Oregon 2024: Eagle Creek Trail - 7/25/24 - 8.1 Miles
Who wants to hike on an iconic Columbia River Gorge trail through a basalt canyon with towering cliffs, dramatic waterfalls and old-growth forest that is healing from a devastating wildfire? Hands raised! Very excited for this hike that a friend recommended. The descriptions of narrow high balconies and cable assists didn’t intimidate Jim and me – it can’t be as scary as the Alta Via 1 that we conquered not long ago (truth).
Eagle Creek trailhead parking fills up quickly but the early bird gets the spot. The trail starts right beside Eagle Creek, sparkling in the early light. The Pacific Northwest’s lushness of flowers, ferns and mosses covered rock walls and trail edges.
Oregon grape, edible when cooked as a jam or jelly (bitter if eaten raw)
Looking across the gorge, bare tree trunks hint at the devastation left by the Eagle Creek Fire of 2017. The understory is recovering but regenerating trees will take decades longer.
History: On Labor Day 2017, in dry fire ban conditions, a teenager tossing lit fireworks on the trail ignited a fire that destroyed 50,000 acres of the forest. Over 150 hikers were stranded and ultimately safely evacuated. The fire burned for 3 months before final containment and the trail was closed for more than 3 years for clearing and rebuilding.
The trail follows the curve, jutting out into the gorge. It climbs very gently, almost imperceptibly,just 778 feet over the 4 miles we walked going out.
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At about 2 miles, Lower Punchbowl Falls comes into view, two cascades flowing together into a pool. We followed a side trail down into the gorge for a closer look. BUT there was an impressive log jam near the far end of the pool, suspended above the creek when the water flow receded. We were not tempted to walk out on the logs for a clearer view of the falls.
By now other hikers were catching up to us. Just a hop, skip and a jump further along the trail we heard thundering Punchbowl Falls. At the first obvious overlook, the view was partially obscured, but a little further around the bend was The. View. There was a sketchy side scramble towards the base but we didn’t try it.
Eagle Creek Trail continues to rise along the eastern side of the gorge, more balcony stretches, more flowers and ferns, more fire damage. We crossed Tish Creek Bridge and Fern Creek Bridge.
At 3.2 miles, High Bridge comes into view as it crosses to the right/western side of the gorge. High Bridge was also damaged in the fire (floorboards burned away) and was replaced in 2019. We stopped for a snack break after we crossed it.
Looking upstream, the steep rock walls were glistening with moisture and covered with moss and fern, a semi-circular amphitheater draped in streamers of green from top to bottom
A short distance past the Tenas Camp area we decided to turn around to allow time for afternoon explorations. There is much more to see if we’d kept going, but we put this one in the “coming back someday” column.
The hike back was quicker, the sun high enough now to light things up – and it got hot! I completely forgot about sunscreen and paid for it later when the tender tips of my ears were scorched.
Different direction, different view:
After a quick stop back at our Airbnb in Hood River, we pulled out the Fruity Loop map, a 35-mile self-guided driving route of farm fruit stands, flower stands, and wineries/cideries/breweries. No way could we stop everywhere! We narrowed it down to one winery, one cidery, and one brewery.
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"Inevitably, a long distance hiker must choose between travelling light and not travelling at all."
~Earl V. Shaffer
