Finding Gold at Silver Falls

Waterfall lovers - this post is for you!  Oregon is known for lots of wonderful things, but on top of the list is its abundance of spectacular waterfalls.  And some of the best ones can be found at Silver Falls State Park.

Brilliant red vine maple

Located an hour's drive south of Portland, the park is home to ten stunning cascades.  Silver Creek winds through a narrow canyon, dropping over basalt cliffs to create these lacy curtains of water.  A scenic 8 mile trail will take you past each one.

South Falls in its fall splendor

Although this place is gorgeous in any season, autumn is by far my favorite time to visit.  Last October, my friends and I spent a rainy Saturday photographing this place.  We got lucky and caught the peak of fall colors (you can read all about it here.)  This year, I was hoping to do the same.

Amazing morning light on a mossy tree

But - this time fall came early.  Two weeks early, to be exact.  By the time I realized this fact, colors at Silver Falls had reached their vibrant height.  By mid-October, when I finally got a free day to visit, leaves were already turning brown and dropping.

Golden yellow trees

It was another lovely sunny, dry October morning when I pulled my car into the South Falls parking area.  Although sunshine is usually great, it's not the weather I want to photograph waterfalls.  Cloudy weather means uniform light.  Less light also means I can use slower shutter speeds, which gives the rushing water it's silky-smooth effect.

Leaf-littered path

Luckily, the waterfalls are all located in a deep canyon that was still in the shadows.  As I walked towards the overlook to South Falls, the morning light was just beginning to illuminate it's rim.  Time for me to get to work - and quickly!

The trail behind South falls

I was able to fire off some good images of South Falls, the tallest and grandest of the park's ten waterfalls.  The water from Silver Creek drops 177 feet from the canyon's rim to the splash pool below.  An amazing sight!  There's even a trail that takes you behind it's shimmering cascade.  Being close to such a large volume of water roaring in front of your face is breathtaking.  See the photo above?  Those small white-ish dots to the left of the falls are people.  (Yes, it's that big!)

Beautiful golden foliage

As I wound down the trail to the canyon's bottom, light from above filtered into the thick forest.  It lit up the yellow and orange leaves to a lovely golden hue.  Some of the sun's rays backlit a mossy tree and it's remaining leaves.  Such beautiful sights, I didn't know whether to photograph the waterfall first, or the foliage.  (A good problem to  have!)

Creekside views

After lots of photos of South Falls and the gorgeous forest in the vicinity, I moved on down the trail for a rendezvous with my next photo subject - Lower South Falls.

Old gnarled tree frames the top of Lower South Falls

To reach Lower South Falls, one must climb down a very long series of steep trails and stairs.  Looking ahead to the waterfall, squeezed in the end of a narrow canyon, I could see the sunlight streaming directly above the water.  If I took any photos here, I'd be shooting directly into the sun.  That wouldn't work.  I was about to bag any attempt to photograph this cascade until I crossed behind it to the other side. 

Sunburst at Lower South Falls

A gnarled, mossy tree branch hanging over the falls caught my eye.  It made for an interesting shot, so I took a couple photos.  Then, looking up at the very top I spied sun rays shining through the forest above.  I realized if I positioned my camera just right, the rays created a sunburst.  After many, many tries, and lots of adjustments in exposure, I created this amazing image.  It's my very favorite from the day, and might be my all-time best waterfall photo to date.  What do you think?

Silver Creek is dressed up for autumn

Leaving Lower South Falls, I trekked through the canyon, stopping here and there to capture another fall forest scene, or frothy white rapids in Silver Creek.

A magical place!

Although I'd cursed the sun in the morning, I was beginning to love what it was doing to the surrounding forest.  It's light filtering through the golden autumn leaves made them look absolutely magical.

The very top of Lower North Falls

I passed by Lower North Falls, but it being a shorter waterfall (a mere 30 feet in height), only snapped a couple of shots before moving on.

Fallen leaves

Beyond Lower North Falls, I traversed leaf-littered paths until, up ahead, peeking through the trees, I spied Middle North Falls.

Middle North Fall's silvery curtain

Middle North Falls is my second-favorite waterfall in the park.  Dropping 106 feet, it forms a lacy fan across the lip of a huge basalt cliff.

You can walk behind it too!

Again - this is another waterfall you can walk behind.  So cool!  The wide openings behind most of the cascades in the park were formed when lava flows engulfed living trees, causing the wood to disintegrate, and leaving these large voids.

The creek below Middle North Falls

This is my favorite spot to photograph Middle North Falls.  It's on the opposite side of the trail, looking downstream from the fall's splash pool.  I love the small streams of water trickling down the rocks and the leaf-littered creek bank.  And the lush forest surrounding it all is so beautiful!

Scenic creek and footbridge

After lots of photo ops at Middle North Falls, I continued my journey past my favorite stretch of Silver Creek.  Just before a very lovely footbridge, there is a concentration of gorgeous yellow and orange maple trees.  Their colorful branches droop over the water, forming a lovely scene.  Fallen leaves litter the water.  Serene and lovely.

More amazing yellow leaves

Time running late, I had to cut my hike short.  The other falls would have to wait for another day.  I took a connector trail that led me out of the canyon, and back to the lodge and South Falls parking area.

Silver Falls Lodge

The lodge here is a grand stone and timber building surrounded by huge Douglas firs and bright vine maple.  Another scenic spot, there was always something I had to stop and photograph.  It took me much longer than anticipated to reach the car.

Orange leaves and blue sky

One of the great things about a trip to Silver Falls State Park is that my son Cody's seminary is nearby, so I ended a wonderful day of photography by meeting him for dinner.

Although I missed the autumn color peak, and had to work around bright sunlight, I'd still discovered lots of great photo subjects.  A successful trip, I'd truly found and captured some golden moments.  Yes, there is gold in Silver Falls State Park.


Sharing with:  Sweet Shot Tuesday.

The Fifteenmile Trail

That John is such a troublemaker!  He sends out email invitations for midweek hikes, knowing full well some of us have to work.  But one of his hike descriptions was so enticing, it persuaded me to ask for the day off.

Vine maple leaves in peak color

John wanted to explore a new place - the Fifteenmile Trail.  Located east of Mt. Hood, this trail offered a traverse across a canyon's rim, amazing views, and a sampling of different vegetative zones.  However, after sending out his initial email, John had to issue a clarification - the hike itself was not 15 miles - it was only the trail's name.  He planned to travel a shorter 10.5 mile loop with about 2000 feet of elevation gain.

Golden ferns line the trail

After a very wet end to September, the weather gods redeemed themselves, giving us a beautiful warm, rain-free October.  The weather that day was forecast to be sunny and dry.  Imagine our surprise, when traveling east through the Gorge, our party encountered cloudy, misty skies.  It didn't get any better on the drive past Mt. Hood.  When we finally pulled into the trailhead, at the Fifteenmile Campground, the sky was cloaked in heavy fog, and the temperature was a chilly 34 degrees.

John pauses on the bridge for a photo op

Besides John, my hiking companions for the day were Jon, Steve, and George - all retired guys.  I was the lone working stiff playing hooky from my job.  We all bundled up against the cold temps, and seeing hunters parked along the road nearby, donned our orange clothing items.

Top of the ridge, Cedar Creek Trail side

From the campground, we headed east briefly following the Fifteenmile Trail.  It wasn't long
before we encountered the first junction between the Fifteenmile and Cedar Creek Trails.  The Fifteenmile Trail followed the north side of a canyon, while the Cedar Creek Trail followed the south side.  John's  plan was to hike east along the Cedar Creek Trail, cross Fifteenmile Creek, and head back along the canyon's opposite rim.

Multicolored vine maple

Fall colors started immediately from the trailhead.  I hadn't gone 10 steps before my camera was out, capturing the lovely yellow hues on the forest floor.  First, our path was lined with golden ferns, and as we hit the first junction, the forest floor was bright with yellow leaves from various bushes.

Checking out a big ponderosa poine

Crossing Fifteenmile Creek on a cute little footbridge, the guys and I climbed up the opposite bank and topped out on the ridge.  Ponderosa pines dominated the forest here, with bright orange and red huckleberry bushes adding some color.  A rocky clearing provided a nice view of the canyon below.

Rock-eating tree!

Meandering along the ridgetop, my fellow hikers and I marveled at the difference in the forests east of the Cascades.  Instead of thick Douglas firs, Ponderosa pines dominated the landscape.  The forest was much more open.  And there were lots more large rocky outcrops rising out of the ground.  We even saw a tree growing in around some rocks!

We begin our descent into the canyon

After traversing the ridgetop for awhile, our trail began to wind steeply downhill, down to the banks of Fifteenmile Creek.  The skies cleared briefly, and I even saw a glimpse of the sun for a moment.  Perfect timing, as the views toward eastern Oregon were very nice indeed.

Gotta have at least one trail sign picture!

As my group descended, we traveled through different vegetative zones.  Starting with Ponderosa pines and Manzanita bushes, we passed an area with an abundance of vine maple.  The bright yellow and reds of the vine maple's leaves caused me to take many photo breaks, and I lagged behind my companions.

This campsite made a perfect lunch spot

I finally caught up to the men at Fifteenmile Creek.  Another cute log footbridge provided an easy crossing.  The creek itself was an absolute delight - lined by bunches of yellow vine maple and golden ferns.  A campsite on the opposite shore provided the perfect spot for a lunch break.

Tunnel of yellow

At lunch, John made a confession.  He told me after looking over his map, the loop we were hiking was actually about 11.2 miles, instead of the 10.5 he'd promised.  Because he's fun to tease, I gave John a hard time about his miscalculation, but really an extra half mile or so wasn't a big deal.  The trail had been great so far.

One of the many mushrooms

And after lunch, it got even better.  Our lunch spot was located right at the junction of the Cedar Creek and Fifteenmile Trails - our appointed turn-around.  Now we just had to follow the Fifteenmile Trail back to the trailhead.  The only catch - since we'd traveled downhill nearly 2000 feet to reach the creek, our group would have to regain all that elevation on our return.

Yellow engulfs this tree

But there was tons of brilliant yellow foliage and a forest full of cool mushrooms to distract us from our climb. 

Photo op line-up

The guys were all into mushroom hunting, and they spotted tons of interesting fungi along the Fifteenmile Trail.  A particularly unusual specimen had them lining up with cameras in hand.  I, however, had more fun getting shots of the photographers.

Jumpin' across the stream

We crossed a cute creek, lined with huge old cedar trees.

The woods were ablaze with bright yellow leaves

Vine maple bushes grew everywhere, their brilliant yellow and red leaves brightening up the forest.  Some places it was so thick, I felt as if we were walking through a golden tunnel.  Fall colors appeared to be at their peak.

Walking under the yellow canopy

The uphill trek had all of us stripping down to our base layers.  Even though there was still a slight chill in the air, I sweated profusely. 

Rest break on the rocks

We took a break at one clearing situated on the edge of a cliff.  Although the skies had clouded back over, I could still look down the valley of Fifteenmile Creek, towards the plains of eastern Oregon.  Felt like I was on top of the world!

Colorful lime green lichen

Many trees along the trail were covered with bright, lime-green lichen.  (After mistakenly calling it "moss", Jon who had just taken a lichen identification class the past weekend, quickly corrected me)  I'd never seen such thick, fluffy lichen on tree branches and trunks.  Quite unusual.

Me 'n the guys

Our sweat cooling in the chilly air, we kept our breaks brief.

Even the huckleberry leaves got in on the action

Of course, these lovely red-orange huckleberry leaves also caught my eye, and again my companions left me in the dust.

Capturing some tiny mushrooms on a tree trunk

But, distracted by some tiny mushrooms growing on a tree, I soon caught up to them.

Gorgeous Fifteenmile Creek

The very best  part of the hike was the final two miles.  Our trail paralleled Fifteenmile Creek.  Along its banks was the most beautiful display of fall finery.  It was a colorful mixture of greens, yellows, and golden browns.  The creek's clear waters burbled in the middle of this wonderful autumn show.

Amazing fall colors line the creek

Back at the trailhead, John's gps registered a total of 12 miles traveled.  Hmmmm.......so much for 10.5 or 11.2 miles!  I gave John a hard time for being a trail stretcher.  But I really didn't mind.  This trail was so spectacular I would've hiked it for 15 miles.

A trip to nearby Hood River for some pizza and beer capped a perfect hike.  Thanks to John, I'd discovered an outstanding fall trail.  Skipping work to go hiking was the right decision.  Perfect use of a vacation day!

(But John, if you keep sending me mid-week hike invitations for places like this, I won't have any vacation hours left....)


Sharing with:  Weekly Top Shot.

Local Color

I've spent a lot of time this past month traveling to far-away trailheads, in search of fall color. 

But last weekend, I realized there's a lot of leaves turning right here in my own neighborhood.  And things were at their peak.

Such as this lovely maple tree in my backyard.  Wonderful brilliant red leaves!

So I grabbed my camera and decided to document our neighborhood in its full fall glory.

Roger had left his ladder nearby, so I used it to get up close and personal with the tree.

Our neighbor's trees were fast losing leaves.  They made a lovely yellow carpet on the ground.

Just around the corner from my house is the most wonderful bush.  During the year it's just another green spot in the yard.  But come fall, it erupts in several different shades of yellow, orange and red.

It's like looking inside a kaleidoscope.  Photo subjects abound!

Look at this - red, orange and yellow - all in the same branch.

And finally, a photo of my most favorite fall tree of all.  The neighbor lady across the street has this huge tree that turns a mixture of hues in autumn.  When the sun hits its leaves, the tree blazes with color.

This weekend I've noticed already the colors are beginning to fade.  A rainy and windy weather pattern has blown many of the trees bare.  The autumn color show here is a quick but glorious flash in the pan.  Catch it while you can!


Sharing with:  Weekly Top Shot. and I Heart Macro.