Gorge Creek Falls Abstract

I got back from North Cascades Rec Area late this afternoon. Holy cow, what a gorgeous place! I didn't come back with any spectacular landscapes, but man did I enjoy my two days! That's it man, I'm quitting my job, selling everything and moving north!

After getting some really boring pic's of the Picket Range (sunrise was a bust) I made it back to Gorge Creek early enough that I had the bridge to myself and very little traffic. I settled into a nice spot where I used the 70-200 to shoot between the hand rail stiles to get abstracts from the falls. The colors in the rock in this little slot canyon are just incredible! And yes, I gave them a little boost with LAB and Curves

I was about to pack up and move on when I noticed this slab of rock leaning across the creek.

Bryan, I'm curious when you took the pic on your website. As near as I can tell, this slab was not present. I think this has broken away from the wall since you took your pic...

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
7/7/2007 5:35:40 AM
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 6
Av( Aperture Value ) 16
ISO Speed 100
Lens 70.0 - 200.0 mm
Focal Length 200.0 mm

The two shots I have online were taken in 2001 (film) and 2004 (digital) respectively. I was there back in April, and I do recall seeing the slab then, so its probably yet another remnant of the many floods that have ravaged that gorge (that slab in particular is likely from the 2006 flood). The first one came down in the floods in 2001 (minor compared to last year), and I was there 3 days after it happened and the difference was plainly obvious. There used to be moss and trees growing on the walls of the canyon all the way to the bottom, and as you undoubtedly observed, it is now scoured clean at least a good 40-50 feet above the creek level. Since 2001, the creek has flooded like that at LEAST 3 more times, each time, ripping out more moss and trees and moving the boulders around, altering the falls each time. The falls measured 242 feet tall prior to all of this, and I suspect its probably a good 30-40 feet taller now.

hmm... so you're thinking this washed down from up stream... I assumed, without giving it a whole lot of thought, that the winter freeze had broken this off the left wall of the gorge, and it just fell across the stream.

Its very possible it might have cleaved off from the left wall too. In fact, that makes a bit more sense, because a rock that big would probably have shattered in to several smaller rocks had it fallen from the top of the falls.