Harphan Creek Rocks!

[chameleon]

Today I had hoped to venture up Dog Creek after the wonderful WA side canyon suggestions. I drove there and scoped it out in the rain, but just getting up Dog Creek falls today looked a bit tricky. The rock was greasy wet and I did not feel like free-soloing a 5.5 climb up the left face of the 25 foot falls. The other option was a greasy stomach move on a slanted slab on the west side of that. Not a great day for that in constant drizzle.

So I headed up the class 2-3 gully on the west side. And believe me, you don't do yourself any favors that way either! At the top you find you've summitted a pointy little peak, with the other side of the ridge falling very steeply to the stream. You could see two more waterfalls below you, but to get down to them you'd have to take a doable, but sketchy near vertical moss-covered chute. I headed back at that point, deciding to re-visit Dog Creek perhaps next week from the top down, or wait for a dry day to head up it.

After that I decided to make a short side trip over to a stream I've been eyeballing on the map - Harphan Creek. Despite a web-search and a search on PH, I've been able to find next to nothing on Harphan Creek. Parking near the Wyeth campground, I followed the trail over to Harphan Creek. From there I just followed the stream-bed up. It is the easiest stream to walk I've found in the Gorge! - a joy - very open and simple.

At about a half-mile - perhaps a bit more, I had an incredible surprise...but something I wouldn't fully appreciate until I would gain a better vantage point a half hour later. It appeared I had hit a series of waterfalls. I decided to go up the left side - mistake. I scrambled up past the first 30 feet of falls or so, and then took a photo along the stream looking up toward more falls...

From there I climbed a near-vertical mudslide embankment, barely pulling myself over the top lip - lucky a small branch held, keeping me from tumbling down 30 feet of slick, soft mud. With my heart pounding, I looked up astonished to see the upper 2/3 of this "waterfall." It is Wahkeena-esque! I would put a conservative height estimate of this multi-tiered fall at @250 ft. It would not surprise me if it is more than 300. As soon as I set up my camera though, the rain became serious, and I had to get the umbrella out to get a shot. Here it is (the upper 2/3 of it - as much as my camera could get in) - the un-mapped, un-named, seemingly forgotten major waterfall on lower Harphan creek -

Given the weather I headed back at that point, content with this incredible find. I can't wait to explore more of Harphan Creek! Does anyone else have any photos or experiences with this amazing waterfall?
-Zach

[pyles_94]

dang!!! how did i know?? i had a feeling there was something up there easy to get to... with this documentation in my head i owe it to myself to get up there!! thanks for the report

[chameleon]

Jamey,
Yeah, you should get up there. It's an amazing falls. I really wanted to get up to the area below the second tier from the top in the photo. It looks like there is an overhang/cave beneath it - probably some good photos to be had from in there. And the nice thing is, its all larger than it looks in the photo. My recommendation is to follow the West side of the creek - its loose, but much easier than the East. Probably not a good hike in super wet weather though, given all the evidence of mudslide activity.
-Zach

[anna in boots]

Zach, I'm beginning to think you actually are some sort of chameleon what with your constant tendency to hike in the vertical plane. You don't, by chance, have didactyl hands and a prehensile tail, do you? Sure would explain a lot....

anna in boots

[chameleon]

Anna,
No, no prehensile tale...though that would be convenient - can you imagine the cool photos you could get hanging upside down from a tree branch! I do climb very slowly and consciously though, which I admire chameleons for. They don't win any races, but their slow movements make them pretty safe!
-Zach
btw - your photos are getting very good! - I love your macros on your catherine creek thread.

[anna in boots]

Thanks, Zach, coming from you, that's real encouragement. I fear I'm either dealing with a limited camera or limited knowledge, perhaps both. I long for clarity of vision so distinct, the very pixels induce peaceful thoughts.

Don't give up on the prehensile tail. Where there's a will, there's a way. In the meantime, you're doing pretty darned good for a human. (heh, heh)

Anna

[Splintercat]

Great find, Zach - you're racking them up at a mighty rate! I'm pretty sure I've seen Harphan Creek on Bryan Swan's list of suspects for unmapped waterfalls, but I think you might have beat him up there on this one.

So, first of all - you've got naming rights! Harphan Creek Falls is pretty boring, after all. But can you elaborate on the scramble a bit - it sounds entirely non-technical for those of us who are ropeless...?

BTW, that upper tier kind of reminds me of Upper Latourell Falls in form -- or even Steep Creek Falls.

Tom

[anna in boots]

Chameleon Falls, of course, what else?

Anna

[Sore Feet]

Great find, Zach - you're racking them up at a mighty rate! I'm pretty sure I've seen Harphan Creek on Bryan Swan's list of suspects for unmapped waterfalls, but I think you might have beat him up there on this one.

I don't think there was any doubt that someone would beat me up there. I have a habit of only going places that I know for sure will yield results. Harphan was still a big ?, so I hadn't thought to spend the time since there are still plenty of others in the Gorge I need to get to. That priority has now dramatically shifted, of course.

Awesome job Zach, much bigger than I thought it would be. I believe this also means the only major streams which I suspect harbor waterfalls that need to be surveyed are Grays Creek and Perham Creek (I don't think Viento Creek has anything).

[chameleon]

Thanks Tom and Bryan,

As to the name...I'll have to give it some thought. I agree that Harphan Creek Falls is pretty boring for such a complex falls. I'm referring to it as "a" waterfall, but it is of course actually a series of falls - sometimes a hundred or so feet apart. Given the proximity of the drops though, it makes more sense to refer to it as a one multi-tiered "falls." Below where I was to take the photo, it actually turns a corner, the stream goes for a hundred feet and then tumbles the last 30 feet to where I would say it officially ends. That bottom 30 is a really pretty falls in itself, and will make for great photos in the green of spring. (I didn't stop to get a photo, too anxious to see the upper reaches)

The bushwhack, save for the final bit is very easy. The stream bed is incredible - looking like it was built for a much, much larger stream (perhaps evidence of a large mudslide or avalanche in the recent century). Once you get in sight of the falls it gets much more challenging, but totally untechnical.

Getting up past the first 30 feet of falls will probably be your first challenge - go up the right hand side - you'll find its much easier than it looks. I went up the other side, but came down that side. The other side looks easier, but its NOT. I think you could also get up to below the upper two tiers on the righthand side. I decided not to, as the rain was getting very heavy, but scoped it out. It looks like the only challenge would be crossing a 10 ft wide steep mud-slide gully.

I can't wait to get up to the stream above the falls! I can't wait to see the photos others will get of this falls too - lots of interesting subject matter.

-Zach