That looks all too familiar. That particular spot might be one of the nicest streamscapes in the whole Gorge. I think maybe two or three other locations between there and the falls upstream were as photogenic - at least as I saw it in between getting rained on last month. A nice shot indeed.
Brian, thanks......how far is the Falls up there...I think we probably walked at least 2 miles up this creek and finally turned around because we did not know if it was going to lead to a Waterfall....
2 miles? Thats Moffett Creek, right? You couldn't have been more than 1/4 mile above the Gorge Trail where you took that and the falls are only about 2/3 of a mile up from the footbridge.
Bryan.....we started from I-84 and headed south up the creek....it sure felt like we were about 2 miles up....but I could be wrong.....do you have a pic you could post of the falls.....I would appreciate it!
Yeah, Tom, Greg and I started at 84 also. Topo maps place the total distance from the pullout on 84 to the bottom off Moffett Falls at about 300 feet short of 2/3 of a mile. I think it feels a lot longer because there is so much rock hopping and stream fording necessary. Did you make it to the clump of big boulders?
Yeah, well if you made it to where there are three or four big dump truck sized boulders lying in the streambed, then you would have been literally less than 500 feet away from the falls. Its right around the corner from those big boulders.
Bryan, I was thinking about Moffett yesterday when we were heading up to Middle Bridal Veil -- thankfully, it wasn't raining, because we were basically tunneling through the fully leafed-out salmonberry, thimbleberry, devil's club, etc. It's amazing how much difference it makes to do these canyon-floor trips in early April vs. later in the season. I suspect Darren's trip up Moffett was a bit thornier than ours..!
We've always done Cast Creek in April for the same reason - the devils club in that particular creek bottom is especially gnarly, but the entire route is packed with very dense brush, due to the somewhat open forest canopy (like Bridal Veil, come to think of it). The waterfalls aren't quite as lush at that time, but it makes the trip a heck of a lot more pleasant!
Really nice shot, Darren - that is, indeed, a pretty spot. The photo on the Portland Hikers link shows Greg and Bryan shooting this very scene (in the rain). One suggestion would be to include just a bit more of the mossy wall on the right, and just a bit less of the scene on the left.
Another suggestion that isn't really a critique, but more of a personal preference (possibly obsessive-compulsive, for that matter) is to consider pouring water over bone-dry rocks that end up being otherwise bright and distracting in the foreground. In this view, that would include the flat, moss-less rock in the lower right and the trio of moss-less cobbles middle left. I'd probably have given the mossy boulders in the lower right and left the same treatment. For me, the focal point in this image is the pile of rocks under the angled tree, and the lightness of the dry foreground rocks pulls away from that.
Your title on this thread made me smile - I actually counted 29 people milling around Ponytail Falls yesterday, thanks to a giant church group descending on the trail...! Ugh!
Discussion
11 repliesThese colors are pretty much right on....
Ned and Tim,
I had a great time today exploring new grounds!!!
Cheers
Thanks
D
http://portlandhikers.com/photos/portland_hikers/images/17350/original.aspx
We've always done Cast Creek in April for the same reason - the devils club in that particular creek bottom is especially gnarly, but the entire route is packed with very dense brush, due to the somewhat open forest canopy (like Bridal Veil, come to think of it). The waterfalls aren't quite as lush at that time, but it makes the trip a heck of a lot more pleasant!
Really nice shot, Darren - that is, indeed, a pretty spot. The photo on the Portland Hikers link shows Greg and Bryan shooting this very scene (in the rain). One suggestion would be to include just a bit more of the mossy wall on the right, and just a bit less of the scene on the left.
Another suggestion that isn't really a critique, but more of a personal preference (possibly obsessive-compulsive, for that matter) is to consider pouring water over bone-dry rocks that end up being otherwise bright and distracting in the foreground. In this view, that would include the flat, moss-less rock in the lower right and the trio of moss-less cobbles middle left. I'd probably have given the mossy boulders in the lower right and left the same treatment. For me, the focal point in this image is the pile of rocks under the angled tree, and the lightness of the dry foreground rocks pulls away from that.
Your title on this thread made me smile - I actually counted 29 people milling around Ponytail Falls yesterday, thanks to a giant church group descending on the trail...! Ugh!
-Tom