Pnina and I visited Portland this weekend. Our plan was to spend Saturday going on a glider flight (glider = plane with no motor) and to spend Sunday with the family. On Saturday, when we woke up, we made a last minute change. The weather was iffy and we didn’t want to waste our glider flight vouchers (not cheap!) so we decided to hold off on that for a sunnier day and go on a hike instead.
Since it was a last minute decision, we didn’t have much of a plan for the hike. Pnina went online, did a quick search for Portland hike recommendations, and came up with a place called Eagle Creek Trail. This place was close enough (only 1 hour east of Portland), about the right distance (6 miles each way), and the descriptions of all waterfalls there sounded cool. It turned out to be a good choice.
The first waterfall along the hike was called Punchbowl. There was no easy way to get close to it, but there was this platform where we entertained ourselves taking photos with the falls in the background:
The second falls did have a trail leading down to the water (forgot what they were called). We found a few people brave enough to dip into the freezing water. We didn’t have our swim wear anyhow, so we just had our lunch of pita, hummus, and various salads (Mom rocks for packing this lunch for us!).
The map said that there was supposed to be a “High Bridge” along the way. We kept crossing increasingly taller bridges, and each time we said “oh, I guess this must be High Bridge”. We were right the third time around. Here’s the view from above, and Pnina chilling on the bridge:
But the real star attraction on this hike was Tunnel Falls. Around the 5.5 mile mark, the trail becomes a narrow ledge on the side of the cliff. It leads directly behind the waterfall where there is a small tunnel to go through. Beautiful!
The hike taught us that neither of us is in great shape. After 12 miles of hiking without even much to carry, we were beat. But it felt great to spend time in nature and do some exercise.
My friend and I went to the Eagle Creek Trail today and I had seen the picture you took of you “drinking” the falls…we attempted that, but think I did it wrong since I couldn’t get the falls in focus. We only made it to PUnchbowl falls, but hope to maybe go a bit further next time.