that make up the White River canyon are cut into volcanic debris from the Old Maid eruptions that occurred from 1760 to 1810, and subsequent erosion has revealed some of the well-preserved trees that were buried in these eruptions. The 2011 article describes how to view these old specimens.

I also enjoyed watching a lenticular cloud form over the mountain in the hour or two that I sat on the canyon rim that evening last winter — one of my favorite mountain phenomena. You can see just the beginning of the cloud over the summit in the calendar view, and the tiny sliver later blossomed into the classic lenticular cloud shown in the view below, as I was packing up for the day:

Lenticular cloud forming over The Mountain

Lenticular clouds typically form when moist air from approaching weather fronts is compressed as it passes over the big volcanoes in the Cascade Range. They often form as much as a day before the cloud bands of a Pacific front actually arrive, so are a useful barometer of changing conditions.

For April, I picked something a little different: a desert scene just a few miles east of the mountain, where the same White River that originates from its namesake glacier in the previous scene flows east into the rugged rimrock country of Oregon’s High Desert, shown below:

April features the lower falls at White River Falls State Park

Over the millennia, the White River has carved through many layers of Columbia River basalt to form its desert canyon, but as it approaches the confluence with the Deschutes, the river encounters an especially tough series of basalt layers. The result is the spectacular White River Falls, a misty green emerald in the desert, protected in a small state park.

The lower falls pictured in the April image is about one-half mile downstream from the main falls, and well off the popular trail in the area. The calendar image is actually just a cropped portion of a very wide panorama (below) that captures more of the rugged scene at the lower falls.

Original jumbo-pano that the calendar image was cropped from

The scoured bedrock in the foreground of this view is testament to volatile nature of the White River: seasonal floods regularly surge to this depth, engulfing the floor of the canyon.

In another 2011 article titled “Close Call at White River Falls”, I described the threats to this magnificent area, and why it deserved better protection — perhaps someday a unit of Mount Hood National Park?

The old powerhouse at White River Falls

In addition to the natural scenery, the canyon is home to the fascinating ruins of an early 1900s hydroelectric plant. Desert weather has helped preserve the many relics in the area, but arid conditions haven’t prevented vandals from taking an increasing toll on priceless historic resources.

The powerhouse is amazingly well-preserved inside

Hopefully, we can someday stabilize the White River Falls site and preserve the remaining traces of history for future generations to explore.

For May, I chose another unusual image for a Mount Hood National Park calendar: Middle North Falls on Silver Creek. Why? Mostly because what we now know as Silver Falls State Park was once proposed to become a national park in the 1920s! It would have been a terrific addition. The scenery, alone blows away many of the existing national parks monuments in our park system!

May features the famous Middle North Falls on Silver Creek

Alas, the national park proposal failed after a National Park Service study deemed the logged-over landscape of the 1920s too ravaged to be worthy of park status. Thankfully, that didn’t stop the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s from building the elaborate, magnificent trail system and beautiful South Falls Lodge (listed on the National Historic Register in 1983) that we still enjoy today.

The national park idea for Silver Falls resurfaced again in 2008, when Oregon State Senator (then Representative) Fred Girod proposed it during a special session. Notably, Dr. Girod is a Republican from Stayton, representing the Senate district that encompasses Silver Falls State Park, so maybe we’ll see the idea resurrected in the future? I like that maverick thinking, Senator!

Trail ranger leading a kids hike at Silver Creek — how very cool!

On the visit last spring when I photographed Middle North Falls, I was reminded that Oregon’s state parks do a pretty good job of embracing the national park tradition at Silver Creek when a young ranger appeared, leading a group of youngsters on a day hike. Kudos to Oregon Parks and Recreation Department for providing programs like these!

Could Silver Falls State Park become a unit of a future Mount Hood National Park? Why not! One tangible benefit would be the opportunity to expand the footprint from the current park boundaries to include the rest of the upper watershed of Silver Creek. The park more than doubled in size in 1958, when a federally funded expansion added in a portion of the headwaters, bringing the park to the present size of just over 90,000 areas.

The amazing, national-park-quality amphitheater behind North Falls

Yet, heavy logging and large private inholdings upstream continue to impact Silver Creek stream with silt and algae blooms. These impacts could easily be reversed if the upper watershed were managed for conservation and recreation, instead — especially if the park were expanded to include the upper watershed and its associated habitat.

For June, I picked an image of Butte Creek Falls, a nearby cousin to Silver Creek located even closer to Mount Hood, within the Santiam State Forest. Like Silver Creek, the upper watershed of Butte Creek is heavily logged, with some obvious sediment and algae in the stream as a result.

June features Butte Creek Falls

Also like Silver Creek, the health of Butte Creek could be turned around with a shift to managing for conservation and recreation. Unlike Silver Creek, most of the lands in the upstream watershed are already held in the public trust by the State of Oregon.

Unfortunately, our state forests are held captive by a legislature determined to log them to feed the state general fund — and to ensure that rural counties that already pay only a fraction of the property taxes levied in other parts of Oregon aren’t inconvenienced with paying for their own schools.

Therefore, the best way to restore Butte Creek would be to transfer it to Oregon Parks and Recreation Department as a very large state park… or incorporate it into a future Mount Hood National Park! At a minimum, it’s time for the Santiam State forest to focus on restoring forests and protecting watersheds, not just future timber sales.

Always travel with an automotive repair expert!

The behind-the-scenes, somewhat embarrassing story that goes with the Butte Creek Falls image is one of my hiking buddy Jamie Chabot helping change a flat tire after our trip to Butte Creek and nearby Abiqua Falls. We managed to take a couple of wrong turns in the maze of logging roads and clearcuts that surround the small preserve containing Butte Creek: at some point, I jumped out to survey the canyon below to figure out where we went wrong… only to hear a HISSSSSSS coming from one of the rear tires!

There was no room to pull off to the side, so we were in the awkward predicament of having the car up on a jack in the middle of an active logging road. Fortunately, we were able to install the spare before a loaded log truck came barreling our way! My belated apologies to Jamie for doing the heavy work while I took pictures… but somebody had to document the episode for posterity!

Jamie was also my hiking companion on a couple of trips to Owl Point last summer. This has been an annual favorite of mine since a group of volunteers from the Portland Hikers forum rescued the Old Vista Ridge from being lost to official Forest Service neglect in 2007.

Each year, the trail seems to get better, thanks to a lot of unofficial TLC from anonymous trail tenders. Today, the Old Vista Ridge trail is in great shape and now forms the boundary of the expanded Mount Hood Wilderness, so in that sense has been etched into legal permanence. Hopefully, it will eventually make it back onto the Forest Service inventory of officially maintained trails, a status it clearly deserves.

July features Mount Hood from Owl Point

There are now several geocaches and a trail log tucked along the historic old trail, and it’s amazing to see how busy the area has become now that it has been featured in several popular hiking guides (including Williams Sullivan’s “100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon” and Paul Gerald’s “60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Portland”).

One trail log had more than 60 entries for just 2014, including this wonderful entry from a young family introducing their kids to the adventures of hiking and exploring the Mount Hood backcountry at a very young age:

My favorite Old Vista Ridge trail log entry… ever..!

One of my favorite experiences on the trail is seeing young families introducing their junior hikers to our public lands, battered field guides in hand. Just like my own formative experiences just a few decades ago.

For August, I picked an image from another of my favorite spots, just off the Cooper Spur trail, above the lower extent of the Eliot Glacier. This image was taken on one of those days when clouds were wrapped around the mountain for much of the day, but suddenly cleared for a few minutes — just long enough to capture a few photos before the mountain disappeared, once again:

August features the Eliot Glacier on Mount Hood’s north flank

I certainly do not mind sitting on the shoulder of the mountain waiting out the clouds (there’s no such thing as a bad day on the mountain, after all!), but a bonus during this wait was learning a new bird species (to me), as a pair of these small birds (below) stopped by to check me out:

Horned lark at Cooper Spur

This is a horned lark, a wintertime migrant to our area, and the pair I saw had likely arrived recently when I spotted them last August. The Portland area actually has a year-round resident population of streaked horned larks, which look similar to horned larks and are a threatened species. These are details I learned after the trip from the helpful folks at the Portland Audubon Society.

According to Audubon staff, horned Larks are widespread songbirds of fields, deserts, and tundra, where they forage for seeds and insects, and sing a high, tinkling song — and thus were quite at home in the tundra conditions of Mount Hood’s high east side. Though they are considered common, they have undergone a sharp decline in the last half-century. Their very generalized range map shows them wintering from the Cascades west and breeding in summer in Canada tundra/steppe terrain.

For September I picked an image from Wyeast Basin, taken toward the end of a lovely early autumn day as a family and their dog ambled across the sprawling meadow. Wyeast Basin is remarkable for the surprising number of springs bubbling up from the mountain slopes and racing one another downhill, often just a few feet apart.

September features early autumn colors at WyEast Basin

While this view (above) from the calendar is the familiar scene at WyEast Basin, I also turned my tripod around to capture the web of springs and streamlets flowing north toward the big Washington volcanoes, on the distant horizon. The talus slopes of Owl Point can also be seen in the distance from here, just above the tree line.

The view north to Owl Point and the Washington Cascades from WyEast Basin

For October, the scene is from Elk Meadows, perhaps the most photogenic of the string of alpine meadows on Mount Hood’s rugged north side. In this view, the Coe Glacier tumbles below the summit, and 7,853-foot Barrett Spur looms darkly on the left. Avalanches roll off Barrett Spur in winter, sometimes with devastating effect on the alpine forests below, as the many bleached snags and stumps in Elk Cove suggest.

October features beautiful Elk Cove in autumn

My companions for the Elk Cove hike this fall were Jamie Chabot and Jeff Statt. I met both when Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) was founded in 2007: Jeff was the founding president of the new non-profit, and Jamie the original creative force behind the TKO logo, Portland Hikers calendars and the TKO web identity.

Tom, Jamie & Jeff enjoying a little slice of paradise at Elk Cove

Both Jeff and Jamie continue to support TKO after all these years as the organization continues to grow, and we still meet up for periodic trail stewardship projects together. I’m honored to have them as trail friends, and having them along on this hike made it extra-special!

For November, I picked a familiar view of Triple Falls on Oneonta Creek, taken during an especially wet week in the Gorge. Normally, the somewhat muddy runoff in this scene would be a deal-killer for photos, but I came around to the idea that in this case, it told the story of swollen Cascade streams during the stormy months of late autumn rather nicely, so added it to the mix.

November features a swollen Triple Falls on Oneonta Creek

I was memorably soaked on the hike to Triple Falls, not because rain is particularly unique in the Gorge, but because I had just re-ducked my trusty canvas hat (for waterproofing)… but had left it drying in the oven, at home! I discovered this fact at the Oneonta trailhead, so circled back to the Multhnomah Falls lodge to see what sort of hats were in stock.

It turns out that baseball caps are the ONLY option at the Multnomah Falls lodge — and I HATE baseball caps! (primarily because they don’t fit all that well on my basketball-sized head..!) Well, at least I could support my alma mater, and I hit the trail $20 poorer with a ridiculous, ill-fitting beanie that (sort of) kept my large, bald head dry…

You would hate baseball caps, too, if you had a basketball-sized head like mine…

Once on the trail, I also ran across one of the most extensive landslides to form in recent years, cutting away a 100-foot swath of the Oneonta Trail along a steep canyon section. Trail crews had constructed a temporary crossing of the slide, but just a few days after that trip in November, the slide claimed more ground, erasing the temporary trail. Such is the ongoing challenge of keeping trails open in the very active landscapes of the Gorge and Mount Hood!

A rip-roaring Oneonta Creek after the first big autumn storms

For December, I picked a late fall image of Elowah Falls, taken from one of the long-bypassed viewpoints along the original Civilian Conservation Corps route described in this recent article on McCord Creek.

December features a wide pano of Elowah Falls on McCord Creek

Photographing a 213′ waterfall at close range means a wide-angle lens and blending some images. In this case, I merged three vertical images taken with my 11mm lens to create the panoramic view. This is my first time photographing from this spot, and I will definitely return!

By now you’ve been introduced to my trail buddy Jamie, and on the way out from Elowah Falls that day I ran into Jamie and his two boys! They were headed toward the upper falls on McCord Creek on that very busy hiking day in the Gorge. It was great to see Jamie passing on the hiking tradition to boys!

Jamie and his rugged boys hitting the trail at McCord Creek

That’s it for the 2015 Mount Hood National Park Campaign calendar highlights, and now for a few thoughts on the blog…

Thanks for another year!

I launched the WyEast Blog in 2008 as a simpler way to promote Mount Hood and the Gorge as “national park-worthy” than updates to the project website would allow. And though I didn’t post quite as often this year for a whole variety of reasons (mostly, real life getting in the way), I was amazed to see the readership for the WyEast Blog continue to grow in 2014.

Yours truly taking in the first big snowfall on Mount Hood in early November

In early 2014, the monthly page views edged above the 5,000 mark for the first time, and jumped well above that mark during the peak hiking months of spring and summer. More importantly, the list of official blog followers has grown steadily to 141 this year. These are the true Mount Hood and Gorge junkies that I have in mind when I post to the blog, and these are also the folks who send me both nice notes and periodic corrections — both are greatly appreciated!

I posted a total of 14 articles this year, down a bit from previous years, but bringing the six-year total to 136 articles. I’ve also got a bunch of new articles in the oven, ready to post when time allows. So, the WyEast Blog will be around for awhile!

The two most popular articles continue to be:

10 Common Poison Oak Myths (2012)

Ticks! Ticks! (10 common myths) (2013)

The “ticks” article has been viewed 38,147 times since I posted it in 2013, and the poison oak piece 21,545 times — sort of amazing! But these numbers have validated my obsession with providing thorough, detailed, geek-worthy articles that are more in the magazine format than typical blog fare.

Taking in the fall colors at Butte Creek

So, enough facts, figures and anecdotes: if you’ve read this far in my annual, somewhat (ahem!) self-indulgent post, THANK YOU for being a reader… and most importantly, thanks for being a friend of Mount Hood and the Gorge!

See you on the trail in 2015!

Tom Kloster
WyEast Blog

2014 Mount Hood National Park Calendar

November 29, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 2 Comments

Each year at about this time I assemble the Mount Hood National Park Scenic Calendar. The proceeds are modest, but do help support the Mount Hood National Park Campaign website, WyEast Blog and related project expenses. But the main purpose is to simply promote the national park concept by making the case for the campaign with pictures.

What the calendar looks like - oversized 11x17” pages you can actually use!

What the calendar looks like – oversized 11×17” pages you can actually use!

I’ve published the calendars through CafePress since 2004, so this year’s calendar marks the tenth edition. All of the photos in the calendar are from trips and trails I’ve explored over the past year.

I get a surprising number of questions about the photos, so in addition to simply announcing the 2014 calendar, this article tells a bit of the story behind the new images.

The 2014 Scenes

Cover: Sandy Headwall and Glacier from McGee Ridge

The cover photo of the Sandy Glacier headwall is really a nod to a chance encounter I had with Brent McGregor, the fearless cave explorer profiled in the Thin Ice: Exploring Mount Hood’s Glacier Caves, a recent Oregon Public Broadcasting feature. I had just posted a WyEast blog article on the program a few days prior, and happened to run into Brent and his climbing partner, Eric Guth, on the Timberline Trail that day in October.

Brent and Eric were on their way down from spending the night in the Snow Dragon glacier cave, and provided me with an amazing personal account of their adventures inside the caves. I also learned a bit of the glacier cave geography from the spot where we met atop McGee Ridge. The cover image for the calendar was taken from that spot awhile after the (now famous) ice cave explorers continued down the trail. A most memorable evening!

January: Tamanawas Falls dressed in white

The monthly scenes begin with a snowy afternoon at Tamanawas Falls in the January image (above). The photo was taken in December 2013, and stitched together from three separate photos — the first of three such composite images in this year’s calendar.

The conditions were perfect that day, and a bit deceptive, as this was the first big snowfall of the season — and thus we was able to simply hike up the trail without snowshoes, albeit with the aid of boot spikes.

Brother-in-law David taking in the magic at Tamanawas

My brother-in-law David joined me for the hike to Tamanawas Falls, celebrating his return to Oregon after spending the past thirty years living in distant places, far from the life he knew growing up here among tall trees, big mountains and countless waterfalls – the best kind of reunion!

The February image (below) is an evening scene from one of the viewpoints along the historic Bennett Pass Road. The blanket of valley fog rolled in just as the sun dropped behind the mountain ridges, making for an especially peaceful scene.

February: WyEast’s under-appreciated southeast side from near Bennett Pass

Ironically, the story behind the image is anything but quiet, as I was visiting Bennett Pass on New Years Day — apparently, along with the rest of Portland area population!

A “pristine” framing of this image suffered as a result, as the fresh blanket of snow from the previous night had already been heavily trampled by the small army of skiers and snowshoers (and their dogs) that day! Otherwise, I would have loved to included this image (below), with a pretty little noble fir in the foreground in the calendar. Maybe I should bring along a rake next time..?

Heavy ski and snowshoe traffic on New Years Day!

For the March image, I picked a mid-winter Gorge scene captured at Elowah Falls on McCord Creek, just west of Cascade Locks (below). This is another composite image, made from a total of six photos, with the goal of giving a panoramic feel that matches the immensity of the setting.

This is the finished image:

March: Elowah Falls in late winter hues

The six separate images look like this before merging:

Six photos make up the original panorama at Elowah

Once merged, I cropped the final image to fit the dimensions of the calendar:

The calendar image was then snipped from the composite image

There’s a bit of a story to this scene, too: the graceful, multi-trunked bigleaf maple framing the falls will soon succumb to the power of McCord Creek, as the stream has recently eroded the bank to the point that the main trunk of the tree is hovering over the creek, in mid-air (below).

Change is coming to this maple along McCord Creek

This section of McCord Creek has suddenly experienced a lot of erosion in the past few years, so this is part of a larger change happening to this iconic spot – much more to come as we watch the power of nature at work, and a reminder that change is constant in the natural landscape!

For April, I picked a familiar spot in the Columbia Gorge at Rowena Crest (below), where the blooming lupine and arrowleaf balsamroot frame the river and town of Lyle in the distance. It was a typically blustery day in the Gorge last spring when I visit this spot, and though the overall bloom in the east Gorge in 2013 was somewhat disappointing, the McCall Preserve at Rowena still had a very good flower show.

April: blustery winds at Rowena Crest..? Naturally!

The May image (below) is from the wonderful little loop trail at Butte Creek Falls, an gorgeous little canyon in the otherwise heavily logged foothills southwest of Mount Hood. This view shows the upper falls, a quiet, understated cascade that hides an impressive cave tucked behind the falls. The main falls of Butte Creek if just downstream.

May: pretty Upper Butte Creek Falls is tucked away in serious logging country

I enjoy this trail because of the contrasts, as the approach to the trailhead passes through some of the most horrendously cut over timber corporation holdings in Oregon. By comparison, the vibrant, mossy canyon holding Butte Creek is a reminder of what we’ve lost — and hopefully will restore, someday.

Spring is waterfall season in Oregon, so the June image stays with the theme, this time countering little-known Upper Butte Creek Falls with the queen of all Oregon cascades, Multnomah Falls (below).

June: a composite photo from a very busy viewpoint

This image is the third blended photo in the 2014 calendar, this time composed of three separate images (below) taken at the perennially crowded lower overlook along the Multnomah Falls trail. As with the other composite images, my goal was to give broader context to the scene — in this case, the massive array of cliffs that surround Multnomah Falls.

Three photos came together for the Multnomah Falls image

As always, mountain scenes fill the summer months of the calendar, starting with a view of Mount Hood’s towering west face for July (below). This image was captured in mid-July, and though a bit late for the full glory of the beargrass bloom, it does capture the final phase of the bloom. This scene is from one of the hanging meadows high on the shoulder of McGee Ridge, looking into the valley of the Muddy Fork.

July: beargrass bloom in the hanging meadows above the Muddy Fork

For the August calendar scene, I chose an image from a hike to Elk Cove. It’s a bit of a repeat from past calendars, but one of my (and most everyone else, I suspect) favorite views of the mountain. The alpine bloom came late to Elk Cove this year, and still hadn’t peaked when I shot this photo in early August:

August: my annual pilgrimage to “the view” from Elk Cove

I’ve shot this scene many times, but on this particular trip several hikers passed by while I waited for the afternoon light to soften. Two groups stopped to chat and pose for me, including a pair of hiking buddies doing the Timberline Trail circuit and a family from Olympia, Washington visiting Elk Cove for the first time (below).

Round-the-mountain hikers arriving for a night at Elk Cove

This group traveled from Olympia to visit Elk Cove

Both shots let out a little secret about my favorite photo spot at Elk Cove: it’s only about ten feet off the Timberline Trail, which crosses right through the drift of western pasque flower in the foreground!

For the September scene, I picked an image of Wiesendanger Falls on Multnomah Creek (below), named for Albert Wiesendanger, a pioneering forester in the Columbia River Gorge.

September: Albert Wiesendanger earned a place name with his falls on Multnomah Creek

Most hikers are (understandably) looking upstream, toward Wiesendanger Falls, when they walk through Dutchman’s Tunnel (not a true tunnel, but more of a ledge carved into the basalt cliff) along Multnomah Creek, just below the falls.

Thus, few see this inconspicuous bronze plaque at the south end of the tunnel honoring Albert Wiesendanger:

Wiesendanger not only had an important role in shaping of the trails and campgrounds we now enjoy in the Columbia River Gorge, he also went on to lead the Keep Oregon Green campaign. He is a little-known giant in our local history, and deserves to have his story more widely told.

The October scene isn’t from a trail, but rather, a somewhat obscure dirt road high on the shoulder of Middle Mountain (below), in the Hood River Valley. I learned of this spot several years ago, and often make the bumpy side trip if I’m passing through in early evening — it’s one of the more stunning views in the area, showing off the spectacular Upper Hood River Valley at its finest.

October: The upper Hood River Valley from a lesser-known viewpoint on Middle Mountain

For November, I chose a photo of Wahclella Falls on Tanner Creek taken a year ago (below), in early November 2012. Why? Because the monsoons we experienced in September of this year really did a number on the fall colors. Foliage was battered by the winter-like weather, and trees were deprived of the normal autumn draught conditions that help put the brilliance in our fall.

November: Tanner Creek as it would normally appear in early November

The result of our cold, wet September was a very early leaf fall and generally muted fall colors, as can be seen in these views of Wahclella Falls taken from the same spot at almost the same time of year in 2012 and 2013:

Our rough September weather in 2013 was devastating to autumn foliage

Finally, a winter scene along the East Fork of the Hood River (below) wraps up the 2014 calendar as the December image. This photograph was taken from the footbridge leading to Cold Spring Creek and Tamanawas Falls, and was captured on the same day as the opening January image in this year’s calendar.

December: The East Fork Hood River in winter

Among the missing elements in this year’s calendar are scenes from the Cloud Cap area and Cooper Spur, on Mount Hood’s north side. This is largely due to the indefinite closure of the historic Cloud Cap Road, abruptly announced by the Forest Service earlier this year.

This road closure had a big impact on recreation. While it’s possible for seasoned hikers to make the much longer trek from the nearby Tilly Jane trailhead, for most (especially families and less active hikers), it means that Cooper Spur and the spectacular views of the Eliot Glacier will have to wait until another year.

Cloud Cap Road in 2010: salvage logging slash lines the road two years after the Gnarl Fire swept through in August 2008

The reason for the Cloud Cap Road closure is a bit more worrisome: five years after the Gnarl Fire roared through the area — and four years after an extensive salvage logging operation toppled hundreds of “hazard” trees along the road — the Forest Service has decided that standing trees must once again be felled in order to “protect the public”.

Oddly enough, the road remains open to hikers, skiers and cyclists — apparently because the hazardous trees only fall on cars? We can only hope that the scars from this latest “improvement” don’t further degrade the historic road, when huge piles of slash were left behind, where they still line the old road.

One that didn’t make it…

Metlako Falls (from the wrong side of the fence)

The above view of Metlako Falls on Eagle Creek was in my folder of favorite 2013 images to include in the annual calendar, but I decided to save the scene for another year. Why? Because in July, I headed up a mighty (okay, two-man) Trailkeepers of Oregon crew to clear out the brush that has blocked safe viewing of Metlako Falls for many years.

Previously, the only way to capture a photo like the one above, photographers had to step OVER the cable hand rail, and stand perilously close to the 200-foot brink dropping into the Eagle Creek Gorge. The hazard to hikers was bad enough, but the “sweet spot” for photos was so over-used that it was starting to erode the ground underneath it, potentially destabilizing the rest of the cliff-top Metlako Falls overlook.

Chris Alley was one half of the TKO crew, and the only hiker with a 16-foot pole pruner on the Eagle Creek Trail that day!

The solution was straightforward: the Gorge unit of the Forest Service approved our plan to trim the offending brush using a 16-foot pole saw. This kept us safely on the uphill side of the cable fence, with just enough reach to clip the brush.

The task at hand: trim overgrown brush and maple limbs

With my Trailkeepers partner Chris Alley along for the project, we made quick work of the offending branches on a rather hot, sticky day. After a couple hours of sawing and lopping, Metlako Falls was once again safely in view! This is a project I’d wanted to do for awhile, so it was great to finally have it sanctioned as a Trailkeepers of Oregon project.

The author: “I can see clearly now (the brush is gone)!”

Now, I’m looking forward to next spring, when I’ll head up there during the waterfall prime time to re-capture the scene — safely, this time! I’ve already been back this year, and enjoyed seeing casual hikers admiring the unobstructed falls, snapping photos on their iPhones.
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The thirteen images I chose for the 2014 calendar are from a few thousand images I’ve taken this year on close to 50 outings to Mount Hood and the Gorge! As always, the magnificent scenery only strengthened my conviction that Mount Hood should (and will!) be set aside as a National Park! Hopefully, the scenes in the calendar continue to make the case, as well.

How can you get one?

The new calendars are available online:

2014 Mount Hood National Park Calendar at CafePress

They are large and functional, measuring 17” across by 22” tall when hung, with plenty of room for writing notes and scheduling activities. CafePress packages them carefully, with each calendar sealed against a corrugated cardboard backing for support. You can also order them with gift wrapping at additional charge.

The calendars sell for $29.99 + shipping, with about 25% of the proceeds going to support the Mount Hood National Park Campaign. They make terrific stocking stuffers (…although you’ll need an 11×17” stocking…), and CafePress now makes it even easier by offering PayPal as an option.

And as always, thanks for your support of the blog and the campaign!

Camera Talk: A Trip to Punch Bowl Falls!

June 22, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 2 Comments

This fascinating 1920s postcard features hikers standing on the cliff above the falls and a huge gravel bar that has since disappeared

This is the second in a pair of articles for weekend photographers on how to get professional images with the use of a polarizer filter, tripod… and wet feet! In this article, we travel to iconic Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek, one of the many national park-worthy jewels along the Mount Hood loop, and a scene known around the world through posters, art photography and advertising images.

The scene at Punch Bowl Falls hasn’t changed much since this 1960s tourism photo was captured

Punch Bowl Falls has been a popular hiking destination since the completion of the Eagle Creek Trail in 1919, a three-year construction effort of epic stature. The trail is a marvel of engineering and audacity, blasted into sheer cliffs and behind waterfalls as it traverses up the Eagle Creek canyon. A short spur trail drops to Punch Bowl Falls, where wading is required to view the falls in winter and spring.

Punch Bowl Falls has long been a favorite subject for photography, including pioneering Oregon photographers Ray Atkeson and Al Monner, who visited the falls as early as the 1930s and 40s. Today, you can find Punch Bowl falls in dozens of mass-produced calendars, books and art prints, yet it’s always a thrill to capture your own image of the famous falls.

“The Log” still blocked the view in this scene from 2008

In the late 1990s, “the log” appeared in front of Punch Bowl Falls, frustrating photographers for a decade until it was swept away in the winter of 2008-09. Today, the falls once again presents itself in magnificent form, just as it has appeared to visitors for nearly a century.

Photographing Punch Bowl Falls

Pick an especially gloomy day for your trip to Punch Bowl Falls — the more overcast, the better!

Punch Bowl Falls always looks beautiful, but capturing the beauty with your camera requires some skill. Anyone can capture a professional-looking, slow-shutter photograph of Punch Bowl Falls by following these basic steps:

Step 1: Pick an overcast day. For slow-shutter photography, bright sun is your enemy. Even with a polarizer filter (see previous article), direct sun will blow out your highlights, produce uneven, high-contrast lighting and reduce the vivid colors that long exposures usually capture.

The following photo pair of images from Weisendanger Falls on Multnomah Creek shows the difference. Both exposures were taken from the same spot and at the same shutter speed on a day when the sun was coming and going behind fairly heavy clouds:

Direct sun blows out the highlights on the foliage while leaving other parts of the image in dark shadows

The same scene with overcast conditions a few minutes later, with much less contrast and much better color saturation

The “sun” sample could be even worse: had the sun been shining directly on the bright white of the waterfall, it would have completely blown out any detail.

Another advantage of going on a grey, wet day is that you’ll be less likely to have crowds at the falls. Most people flock to the waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge when the sun is out, which also happens to be the worst time to photograph them! Ideally, pick an overcast, mid-week day for this trip and there’s a good chance that you’ll have the place to yourself for at least awhile. On a recent, somewhat misty Wednesday afternoon, I was the only person photographing the falls for a period of nearly 2 hours!

Step 2: Pack the “four essentials”. Photographing Punch Bowl Falls from stream-level usually requires wading into Eagle Creek. So in addition to the standard (1) tripod and (2) polarizer filter needed for slow-shutter photography, you’ll also want (3) a pair of wading shoes or sandals so that you won’t be squishing back to your car in a pair of soggy boots and (4) a hiking pole to help keep you upright as you negotiate the stream.

Packed for a trip to the middle of Eagle Creek

While it’s possible to wade barefoot, or even wear a pair of flip-flops, the bottom of the creek is uneven, slippery and has enough sharp rocks to make something more substantial on your feet a better solution. Remember, you’ll be standing in the creek for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how many photos you take… and how long your feet can tolerate the 45 degree water!

Yes, you will look ridiculous — but your photos will be amazing!

Step 3: Timing and finding the right spot. If you haven’t been to Punch Bowl Falls before, it’s easy to find. Follow the Portland Hikers guide to Eagle Creek, and after crossing Sorenson Creek on a series of large, round concrete stepping stones, watch for a sign at a sharp bend in the trail pointing to “Lower Punchbowl”.

This spur trail drops one-quarter mile to the banks of Eagle Creek, where you will pass directly above 15-foot Lower Punch Bowl Falls on a somewhat slippery bedrock shelf (watch your step!). From here, head directly across a broad, cobbled beach toward the mossy opening where Eagle Creek seems to emerge from the cliffs. Punch Bowl Falls is set into a huge cavern in these cliffs.

During periods of heavy runoff, much of the beach below Punch Bowl Falls is underwater, and it’s not safe to wade into the creek — save it for another day!

During heavy runoff in spring, much of the rocky beach is underwater, and it’s not possible to safely wade out to the view of Punch Bowl Falls. As a rule of thumb, you should never venture above your knees in fast moving water, or you risk getting swept into the stream… and in this case, over the lower falls!

If you reach the bedrock section above Lower Punch Bowl Falls and water levels force you to duck and dodge among the logs and brush above the beach, then you should simply save the Punch Bowl Falls view for a better day, when water levels are lower. You’ll still have a beautiful view of the lower falls and the gorgeous grotto that surrounds this section of Eagle Creek, with plenty to photograph. After all, there is no such thing as a bad day to be at Eagle Creek, and it’s always best to err on the safe side when it comes to fording streams.

The classic view of Punch Bowl Falls is captured near the large hollow in the cliff shown in this photo

If water levels are low enough, you’ll likely see a little “jetty” of rocks piled in the creek by photographers and hikers who have preceded you, and you might be able to get a photo of the falls without having to wade. Later in summer, you can usually get to the falls view without leaving dry land at all. But for optimum water levels and the most vibrant foliage, it’s best to go from mid-May through mid-June, when you’ll almost certainly be wading for your photos of Punch Bowl Falls.

Assuming water levels are safe, it’s time to put on your water shoes, put your camera on your tripod, extend your tripod’s legs, grab your hiking pole and head out into the stream. Look across the creek for a large, rounded hollow in the opposite cliff (see photo, above) and aim for this part of the stream. When the falls comes into view, simply pick the spot that looks best to your eye.

Photographer standing in Eagle Creek for the “classic” shot of Punch Bowl Falls

Step 4: Setting up your shot. Once you’ve picked your spot in the stream, it’s time to set up your tripod and get started! If you’ve got a DSLR camera, you’ll want to have a lens somewhere in the 11-42 mm range for this scene. Any point-and-shoot will cover enough range, as well — provided you have threads for a polarizer filter (see previous article).

The classic falls view shown below is the conventional straight-on look into the huge cavern that holds Punch Bowl Falls, but you can vary your composition, of course. Once you’ve framed your image, adjust the polarizer to reduce glare and set the focus.

The “classic” view of Punch Bowl Falls that photographers from around the world come to capture

Next, using your DSLR or point-and-shoot on manual mode, you’ll want to set the shutter speed for 1/2 second to start with. Longer exposures will create a more smoothed shape for the falls, but are usually too long to shoot without adding a light-reducing filter. Exposures shorter than 1/4 second can result in lumpy details on the falls, but there’s no harm in experimenting with different exposures.

Finally, instead of pressing the shutter button on your camera, try using the timer, instead. Most cameras have 2-second and 10-second settings. Using the 2-second timer allows the camera to stop vibrating from your finger pressing the shutter, creating a super-sharp image.

For a less traditional shot, try setting your lens to a very wide field of view and placing the falls off-center — or, try a vertical shot that captures some of the tall trees behind the falls. The only limits are your creativity… and the degree of numbness in your feet!

A less traditional, super-wide view of Punch Bowl Falls captures some stream details

After you’ve captured your classic images of Punch Bowl Falls, be sure to spend some time photographing the magnificent scenes below the falls, including Lower Punch Bowl Falls. You can also stop by the short spur to the Metlako Falls viewpoint on the way back to the trailhead for another classic photo opportunity. Eagle Creek is a truly remarkable place with world-class scenery, and it’s easy to spend hours here capturing the beauty in images.

The beautiful grotto below Punch Bowl Falls is well worth photographing, too!

Once you’re back home and downloading your images, you’ll discover that following the steps in this article will deliver terrific images right out of the camera, with little need for photo editing.

All you need to do now is pick the one that you’re going to print and frame!

Camera Talk: Using Polarizer Filters

June 16, 2013June 22, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 1 Comment

Composite comparison of polarized and un-polarized images of Mount Hood

This is the first in a pair of articles on using a polarizer filter to greatly improve your photographs. It’s something that almost any weekend photographer (like me) can do easily and inexpensively. Polarizer filters are especially important for photographs of mountains, waterfalls and flora. In other words, the very things that we seek out when exploring Mount Hood and the Gorge!

The concept of a polarizer filter is straightforward: it consists of a pair of glass filters that rotate for optimal effect. The purpose of a polarizer is to screen out glare from reflective surfaces — rocks, water, leaves, clouds — allowing the true colors of your subject to pass through to your camera’s sensor (or film).

With a digital SLR, you can fine-tune the degree of filtering with great subtlety, but even with an electronic viewfinder you can still see the effects with many point-and-shoot cameras. Cameras with a threaded filter mount are ideal for using a polarizer filter. Though a bit more awkward to manage, you can even get decent results by simply holding a filter in front of the lens on a camera without filter threads!

Circular polarizer filter

For digital cameras, you need a circular polarizer (and almost all polarizer filters are now of this type). These include a second stage of filtering designed for digital sensors. You also need to know the filter mount size of your camera threads — printed on the lens with a digital SLR and in the specs or on the camera body for other digital cameras that include threads for attaching a filter.

A consumer-grade polarizer will set you back $30 to $50, with the price proportional to diameter of the filter. You can buy these filters at any camera store, and excellent brands like Tiffen and Hoya are both affordable and widely available in stores and online.

When should you use your polarizer?

Professionals frown on leaving a polarizer on your camera unless you’re using it for a specific shot, as these filters reduce the amount of light available to the camera — and in theory, more glass in front of your lens impacts the quality of your images. This makes sense… if you’re a professional.

But for weekend photographers (like me), it’s just easier to leave them on when you’re using your camera in the outdoors. This is because most polarizer filters (like the one pictured above) double as UV filters, meaning that you can use a polarizer in place of the UV filter that is standard protection for a digital SLR lens. But if you’re shooting in low light, it’s probably a good idea to switch to a UV filter, especially if you’re taking hand-held shots. Simply carry both with your camera if you do need to switch.

Too many stacked filters left vignetting in the corners of this image of Newton Creek and Mount Hood

You can also attach a polarizer to the outside of your UV filter, “stacking” them. This is convenient, but has tradeoffs. First, three layers of glass in front of your lens could affect your image quality, or even the ability of your camera to auto-focus. Second, the thickness of stacked filters can create a “vignette” effect on your images (see example, above), where the edge of the filters encroaches on the corners of your image. So, it’s usually best to just use one filter at a time, and thus my habit of keeping the polarizer on whenever I’m shooting outdoors.

The following are some tips for using a polarizer in the three most useful situations: mountains, waterfalls (and streams) and flora. Try it, and you will be amazed at your results from this simple piece of equipment!

Mountain Photography

Mountain photography usually involves capturing wildly divergent colors and contrasts. A typical summer scene on Mount Hood might range from bright white snow to nearly black shadows, with a rainbow of colors between. Add reflective glare and atmospheric haze, and what might seem like stunning images out on the trail too often results in disappointment when you get home to discover the muddy, washed-out images that your camera captured.

A polarizer filter does a terrific job of remedying these challenges. Simply attach the filter to your lens or camera, and adjust by turning the outer ring while watching through your viewfinder (or on your monitor). You’ll be amazed at the vibrant colors hiding behind the glare and haze!

While a polarizer can do great things for color, keep an eye on the sky as you adjust your polarizer setting. A polarizer filter has its maximum effect when the sun is at 90 degrees to the scene being captured — in other words, when the sun is directly to your left or right as you shoot. This can result in a unnatural banding of the sky, with an intensely saturated band running vertically at that 90 degree point (see example, below).

This image of Mount Hood from Elk Cove is a typical example of over-polarizing an early evening image

Over-polarizing the sky is generally a problem when the sun is at a low angle early or late in the day. Unfortunately, this also happens to be the sweet spot for landscape photography, when softer colors and long shadows combine to make for the most dramatic photo. What to do?

The best plan is to compensate for this banding effect by simply dialing back the filter to a point where you’re still getting improved colors, but without overly distorting the sky color. It’s a tradeoff, but worth doing in the field, as correcting an image with over-polarized sky is tricky using a photo editor. In the end, you’ll still have much better colors using the polarizer, even if not to its full effect.

Some before and after comparisons…

Here are some paired mountain scenes, taken with and without the aid of a polarizer filter. The results speak for themselves: better contrast, more intensely blue skies, better mountain colors and more saturated flora and forests. The only difference in these paired images is the polarizer setting!

First up, Mount Hood and the Muddy Fork valley from Bald Mountain. Note the improved color saturation throughout:

Next, the upper Hood River Valley from Middle Mountain. Notice the improved detail on the flanks of the mountain, where glare hides both colors and contrast on the unfiltered image:

And finally, the White River Canyon. Notice how much more vibrant the Lupine in the foreground are, and how well the clouds are defined in the polarized image:

Waterfall Photography

Where mountain photography is usually best when the sun is shining, waterfall photography is just the opposite. Overcast conditions reduce the amount of glare, and the darker conditions help avoid “blowing out” the bright whites of falling water in your photos. This is especially true when taking a long exposure for that professional-looking, streaked effect.

Yet, even in overcast conditions, the amount of glare reflected off leaves, rocks and water is substantial, and can greatly affect your waterfall photographs. Correcting for glare is easy with your polarizer: simply rotate the ring until reflections from these surfaces fade away. The degree to which you filter out glare is a matter of personal taste, but using your polarizer at the highest setting will produce an amazingly vibrant, striking image.

This 1/2 second exposure of Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek was captured with only a polarizer

Polarizer filters have a dual benefit for waterfall photography, because they also reduce the total amount of light reaching your camera sensor. Normally, this is a minus for photographers, but when you’re taking long waterfall exposures (usually from 1/2 to 1/8 second), a polarizer can take the place of additional light-reducing filters needed to shoot that slowly in daylight. While

Though I carry the additional light-reducing filters, I rarely need them for waterfall photography, as a polarizer filter is generally enough for exposures up to 1/2 second. For most digital SLRs and point-and-shoot cameras a circular polarizer (coupled with a tripod to keep your camera steady) is more than enough to allow you to shoot really professional waterfall images!

Before and after waterfall comparisons…

Here are a couple of paired waterfall images, each scene shot with and without a polarizer filter. Like the mountain scenes, the only difference is the use of a polarizer.

First, Upper McCord Creek Falls in the Columbia Gorge. Notice the difference in reflection from leaves in the foreground and background:

Next, Metlako Falls on Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge. Notice the difference in reflection and color saturation on the maple leaves at the left side of the image:

Photographing Flora

If you enjoy photographing flora, a polarizer is a great way to reduce glare and improve color saturation — especially in wet weather, when leaves are shiny and reflective with moisture. Often, using a polarizer filter to shoot flora means using a tripod, as close-up scenes often mean dark backgrounds.

The good news is that you’ll get a much better picture with a tripod! You’ll be able to compose and focus it more carefully, and use a much lower shutter speed than you could otherwise shoot, allowing for an even more sharp, saturated image.

A polarizer allows the droplets of rain to stand out on this very wet bramble leaf, not the reflection of the sky

The trick is to balance shutter speed with wind conditions. In perfectly still conditions, you can reliable shoot for up to 1/4 second without having a blurred subject from wind movement, but in somewhat breezy conditions, you’ll have to adjust to at least 1/60th of a second or faster to ensure that your subject isn’t visibly moving in the exposure.

Before and after flora comparisons…

Here are a couple of paired images that show how a polarizer can improve your flora photography. The first is a dry lady fern frond that still has a surprising amount of reflection (the difference in background focus resulted from the auto-focus responding differently to the polarizer settings):

A more dramatic difference is clear in this pair of images showing the glossy leaves of deer fern with and without a polarizer:

When shooting foliage or flora, your best bet is to choose a day with heavy overcast. A general rule of thumb is that if you can see even the most vague shadow of yourself on an overcast day, you’re going to be dealing with glare on foliage that a polarizer cannot fully compensate for.

The following pair of images taken along Eagle Creek in the Columbia Gorge shows the same scene under heavy overcast (May 29) and two weeks later, under bright overcast (June 29):

As you can see, the colors in the first image are much more saturated with a lot less glare, You can see the difference in the foliage in the background, in particular. Both images were shot at the maximum polarizer setting and with the same shutter speed.

Hopefully, these before-and-after images have encouraged you to investigate a polarizer for your camera — or giving another try to one that you already have. You will be glad you did, especially if you’ve though about experimenting with a tripod and slow shutter speed photography. Your photos will dramatically improve, and your main dilemma will be where to hang all those great new images you’re going to want to frame!
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Next up: a companion to this article will build on the use of polarizer filters in slow shutter speed photography, featuring a virtual field trip to iconic Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek, and tips on getting that perfect photograph!

Mount Hood Loop Interpretive Signs

March 2, 2013June 22, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 3 Comments

Original “Historic Oregon” sign at Barlow Pass in the 1940s (Wikimedia Commons)

One of the unexpected discoveries in launching the Mount Hood National Park Campaign in 2004 was the surprising number of people who think our mountain and gorge are already protected as a national park!

This tragic misconception is shared by newbies and natives, alike, so my conclusion is that it comes from the “park-like” visual cues along the Mount Hood Loop: the historic lodges, rustic stone work and graceful bridges along the old highway. There is also a surprising (if disjointed) collection of interpretive signs that you might expect to find in a bona fide national park.

The new (or restored?) sign at Barlow Pass in 2010

The interpretive signs around Mount Hood are an eclectic mish-mash of survivors from various public and private efforts over the years to tell the human and natural history of the area.

The oldest signs tell the story of the Barlow Road, the miserable mountain gauntlet that marked the end of the Oregon Trail. The above images show one of the best known of these early signs, a mammoth carved relief that stands at Barlow Pass (the current sign appears to be a reproduction of the original).

Less elaborate signs and monuments of assorted vintage and styles are sprinkled along the old Barlow Road route wherever it comes close to the modern loop highway: Summit Prairie, Pioneer Woman’s Gravel, Laurel Hill.

More recently, the Forest Service and Oregon State Parks have been adding much-needed interpretive signage along the Historic Columbia River Highway (as described in this article), an encouraging new trend.

Oregon State Parks interpretive panels are showing out throughout the Gorge

Thus, I was thrilled when the Forest Service Center for Design and Interpretation in McCall, Idaho contacted me last year about a new series of roadside signs planned for the Mount Hood Loop. They had seen my photos online, and were looking for some very specific locations and subjects.

In the end, the project team picked eight of my images to be included on a series of four interpretive signs. The following is a preview of the signs, and some of the story behind the project. The new signs should be installed soon, and hopefully will survive at least a few seasons on the mountain!

The Signs

The first installation will be placed somewhere along the Salmon River Road, probably near the Salmon River trailhead. This sign focuses on fisheries and the role of the Sandy River system as an unimpeded spawning stream for salmon and steelhead.

This sign will appear near the Salmon River (USFS)

(click here for a large view)

Part of the narrative for this sign focuses on the removal of the Marmot and Little Sandy dams, a nice milestone in connecting the network of Wild and Scenic Rivers in the Sandy watershed to the Columbia. A PGE photo of the Marmot Dam demolition in 2007 is included on the display, along with river scenes of the Sandy and Salmon. The Salmon River image on the first sign is the only one I captured specifically for the project, in early 2012. It’s a rainy winter scene along the Old Salmon River Trail.

The second sign will be placed at the Little Zigzag trailhead, located along a section of the original Mount Hood Loop highway at the base of the Laurel Hill Grade. The site already has an interpretive sign, so I’m not sure if this is an addition or replacement for the existing (and somewhat weather-worn) installation.

This sign will be located at the Little Zigzag trailhead (USFS)

(click here for a large view)

The content of the Little Zigzag sign is unique, launching into a surprisingly scientific explanation of how the negative ions created by streams and waterfalls feed your brain to give you a natural high! Not your everyday interpretive sign..! It also includes a decent trail map describing the hike to Little Zigzag falls, as well as other trails in the area.

The Forest Service used several of my images on this sign: views of Little Zigzag Falls, the Little Zigzag River and several botanical shots are incorporated into the layout.

The Little Zigzag Falls image has a bit of a back story: the Forest Service designers couldn’t take their eyes off a log sticking up from the left tier of the falls. To them, it looked like some sort of flaw in the image. I offered to edit it out, and after much debate, they decided to go ahead and use the “improved” scene. While I was at it, I also clipped off a twig on the right tier of the falls. Both edits can be seen on the large image, below:

(click here for a larger image)

I should note that I rarely edit features out of a photo — and only when the element in question is something ephemeral, anyway: loose branches, logs, or other debris, mostly… and sometimes the occasional hiker (or dog) that walks into a scene!

The third sign will be installed at the popular Mirror Lake trailhead, near Government Camp. Like the Little Zigzag sign, this panel has a trail map and hike description for Mirror Lake and Tom Dick and Harry Mountain.

A nice touch on Mirror Lake sign is the shout-out to the Children & Nature Network, a public-private collaborative promoting kids in the outdoors. I can’t think of a better trail for this message, as Mirror Lake has long been a “gateway” trail where countless visitors to Mount Hood have had their first real hiking experience.

This sign will be at the Mirror Lake trailhead (USFS)

(click here for a large view)

The Forest Service team used a couple of my photos in the Mirror Lake layout: a summertime shot of the lake with Tom Dick and Harry Mountain in the background, and a family at the edge of the lake, and a second “classic” view of alpenglow on Mount Hood from the lakeshore.

The fourth sign in the series focuses on geology. Surprisingly, it’s not aimed at familiar south side volcanic features like Crater Rock — a theme that was called out in some of the early materials the Forest Service sent me. Instead, this panel describes huge Newton Clark Ridge, and will apparently be installed at the Bennett Pass parking area.

This sign is planned for Bennett Pass (USFS)

(click here for a large view)

In a previous blog article, I argue Newton Clark Ridge to be a medial moraine, as opposed to currently accepted theory of a pyroclastic flow deposited on top of a glacier. The Forest Service interpretive panel mostly goes with the conventional pyroclastic flow theory, but hedges a bit, describing it as “remnant” of two glaciers… which sounds more like a medial moraine!

The Newton Clark Ridge sign also includes a description of the many debris flows that have rearranged Highway 35 over the past few decades (and will continue to). One missed opportunity is to have included some of the spectacular flood images that ODOT and Forest Service crews captured after the last event, like this 2006 photo of Highway 35 taken just east of Bennett Pass:

Missed opportunity: photo of the 2006 Newton Creek Floods (USFS)

The Forest Service used two of my photos for this sign, both taken from viewpoints along the old Bennett Pass Road, about two miles south of the parking area. One wrinkle in how well this sign actually works for visitors is the fact that Newton-Clark Ridge is only partially visible from the Bennett Pass parking lot, whereas it is very prominent from the viewpoints located to the south. Maybe this was the point of using the photos?

The real Newton Clark (1837-1918)

There is also a glitch in this panel that I failed to catch during the production phase: the hyphen between “Newton” and “Clark” in the title and throughout the text. There’s a lot of confusion about this point, but it turns out that Newton Clark was one person, not two: a decorated Civil War veteran who fought at Shiloh and Vicksburg, among many prominent battles, then moved to the Hood River Valley in 1887, where he was a local surveyor, farmer and early explorer of Mount Hood’s backcountry.

Newton Clark was part of the first white party to visit (and name) Lost Lake, and today’s Newton Clark Glacier and nearby Surveyors Ridge are named for him. The confusion comes from the subsequent naming of the two major streams that flow from the Newton Clark Glacier as “Clark Creek” and “Newton Creek”, suggesting two different namesakes. Hopefully, the local Forest Service staff caught this one before the actual sign was produced!

Strange Bedfellows?

I was somewhat torn as to whether to post this article, as it goes without saying that the WyEast Blog and Mount Hood National Park Campaign are not exactly open love letters to the U.S. Forest Service. So, why did I participate in their interpretive sign project?

First, it wasn’t for the money – there wasn’t any, and I didn’t add a dime to the federal deficit! I don’t sell any of my photos, though I do regularly donate them to friendly causes. So, even though the Forest Service did offer to pay for the images, they weren’t for sale.

One that won’t be built? This sign was originally conceived for Buzzard Point, near Barlow Pass, but it’s not clear if it made the final cut (USFS)

(click here for a large version)

In this case, once I understood the purpose of the project, it quickly moved into the “worthy cause” column, and I offered to donate whatever images the Forest Service could use, provided I see the context — and now you have, too, in this preview of the new signs!

I will also point out that the Forest Service project staff were terrific to work with, and very dedicated to making a positive difference. We’re fortunate to have them in public service, and that’s a genuine comment, despite my critiques of the agency, as a whole.

Here’s a little secret about the crazy-quilt-bureaucracy that is the Forest Service: within the ranks, there are a lot of professionals who are equally frustrated with the agency’s legacy of mismanagement. While I may differ on the ability of the agency to actually be reformed, I do commend their commitment to somehow making it work. I wish them well in their efforts, and when possible, I celebrate their efforts on this blog.

So you want to change the Forest Service from within..?

1960s visitors in Glacier National Park (NPS)

Given the frustrating peril of good sailors aboard a sinking ship, it turns out there are some great options for supporting those in the Forest Service ranks seeking to make a positive difference. So, I thought I would close this article by profiling a couple of non-profit advocacy organizations with a specific mission of promoting sustainable land management and improving the visitor experience on our public lands. I hope you will take a look at what they do, and consider supporting them if you’re of like mind:

The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) involved in the interpretation of natural and cultural heritage resources in settings such as national parks, forests, museums, nature centers and historical sites. Their membership includes more than 5,000 volunteers and professionals in over 30 countries.

Original “Historic Oregon” sign at Barlow Pass in the 1940s (Wikimedia Commons)

The Forest Service has a conservation watchdog group all its own, Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE), a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) based right here in Oregon. Their mission is to protect our national forests and to reform the U.S. Forest Service by advocating environmental ethics, educating citizens, and defending whistleblowers. The FSEEE membership is made up of thousands of concerned citizens, former and present Forest Service employees, other public land resource managers, and activists working to change the Forest Service’s basic land management philosophy.

I take great comfort in simply knowing that both organizations exist, and are actively keeping an eye on the Forest Service… from within!

Alva Day and the Lost Lake Highway

February 12, 2013June 22, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 3 Comments

Timeless classic: 1920s Postcard view of Mount Hood from Lost Lake

The Hood River History blog recently featured a series that caught my eye: a local family packing up their car for a camping trip to Lost Lake. The images were from a series captured in the 1939s and early 40s by Alva Luman Day, a local photographer whose legacy as a figure in Mount Hood history is only now beginning to emerge.

As happens with most history research, digging a bit deeper into the story of Alva Day’s camping trips to Lost Lake revealed more than a few surprises. This article is the story of how the modern-day highway to Lost Lake came to be, and how the life of Alva Day is intertwined in this story.

Alva Luman Day

Alva Day was born in 1887 in Colorado and moved to Oregon by the early 1900s. Day married Io Stewart in 1908, and they gave birth to their son Carroll Stewart Day in July 1910. Sometime after arriving in Oregon, Alva spent time in Alaska, though it is unclear whether his wife and young son traveled with him. But by 1918, he was back in Hood River to stay, working for Pacific Power and Light until he retired in the 1940s.

Alva Day clamming in Ketchikan – 1917 (Source: Hood River History)

The above photo from Hood River History shows a young Alva Day during his Alaska years, posing for his camera during a clam dig near Ketchikan in 1917. He was just shy of 30 years old in this photo, and about to make his permanent move to Oregon.

Alva Day was a skilled and prolific photographer. The History Museum of Hood River has more than a thousand of Day’s images in their collection. The Lost Lake series is typical of his photos, too. He had an eye for detail and composition, but with a journalist’s instinct for storytelling. He often added his own, handwritten notes to the back of his prints, gradually building a rich historic legacy that we are just beginning to appreciate today.

1920s postcard view of Lost Lake from nearby Raker Point

Alva Day’s family trips to Lost Lake by automobile were a relatively new phenomenon in the 1930s. A rough wagon road had been constructed in 1905, but soon fell into disrepair, and was never passable to automobiles. The new Lost Lake Highway had only been completed in the early 20s and was still unpaved when the Day family made their camping treks. In fact, most of the public lands around Mount Hood were still roadless at the time, as commercial logging (and its roads) would not emerge a major focus of the U.S. Forest Service until the 1950s.

Construction of the Lost Lake Highway began in 1919, spurred by construction of the new Mount Hood Loop Highway, and the excitement over the recently completed Columbia River Highway. The Lost Lake Highway was conceived as a joint venture between the U.S. Forest Service and Hood River County, climbing 14 miles from the company mill town of Dee to the lake. Roughly two-thirds the road was on county land, and the upper third inside the Oregon (later renamed Mount Hood) National Forest boundary.

Lost Lake is prominent on this 1920s map of the Mount Hood Loop (Source: The Oregonian)

The project got off to a rough start, and endured many setbacks and delays over four years of construction. From the beginning, there were worker shortages, with District Ranger Warren Cooper making trips to Hood River in September 1919 in search of men willing to join the effort:

“We are going to have the road finished for motor traffic by next summer if we can get help. We need ten men now” said Cooper at the time. But by November of that year, snow shut down road construction until the following spring of 1920.

By mid-summer of 1920, Forest Supervisor Thomas H. Sherrard had 12 workers pushing forward on the National Forest portion of the project in order to complete the final two miles to the lake. By September of that year, the Oregonian reported the construction to be “progressing fast” with the “gem of the Cascades to be open to auto travel next year.”

Hood River photographer Fred Donnerberg captured this image of the road under construction in the summer of 1920 (note the boxes of explosives in the background) (source: Hood River History)

Still more delays followed, with the “finished” road rough and still impassable to most cars by the end of 1921. With the route largely in place, a gravel surface would be added in the summer of 1922, finally making it a truly durable “highway” for auto travel. The Oregonian reported the completion of the clearing and grading phase in the fall of 1921 as follows:

“When the last charge of TNT was exploded, removing the last barrier of boulders and a giant fir stump, members of the 20-man forestry crew paused on the lake’s edge and gave a huzza that echoed and re-echoed through the forest. Then they cleared away the debris, the new road was open, and one of the gems of the Oregon National Forest was made accessible to motorists of the Hood River Valley, or their visitors from Portland, over the Columbia River Highway.

“The forestry crew broke camp today, closing the new dirt grade with a barricade of felled trees as they left the district… It is planned that the new grade of approximately five miles shall be surfaced with crushed rock next summer… The cost of grading the stretch, which penetrates a district of magnificent firs and cedars, was about $18,000.”

It turns out that Alva Day had an important role in the completion of the Lost Lake Highway, too. He was an avid sportsman, and secretary of the Hood River Game Protection Association at the time, one in a series of prominent roles he played over his life advocating for hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation.

Alva Day (left) overseeing the release of hatchery fry in 1933 (source: Hood River History)

The game association was a strong advocate for the project, promoting the idea and leading critical local fund-raising efforts for the county portion of the project in 1919 and 1920 to keep construction on track.

By the mid-1920s, thousands of cars were streaming up the dusty, gravel road to Lost Lake, and Alva Day was undoubtedly among the visitors. Responding to this instant popularity, the Forest Service gave the green light to several summer cabins and a small resort in the years that followed, and later constructed the beautiful campground we know today. Lost Lake was now a major tourism destination, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each year to its postcard shoreline views of Mount Hood, framed by ancient cedars.

Day Family Trips to Lost Lake

Alva Day’s involvement in the conception and completion of the Lost Lake Highway adds new meaning to the series of photos he captured on family outings to Lost Lake in the 1930s and 40s. He loved the lake, and according to Hood River History accounts, made these annual camping excursions every summer.

The Day family ready to go camping in 1938 (Source: Hood River History)

The Hood River History series of Lost Lake images begins with the above photo, captured in front of the Day family home in Hood River at 420 June Street. According to the Hood River History blog discussion, the house still stands. Note the hefty trailer behind the car — as subsequent photos in the series show, this is industrial camping!

A closer view of the Day family (Source: Hood River History)

Looking at the first image in a bit more detail, we see Alva Day on the left and Io Day on the right. The Hood River History blog discussion speculates that the two young women were the Day’s daughters (Helen and Emma) and the older man next to Io Day was her father. However, I wasn’t able to confirm this in any formal records.

Instead, official records show that Alva and Io Day had just one child, their son Carroll. Carroll married a Helen Colby in 1931, so the “Helen” speculated in this photo could be his wife. Sadly, Helen (Colby) Day died just nine years later, in 1947 (Carroll Day married again in 1948 to Aline Andrew, and both lived into the 1990s).

Snow at the lake? Not unusual in early summer (Source: Hood River History)

The next image in the Hood River History series is from an earlier trip, taken in 1933, but I’ve included it here because it wouldn’t have been unusual for early summer campers to encounter snowdrifts on the way to Lost Lake. On this earlier trip, it’s possible that Alva Day (on the left) and Io (center) were simply heading up for some early summer fishing, and not on a camping trip.

The Hood River History blog clearly identifies the man on the left in both of the previous photos as Alva Day, which raises a question: did he shoot these as self-portraits using a timer, or was someone else behind the camera? More on that in a moment…

Is this Alva and Io Day’s daughter-in-law? (Source: Hood River History)

A closer look at the 1933 photo clearly shows Io Day to be the same person as that pictured in the 1938 camping trip series. But the young woman next to her in the 1933 photo (above) also seems to be the same person standing near the stove (below) in this detailed look at the next photo in the series, captured in 1938:

Helen (Colby) Day five years later? (Source: Hood River History)

The similarity between these images, and lack of documentation on Alva and Io Day having more than one child leads me to speculate that we’re looking at Helen (Colby) Day, first wife of Alva and Io’s son Carroll. There is no birth date available for Helen (Colby) Day, but assuming she was roughly Carroll Day’s age, they would both have been in their mid-20s when these images were captured.

A wider view of the campsite scene (below) shows the rest of the family, and the impressive array of gear that filled up that trailer behind the family car! You can see still more detail on the original Historic Hood River image, but some of the intriguing highlights include the cook stove, wooden table, what appears to be a wood pantry or food box, and of course a canvas tent in the background.

Sharp-eyed viewers of this photo in the Hood River History blog also spotted bratwurst in one of the frying pans, a pile of discarded tin cans behind the stove (did they pack them out?) and a swimsuit and towels hanging to dry on the clothes line. Alva’s boat is tied up at the lakeshore, just beyond the table.

Camping in style at Lost Lake in 1938 (Source: Hood River History)

In this wider view, Alva Day is seated to the left, and next to him a young man that I will speculate is Carroll Day. The woman toward the back is clearly Io Day, with another unidentified young woman seated next to her. If the young man in the above photo is, indeed, Carroll Day, then I will also speculate that he was behind the camera in the previous two images, as well.

The next camping image is actually from 1941, but also fits the theme. In this view, Io Day is relaxing at the base of a large cedar tree, looking quite comfortable and content. On this outing, the wood stove is still there, and a wood picnic table has appeared. Were these provided by the Forest Service? Most interesting, of course, is the portable radio sitting on the table:

Io Day relaxing at Lost Lake in 1941 (Source: Hood River History)

A closer look (below) shows the radio in a bit more detail — likely a portable “farm radio” of the era, designed to run on batteries at a time when many rural areas were still without electricity, but within reach of radio broadcasts. Could they pick up Portland broadcasts at Lost Lake? Or possibly KODL 1440 in The Dalles, which began broadcasting in 1940?

Is Io listening to The Whistler? (Source: Hood River History)

Whatever the station, they would have been listening to popular suspense programs of the day like “The Whistler” and “The Shadow”, made all the more spooky by firelight in the middle of the forest!

Next in the series is another image from the 1938 outing that shows Alva Day in his unique paddleboat. The unidentified women from the previous campsite image is steering the boat and Alva is cranking the paddles. Mount Hood rises in the hazy background in this scene:

Alva Day’s boat at Lost Lake in 1938 (Source: Hood River History)

A closer look at the boat (below) shows the crank mechanism Alva is using to turn the paddles — an ingenious, if odd design!

A two man paddleboat? (Source: Hood River History)

The cedar branch in the upper corner shows this image was taken from shore — perhaps by Carroll Day… or Io? Setting up a timed self-portrait for this view would have been quite a feat, even for Alva Day.

Alva’s Lost Lake bounty (Source: Hood River History)

The final image (above) in the Historic Hood River series shows Alva Day’s sportsman side: an even dozen trout, presumably caught while camping at Lost Lake. A fitting finale to the Lost Lake camping series!

Alva Day’s Legacy

Alva Day’s role in the creation of the Lost Lake Highway is a mostly forgotten part of his legacy. But his roles in advocating for wildlife and in photographing the unfolding history of the Hood River region are only now being rediscovered and appreciated.
For more than three decades, Alva Day was a local leader for wildlife conservation in Hood River, and later was active in the formation of the Oregon Wildlife Federation and the Western Federated Sportsmen. During this period, he was also a contributor to The Oregon Sportsman, the monthly journal of the Oregon Game Commission.

It’s easy to forget how dire the need for wildlife conservation was at the time, and especially the role that hunters and fishermen played in the movement. For a century, the developing Northwest been dumping raw sewage into its rivers, filling the air with smoke, clearing the forests, scouring mountain streams with logging “splash dam” floods and overharvesting many species of game and fish. While we are still struggling to restore our native habitats and wildlife in our time, we have come a long way, already, thanks to the pioneering efforts of people like Alva Day.

Alva Day with his Pacific Power company car in 1929 (Source: Hood River History)

Alva Day’s photographic story of the Hood River area is perhaps his greatest contribution, and in time, is likely to be his most enduring legacy. The History Museum has hundreds of his prints in their collection, documenting everything from simple scenes of daily life to historic events, like the June 1927 flood that ravaged the town of Arlington, or the shameful day in May 1942, when hundreds Japanese Americans from the Hood River Valley were loaded onto trains and sent to World War II internment camps

This Hood River History blog project is now in the process of scanning many of Alva Day’s images, and using the blog to build an oral history for each image. This work allows all of us to have a window into the past and contribute to the continued documentation of our region’s history.

A Trip to Idlewild Cemetery

The Idlewild Cemetery in Hood River was established in 1894, and with more than 7,000 graves, is a treasure trove of local history. You can find Alva Day’s family here, too.

Idlewild Cemetery (source: findagrave.com)

Alva and Io Day were both born in 1887, and both died in 1955, after nearly 47 years of marriage. Io died in early January of that year, and Alva Day followed on November 15, 1955. Both are buried at the Idlewild, along with their son Carroll Day, whose ashes joined the family plot at the age of 81 in January 1991. Carroll’s second wife, Aline Day, died in 1995, and her ashes were also placed with Carroll and his parents at Idlewild.

Alva and Io Day and son Carroll and his wife Aline are at rest in the same plot (source: findagrave.com)

Alva Day’s parents, Emma and Charles Eugene Day, are buried at Idlewild Cemetery, too. Emma Day died in 1905 and Charles Day on May 17, 1908 — the same year that Alva and Io Day were married.

Alva Day’s parents Charles Eugene and Emma Day are also buried at Idlewild Cemetery (source: findagrave.com)

You can visit the Day family plot in Block 9, Lot 24. Idlewild Cemetery is on Tucker Road at Brookside Drive, and though located on a commercial strip, the back of the cemetery abuts orchards, so it makes for a pleasant and interesting afternoon of exploring.
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Postscript: Supporting Hood River History

Over the past couple of years, the History Museum of Hood River County has issued a series of terrific images in their Historic Hood River blog series. The history blog comes to us through the generous work of volunteers Arthur Babitz, Bill Pattison and Sally Donovan, and we are truly indebted to their efforts.

By creating this online archive of historic photos, the museum is providing an invaluable resource, free to the public. If you love history and the Mount Hood region, consider supporting the museum for their efforts. While the modest $5 museum admission fee helps support the museum, consider becoming a member to help provide ongoing support for their fine work as stewards of Hood River history.

The History Museum of Hood River County (source: History Museum)

The History Museum graciously granted permission to showcase the images included in this article, and I’m hopeful it will send a few visitors and donations in their direction.

The museum is now open after a year or major renovations. You can find it on East Port Marina Drive, accessed via Exit 64 on Interstate-84. The museum is located on the banks of the Hood River, near the prominent suspension footbridge visible from the freeway, and well worth the visit!
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Postscript: More on Alva Day from Hood River History

Arthur Babitz writes to say: “We actually have 2500 of his images, indicating an annual summer trip to Lost Lake for much of his adult life. There is an extended series showing construction of the bridge near the lodge building. He also participated in and photographed the Legion climbs of Mt. Hood for many years. We have hundreds of images he shot on those climbs. You’ll be seeing many more of them on the HHR blog.”

Thanks for all your fine work in bringing the Day photos back to life, Arthur!

2013 Mount Hood National Park Calendar

November 23, 2012June 22, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 2 Comments

Each year at about this time I assemble the Mount Hood National Park Scenic Calendar. The proceeds are modest, but do help support the Mount Hood National Park Campaign website, WyEast Blog and related project expenses. But the main purpose is to simply promote the national park concept, and make the case for the campaign with pictures.

What the calendar looks like – oversized 11×17” pages you can actually use!

I’ve published the calendars since 2004, so this year’s calendar marks the ninth edition. All of the photos in the calendar are from trips and trails I’ve explored over the past year. I get a surprising number of questions about the photos, so in addition to simply announcing the 2013 calendar, this article tells a bit of the story behind the new images — and some are surprising!

The 2013 Scenes

The cover image for the 2013 calendar is Upper McCord Creek Falls, located just west of Cascade Locks. This is a popular destination for Columbia Gorge lovers, though often overshadowed by its more famous downstream sibling, Elowah Falls.

Cover Scene: Upper McCord Creek Falls

Upper McCord Falls is unique in that it flows as a twin cascade. A little known fact is that a third segment used to flow during the rainy season as recently as the 1970s, just to the left of the two segments shown in the photo (above). The third segment has since been blocked by stream debris, however, so for now, Upper McCord is best known as a twin cascade.

The falls is popular with photographers, but in 2010 was briefly obstructed by a large treetop that had split from atop a nearby maple, landing perfectly on its head, directly in front of the falls. While the local photography community simply grumped and groaned about this unfortunate development, Gorge waterfall explorer and photographer Zach Forsyth did something about it: he scrambled down the slope, and neatly tipped the 40-foot up-ended tree on its side. Thus, Zach made this year’s calendar cover possible – thanks, Zach!

Upper McCord Creek Falls with “the stump” in 2010

Upper McCord Creek Falls is tucked away in the hidden upper canyon of McCord Creek, just a few hundred yards from the brink of Elowah Falls. The trail to the upper falls is especially spectacular, following a ledge chiseled into sheer cliffs in the early 1900s to pipe water to the former Warrendale Cannery, below (portions of the pipe system can be seen along the trail). The falls is hidden from view until you abruptly arrive at the dramatic overlook, directly in front of the falls – one of the finest and most unexpected scenes in the Gorge.

The January calendar scene is a wintery view of the rugged west face of Mount Hood, just emerging from the clouds after a fresh snowfall. This view was captured just a few weeks ago near Lolo Pass, as the evening light was briefly catching the summit.

January Scene: West face after an early winter storm

Like most “mountain in the mist” images, this one was a reward for patience: I waited for two chilly hours for the clouds to clear! It worth the wait, though I’ve also had my share of disappointments when that glorious glimpse of the mountain didn’t materialize.

For the month of February, I picked an image from a trip last winter along the Little Zigzag River. I had planned to snowshoe to Little Zigzag Falls from the Kiwanis Camp, but there were only about 18 inches of snow on the ground, much of it fluffy and new. So, I simply trudged through leaving some very deep boot prints in my wake — and happily, the only footprints on the trail that afternoon.

February Scene: Little Zigzag River in winter

The weather was extremely cold on this visit, revealing one of the surprising effects of running water in winter: it turns out the sheer volume of relatively “warm” water (that is, above freezing) flowing down the Little Zigzag river actually heats the narrow canyon, much like an old steam radiator heats a room.

Following this radiator analogy, the temperate gradient is most noticeable when air temperatures are really cold. It was about 12º F that day, yet the air right next to the stream, and especially in front of Little Zigzag Falls measured in at a “balmy” 30º F. I found myself peeling off layers while shooting the stream and falls, only to hurriedly put them back on as I ventured back down the trail and into the real cold!

For the month of March I chose another waterfall scene, this time the lush, verdant base of popular Latourell Falls in the Columbia Gorge.

March Scene: Latourell Falls in spring

On this visit to the falls, Oregon State Parks construction crews were starting work on several major upgrades to viewpoints along this busy trail. As a result, the most popular trailhead at the Latourell Wayside was closed. Instead, I took a back route to the falls and had the place to myself for the better part of an hour — nearly unheard of on what should have been a busy spring weekend at Latourell Falls.

The April calendar scene is from Rowena Plateau at the McCall Preserve, in the dry, eastern Columbia Gorge. The iconic yellow balsamroot and blue lupine were in peak bloom on this sunny afternoon in mid-spring, and the glassy surface of the Columbia River in the background reveals a rare day of calm in the normally windy Gorge. The very tip of Mount Adams peeks over the hills on the horizon, on the Washington side of the river:

April Scene: Balsamroom and lupine on Rowena Plateau

The trip to Rowena was especially memorable for me, as I was hiking with an old college friend who was visiting Oregon for a few days. Rowena was a great place to catch up on news and old memories.

My friend also happens to be an eminent geologist working for the federal government, so we had a great conversation about the mystery of “desert mounds” (also known as “biscuit scablands”), which found on Rowena Plateau and in other areas in the Columbia Basin (watch for a future WyEast Blog article on this subject…).

Hikers passing one of the mysterious desert mounds on Rowena Plateau

Continuing the balsamroot-and-lupine theme, the May scene in the new calendar comes from Hood River Mountain, a tract of private land that is (for now) open to the public, but at risk of closure, due to heavy use by hikers.

This is one piece of land that will hopefully come into public ownership someday, before a less responsible private owner places trophy homes on these beautiful slopes. I wrote about this unfortunate oversight in the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Act in this article from a few years ago.

May Scene: Hood River Mountain in May

On Memorial Day last spring, I made a trip to Dry Creek Falls, a beautiful waterfall saddled with one of the most unfortunate and uninspiring place names in the Gorge! The June calendar image is from that trip, and captures Dry Creek rambling through the forest a few hundred yards below the falls.

June Scene: (not so) Dry Creek in spring

This area has a unique history: an old, derelict diversion dam and waterworks survives at the base of the falls, where the City of Cascade Locks once tapped the stream for municipal water in decades past. Perhaps this is the origin of “Dry Creek” name — did the stream below the diversion actually go dry when the dam was installed? Perhaps, but today it flows year-round, and makes for a beautiful streamside hike in spring.

Dry Creek Falls and the remains of the old diversion dam and waterworks

The July scene in the 2013 calendar is from a trip to Elk Cove last August. This is one of my annual pilgrimages, and I have photographed this particular spot just east of Cove Creek too many times to count — yet I’m always excited to get there, and recapture the stunning scene.

July Scene: Summer wildflowers at Elk Cove

The wildflower bloom on Mount Hood was delayed by several weeks this year, so even though I was a bit late in visiting Elk Cove, there was still a bumper-crop of purple aster mixing with the blue lupine and mop-heads of western anemone, or Old Man of the Mountain.

Not visible in the calendar view of Elk Cove are the blackened forests directly behind me: the Dollar Fire of 2011 swept across a 5-mile swath along the northern foot of Mount Hood, charring the northern fringes of Elk Cove, including several large stands of mountain hemlock that frame the view from 99 Ridge.

The Dollar Fire burned a 5-mile swath across the north slope Mount Hood

Though it’s initially shocking to see healthy forests killed by fire, it is also part of the natural cycle of forest renewal. Thus, we’ll now have a front-row seat to the fire recovery process that will unfold over the coming years along the popular north side trails. I wrote this blog article on the Dollar Fire earlier this year.

For the August calendar image, I picked a less familiar scene from an otherwise popular hike: the soaring trail to the 8,514’ summit of Cooper Spur. To beat the crowds, I set my alarm for 3 AM and raced to the trailhead at Cloud Cap. I was the first to arrive at the string of dramatic viewpoints along the trail, and caught the first rays of sun lighting up the northeast face of the mountain.

August Scene: Eliot Glacier from Cooper Spur

This view is from the north shoulder of Cooper Spur, just below the summit, and looking into the impressive jumble of crevasses and icefalls along the Eliot Glacier. Though the sky was crystal clear (you can see the moon setting to the left of the mountain), the winds from the south were strong and blustery. So, getting this shot from the lee side of the spur also meant enjoying some respite from the intense wind and blowing volcanic grit.

For the September image, I selected a lesser-known view of the mountain: the remote and rugged Newton Canyon, on the southeast side, where Mount Hood has a broad, massive profile.

September Scene: Rugged Newton Creek Canyon on the east side of Mount Hood

Glacial Newton Creek is best known for the havoc it brings far below, where the stream has repeatedly washed out Highway 35 with violent debris flows that toss Toyota-size boulders and whole trees across the road in their wake. Construction crews were busy this summer completing yet another repair, this time for damage that occurred in the 2006 floods. As always, the new road is bigger and higher than the old. We’ll see if Newton Creek is persuaded to flow through the new series of larger flood culverts this time…

The October scene is from Wahclella Falls on Tanner Creek, a popular family hike that also provides terrific viewing of spawning salmon and steelhead in early autumn.

October Scene: Wahclella Falls in autumn

Fall colors were somewhat muted in 2012, thanks to an unusually long, dry summer that extended well into October. As a result, the broadleaf trees in many areas had already dropped a lot of leaves due to the stress of the drought, before they would even have a change to change with the seasons.

While fall colors at Tanner Creek were less affected by the summer drought, the autumn scene in this year’s calendar has to make due without without the help of the particular tree, the Wahclella Maple I wrote about earlier this year. You can see the hole it left by comparing this year’s image (above) and a 2010 image (below).

Wahclella Falls in 2010 with the Wahclella Maple still standing above the footbridge

Since 2007, I’ve made annual trips with friends and volunteers to tend to the Old Vista Ridge Trail on the north side of Mount Hood. This historic gem from the early 1900s was an overgrown, forgotten victim of the Forest Service clear-cutting juggernaut for some 40 years, but somehow managed to escape their chainsaws.

Volunteers re-opened the Old Vista Ridge Trail in 2007, spurred in part by a Forest Service scheme to turn the area into a playground for dirt bikes and ATVs — an appalling plan that was eventually abandoned, in part because the rediscovered trail had revealed the beauty of the area to so many.

In 2010, the trail became the official northern boundary of the expanded Mount Hood Wilderness, when President Obama signed a new wilderness bill into law. This change should close the door on future Forest Service threats to the area, and today the hike into one of the best on the mountain.

November Scene: Mount Hood from Owl Point

The November calendar scene is from a viewpoint along the Old Vista Ridge Trail known as Owl Point, the rocky outcrop with stunning views of the mountain. Bright red huckleberries light up the foreground in this scene, and the first dusting of snow highlights the mountain. In the distance, you can also pick out the browned forests on the slopes of Mount Hood, where the Dollar Fire swept across the base of the mountain in 2011.

The final image in the new calendar is another taken from Lolo Pass, perhaps one of the most spectacular views of Mount Hood. This image was taken just before sundown after a fresh snowfall had blanketed the mountain.

December Scene: Winter arrives at Lolo Pass

I paid the price for taking in the sunset that night at Lolo Pass, as my car was broken into at the trailhead – something I’d somehow managed to avoid in all my years of hiking! As frustrating as it was to deal with the repairs and lost belongings… I’d do it all over again just to spend those magical hours watching the mountain that night — it was truly breathtaking! Here, take a closer look, and see for yourself:

Mount Hood from Lolo Pass | 2012
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The thirteen images I chose for the 2013 calendar are from a few thousand images I’ve taken this year on something just shy of 40 outings to Mount Hood and the Gorge — a bit less time on the trail than a typical year would allow, but no complaints! As always, these adventures took me to new places and discoveries, as well as fond visits to my favorite old haunts.

And as always, the magnificent scenery further confirmed my conviction that Mount Hood should (and will!) be set aside as our next National Park! Hopefully, the calendar makes the case, as well.

How can you get one, you ask?

The new calendars are available online:

2013 Mount Hood National Park Calendar at CafePress

And as always, thanks for your support!
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Addendum: Gorge uber-Guru Scott Cook set me straight on a couple of comments in the above article:

Hey Tom, so of course I read your blog like a good Gorge denizen. A couple of points…I’m not trying to sound like a know-it-all…but I know that you do like to get at the bottom of things and eschew conjecture:

The pipes visible on the Upper McCord trail are from Myron Kelly’s pulp mill, not Warren’s cannery. There are some pix on my blog of Kelly’s mill and iterations of his pipes. I have another old pic too showing the pipe running along the cliff cleft, illustrating to me that the cleft was a pipeway instead of a WPA/CCC construction.

(author’s note: here’s a photo I shared with Scott that shows CCC crews clearing out the old waterline shelf to make way for the trail to Upper McCord Falls — note the Historic Columbia River Highway, far below, and the CCC crew bosses in full uniform)

…and, about Dry Creek falls, the Creek was called Dry Creek before the water works were installed. The reason is that just downstream of the PCT trail bridge, just down the access road 200yards, the creek dries up in the summer to nothing, just a dry creek bed as the creek goes subterranean until re-emerging downstream of the powerline corridor.

If you walk down the access road in the summer, the stream is of course flowing under the bridge, but when you walk downstream the sound goes away and you just figure the stream curved away from the road, but nope, if you bushwhack over just 100 feet you’ll see the dry stream…as you will if you continue down the access road also.

Down the (Dry Creek) access road is a bunker-looking building that was built in the 30’s to store the water from the stream’s waterworks for the city’s first municipal supply. The water shed is still in use today, but the water is pumped upwards into it from wells in the town below.

Next edition of Curious I’ll have Dry Creek Falls as a loop using the powerline access road…so people can learn the history and see the Dried-up Creek as well (cuz everyone loves a loop). Look for my pix on Google Earth of all this stuff and the dried-up creek. -Scott

Thanks, Scott!

The Wahclella Maple

July 27, 2012July 7, 2013 / Tom Kloster / 3 Comments

Autumn sunburst lights up the Wahclella maple in late 2011

Sometime last winter a picturesque bigleaf maple framing Wahclella Falls tumbled into Tanner Creek, likely under the stress of heavy snow or ice. In any other spot, this event might have gone unnoticed, but the Wahclella maple had the distinction of a front row seat at one of the most visited and photographed waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge.

“Change is the only constant. Hanging on is the only sin.”
-Denise McCluggage

Tanner Creek gorge is no stranger to change. In the spring of 1973, a massive collapse of the west wall, just below Wahclella Falls, sent a huge landslide into the creek, temporarily forming a 30-foot deep lake behind the jumble of house-size boulders. Today, the popular Wahclella Falls trail crosses the landslide, providing a close-up view of the natural forces that have created this magnificent place.

By contrast, the demise of the Wahclella maple is a very small change, indeed. But a closer look provides a glimpse into some of the more subtle changes that are part of the perpetually unfolding evolution this beautiful landscape. The following are nearly identical photos captured six years apart, in 2006 and 2012, and the changes over that short span are surprising:

[Click here for a larger view]

Comparing these images, one obvious change is in the stream, itself where (1) an enormous log has been pushed downstream by the force of Tanner Creek, testament to the power of high water. In the center of the scene (2) a young bigleaf maple has doubled in height, obscuring the huge boulder that once sheltered the tree, and on course to obscure the footbridge, as well. New growth is also filling in (3) along the new section of raised trail built on gabions in the 1990s (gabions are wire mesh baskets filled with rock, and were used to build up the trail along the edge of Tanner Creek)

The main change to this scene is the Wahclella maple (4), itself. Because the tree fell into a brushy riparian thicket, the fallen trunk and limbs have already been largely overtaken by lush spring growth of the understory. In a few short years, the fallen tree will disappear under a thick layer of moss and ferns, completing the forest cycle.

[Click here for a larger view]

But the story of the fallen Wahclella maple doesn’t end there, thanks to the unique adaptive abilities of bigleaf maple. Unlike most of our large tree species, bigleaf maple is prolific in sprouting new stems from stumps or upturned root balls. The massive, multi-trunked giants that appear in our forests are the result of this form of regeneration.

The Wahclella maple is already re-growing from its shattered trunk

[Click here for a larger view]

In this way, the Wahclella maple already seems to be making a comeback. With its former trunk still lying nearby, the shattered base of the tree has sprouted several new shoots this spring. In time, there’s a good chance that some of these shoots will grow to form a new, multi-trunked tree, perhaps one that is even more magnificent for future generations of photographers.

In the meantime, the old maple tree is a reminder that the beauty of the area is forever a work in progress, and how fortunate we are to watch the each stroke of nature unfold.

“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”
-Dean Acheson

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How to visit Wahclella Falls

Though hardly a secret anymore , the hike to Wahclella Falls remains a less traveled alternative to other short waterfall hikes in the Gorge. The trail is generally open year-round, though the best times for photography are in May/June, when spring greenery is at its peak, and in late October, when the bigleaf maples light up the forest with bright yellow and orange hues.

[Click here for a larger, printable version of this map]

This is a terrific family trail, thanks to several dramatic footbridges, two waterfalls, a staircase, caves (!) and several streamside spots safe for wading or skipping stones. Young kids should be kept close, however, since there are also some steep drop offs along sections of the trail. For kids, midweek in midsummer is a perfect time to visit.

Another fascinating time to visit with kids is during the fall spawning season, when the stream below the hatchery diversion dam is filled with returning salmon and steelhead within easy view of the trail.

Wahclella Falls is a family favorite

The trailhead for Wahclella Falls is easy to find. Follow I-84 east from Portland to Bonneville Dam (Exit 40), turning right at the first stop sign then immediately right into the trailhead parking area along Tanner Creek, where a Northwest Forest Pass is required. Portable toilets are provided at the trailhead from spring through early fall.

The trail begins at a gate at the south end of the parking area, and initially follows a rustic gavel road to a small diversion dam that provides water for the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. From here, the route crosses a footbridge in front of Munra Falls, and becomes a proper hiking path. Head right (downhill) at a fork in the trail 0.7 miles from the trailhead to begin the loop through the towering amphitheater surrounding Wahclella Falls, then retrace your steps 0.7 miles to the trailhead after completing the 0.6 mile loop portion of the trail. Enjoy!

2012 Mount Hood National Park Calendar

October 30, 2011June 22, 2013 / Tom Kloster

Each year at about this time I assemble the Mount Hood National Park Scenic Calendar. The proceeds are modest, but do help support the Mount Hood National Park Campaign website and related project expenses. The main purpose is simply to promote the project, and make the case for the campaign with pictures.

I’ve published the calendars since 2004, and the photos in each calendar are from trips and trails I’ve explored in the previous year. Thus, the 2012 calendar features photos I’ve taken on my weekly outings throughout 2011.

I get a surprising number of questions about the photos, so in addition to simply announcing the 2012 calendar, I thought I would dedicate this article to the story behind the images.

The 2012 Scenes

The cover image for the 2012 calendar is a world-class favorite: Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek (below), one of our iconic local scenes that is recognized around the world. The Eagle Creek trail is busy year-round, so I picked a Wednesday morning in June to slip in between the crowds, and had Punchbowl Falls to myself for nearly an hour.

Cover: Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek

In spring, this view requires wet feet — or waders — to shoot, as I was standing in about a foot of water and 30 feet from the stream bank to capture this image. I chose wet feet over waders, and to say they were numb afterward would be an understatement!

For the January calendar image, I picked this view (below) of the southeast face of Mount Hood, as seen from the slopes of Gunsight Butte. This was taken on a very cold afternoon last January on a snowshoe trip in the Pocket Creek area. This image benefited from some Photoshop editing, as I removed my own boot prints from the otherwise pristine snow in the foreground!

January: Mount Hood from near Pocket Creek

I try to reflect the seasons with the monthly photos as best I can, but the February image (below) of the Sandy Headwall in the new calendar is an example where the scene could be in mid-winter, but was really captured just a few days ago, with the first blanket of snow transforming the summit of Mount Hood.

February: The Sandy Headwall in early autumn

This close-up photo was taken from the slopes of Bald Mountain, near Lolo Pass on a brilliant autumn afternoon. It features a new camera toy I picked up this year, too — a 70-300mm telephoto lens that replaced my older, less powerful version.

For March, the calendar image (below) is from a June hike along the Hot Springs Fork of the Collawash River. The stream is known to many (incorrectly) as “Bagby Creek”, as it is home to the historic guard station and rustic bath houses at Bagby Hot Springs.

March: The Hot Springs Fork of the Collowash River

The Bagby area has been in the news this year because of an ill-conceived and controversial Forest Service plan to privatize the operations, but I hiked the trail for the beauty of the stream, itself. It’s a beautiful forest hike through old-growth forests and past lovely stream views, albeit very well traveled by the hordes of hot-spring seekers!

The April calendar scene (below) is one that few will ever see in person, as it features an off-trail view across little-known Brooks Meadow, on the high slopes of Lookout Mountain, east of Mount Hood. The day was especially memorable for the wildlife all around me as I shot the scene — elk bugling in the forest margins, hummingbirds moving through the acres of wildflowers and several hawks prowling the meadow from the big trees that surround it.

April: Brooks Meadow and Mount Hood

I featured Brooks Meadow in this article earlier this year, and was later disappointed to see closure signs posted at the public access points. So, until the policy changes, this view is officially off-limits to the public.

For the month of May, I picked a much-photographed view of Metlako Falls from along the Eagle Creek Trail (below). This view was captured on the same day as the Punchbowl Falls scene on the calendar cover.

May: Metlako Falls on Eagle Creek

A little secret among photographers is that a clean shot of Metlako Falls requires you to plant at least one foot on the scary side of the cable fence that otherwise keeps hikers from slipping over a 200 foot cliff. It’s perfectly safe… as long as you don’t fall! My main goal was to capture the scene with the spring flowers that appear in the lower left, something I’d admired in other photos.

2011 was a wet year with a persistent snowpack in the Oregon high country, so June hiking was still focused on the lowlands, and especially on waterfalls, which benefited from the runoff. In early June, I made a trip along the Clackamas River Trail to beautiful Pup Creek Falls (below), an impressive, lesser-known cascade tucked into a hidden side canyon, just off the main stem of the Clackamas. I profiled the hike in this WyEast Blog article.

June: Pup Creek Falls

For July, the scene is another familiar view — the sweeping panorama of Crown Point and the Columbia Gorge from Chanticleer Point, at Women’s Forum State Park (below).

In a typical year, this might have been a day for hiking in the mountains, but in 2011, the lingering snowpack persisted until the end of July. This image shows the resulting swollen, flooded Columbia, with spring levels of runoff continuing well into the summer.

July: Crown Point and the Columbia from Chanticleer Point

The high country trails finally opened in early August, and I followed one of my summer rituals with a hike to Cooper Spur, high above Cloud Cap Inn on the east slopes of Mount Hood. This view (below) is from the south Eliot Glacier moraine, just below the spur. I profiled a proposal for improving the Cooper Spur trail in this WyEast Blog article.

Not visible at this scale are the ice climbers who were exploring the lower Eliot Glacier icefall that day, in the right center of the photo.

August: Eliot Glacier and Mount Hood from the slopes of Cooper Spur

In September I was doing research on historic Silcox Hut, located about a mile and a thousand vertical feet above Timberline Lodge. The venerable structure was built in 1939 by the Works Progress Administration for a mere $80,000, and served for many years as the upper terminal of the original Magic Mile chairlift. The Friends of Silcox Hut restored the structure in the 1980s, and it was reopened for overnight guests in 1994.

Though I rarely include man-made structures in the calendar, this view of Silcox Hut (below) shows how the structure seems to rise up as part of the mountain, itself, in a triumph in architectural design. The worker on the ladder is part of a 2011 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) project to further restore the building for generations to come.

September: Historic Silcox Hut

In October, I usually scramble to capture early fall foliage images for the calendar. Mount Hood and a group of vine maples obliged this year in this view from Lolo Pass Road (below), captured just a few days ago on a beautiful Indian Summer day.

October: Mount Hood in Autumn from Lolo Pass Road

The November calendar scene (below) is from Lolo Pass, proper, taken in late October on a crisp evening just before sunset. The scene includes all of the ingredients that make autumn on Mount Hood so rewarding for photographers: the first blanket of snow had fallen at the highest elevations, while the meadows above timberline have turned to shades of read and gold. The mountain, itself, is wrapped in swirling autumn clouds. Spectacular!

November: Mount Hood at sunset from Lolo Pass

The final image in the new calendar is of Tamanawas Falls in winter (below). The falls are located on Cold Spring Creek, a major tributary to the East Fork Hood River, and this scene was captured last January while on a hike with an old friend visiting from Nevada. In this scene, rays of intermittent sunshine were lightening up mist from the falls, creating what can only be described as a “winter wonderland”! The hike to Tamanawas Falls is described in this 2008 WyEast Blog article.

December: Tamanawas Falls on Cold Spring Creek in winter

The thirteen images I chose for the 2012 Mount Hood National Park Calendar were narrowed from 117 images that I had set aside over the course of 2011. These were the “best” of several thousand images taken on something upward of 50 outings to Mount Hood and the Gorge. As always, these adventures took me to new places and discoveries, as well as my old haunts.

And as always, the magnificent scenery further confirmed my conviction that Mount Hood should be set aside as our next National Park! Hopefully, the calendar makes that case, as well.

Where can I get one?

The 2012 calendars are available now at the Mount Hood National Park Campaign store. They are large and functional, measuring 17” across by 22” tall, with plenty of room for writing notes and scheduling activities. They sell for $24.99, with about 25% of the proceeds going to support the Mount Hood National Park Campaign.

Thanks for your support!