Middle Bridal Veil on 5/3

[chameleon]

Today I needed a short hike so I decided to head up Bridal Veil creek. I was hoping to get a nice pic of the upper falls, but mistakingly cut down to the stream too early and ended mid-way between Upper Bridal Veil and Middle Bridal Veil. Low and behold, one of the "slides" I had seen last winter turned out to be a waterfall. There's a top 8 ft slide (I'll post a pic later) and then a 20ft falls. Someone had left a rope from a cedar at the top down to the bottom. I pulled the rope and packed it down. It was a beautiful waterfall...

Below this nice falls are a series of small slides with deep pools leading right down to the top of the middle bridal veil falls. I didn't have any good pics of it, so I spent a few minutes to get a few.

It was raining by this point, so I headed back. It was a fun short trip.
-Zach

[Jane]

Thanks Zach for the lovely pics! And for packing out the rope debris. Glad you (and your camera) made it out before the rain got worse : )

[Splintercat]

Nice find, Zach! Ditto on hauling the rope out, too.

This section has been on my list for awhile -- it's one of the TKO trail concepts, and I've been wanting to scout the section between the middle and upper falls (Gad... is this now upper middle, or middle upper falls..? Very Silver Creekish..!). How was the terrain between the little falls and the middle falls? It looks like you didn't have a chance to cover the section above the upper/middle and the upper falls, though..?

Also, it looks like the log that Don was trying to shake loose from the old flume cable above the middle falls is history... that's good, too.

You've officially become the waterfall expert for the Gorge, Zach -- well done!

Tom

[chameleon]

Thanks Jane and Tom. No, I didn't do the section from this falls to the upper falls on this trip. I'm embarrassed to admit it but I actually thought I had cut down to the stream above the upper falls. You'd be surprised how different the canyon appears in full foliage rather than the barren snow I had last november. So once I hit the stream I just headed down thinking I was going to come out on top of the upper falls.

To answer your question, the east side of the canyon between the middle falls and this 'new' falls is a nice hanging meadow and the west side is steep/brushy. The stream is a series of slides and deep pools (gorgeous fly-fishing terrain) The pools are so deep that you can't walk through them - probably up to 7 or 8 feet. I hiked up the steep hanging meadow above the middle falls to get to a point where I cut down to the stream below. To others, wear long pants and leather gloves!! You have to cut across a tributary drainage up top buried in blackberry vines, spikes attacking you from every direction (along with the occasional, longer more vicious spikes of devil's club).

I'll post a pic of what I called an 8ft slide above this upper middle falls. Yesterday as I hiked the Multnomah loop I realized how alike in shape and size it is to Dutchman falls (which I would call a slide as well) for now, until I post a pic, just think of it as Dutchman with the 20ft falls about 30 feet downstream.

[chameleon]

As promised, here are a couple pics of the beautiful water feature just above the 20 ft falls.

I'll cover the upper section of Bridal Veil sometime soon. Who knows, maybe there's another surprise to two to be had. I think next time I'll definately pack a fly rod and take all day ! If its a warm day, a bit of swimming might not even be out of the question.
-Zach

[Splintercat]

Hey Zach,
Great pics! The little bench falls is a neat little gem -- add all the waterfalls up, and Bridal Veil Creek has one of the most concentrated series of waterfalls (five in about a mile of stream) in the Gorge! I think the little falls above the upper falls might qualify as a Dutchman-sized drop, too, pushing the total to six, perhaps? There's also a very long slide below the upper falls -- not sure if you've been there already, but here are some photos from the approach to the upper falls:

Here is the slide, immediately downstream from the upper falls splash pool, and continuing for about 100 yards to a small slide/drop of about 10 feet. Then the stream swings around a bend and out of sight:



This view of the upper falls shows the little Dutchman like shelf upstream from the falls -- definitely accessible from the Palmer Mill Road junction, by heading downstream, but I suspect you'd need to rappel the upper falls:



As far as the TKO concept, I had assumed a trail along the west side of the canyon to avoid the hanging meadows, swampy side canyons and periodic cliffs on the east side -- plus the idea that the west slope might be reasonably held together by a tree canopy. But I've only seen the stretch below the middle falls, and the area around (and just below) the upper falls, so would love your thoughts on this concept, and just where the trail would work best:



Nice work, Zach! Would you mind if I used (and credited) your photos of the little waterfalls on the narrative I'm developing for this trail concept?

Tom

[Splintercat]

One more tidbit: this is the view downstream from the Palmer Mill Road crossing -- this appears to be the steepness/character of the stream all the way down to the little drop above the upper falls, but I've only peered down from above. Lots of human debris in this canyon, as you've probably discovered -- courtesy the road. But that's why it's a good trail prospect. It's beautiful, but certainly not pristine.



-Tom

[chameleon]

Tom,
That's fine to use the pics for your TKO write up. While I'm against developing a lot of the Gorge canyons, I still love the idea of putting a trail up Bridal Veil. Given its placement in the Gorge and its scenic beauty, it would be a terrific place for a trail (and already has parking available at the Bridal Veil.) It would probably do a lot of good for the small bed and breakfast there too. I'm sure it would also play a role in reducing the congestion of the Angel's Rest trail, by providing folks another highly scenic short hike nearby. The falls are gorgeous, and the canyon could benefit by regular care by the FS, preventing the trash build-up currently present from the road above.
I'm still in favor of a loop option, similar in nature to the Wahclella loop. Let me know when the rubber hits the road, and I'd be happy to assist you with trail placement options. Definately great potential there!
-Zach

[Splintercat]

Good idea on the loop, Zach - perhaps at/near stream level for viewing the waterfalls along the west side, then on top of the bluffs for the return on the east side (similar to Wahclella, now that I think about it). I agree that providing an alternative to Angels Rest and Latourell is a compelling reason to do this -- and that you've already got parking and a restroom in place. In the long term, there's also the potential for parking at the old mill side, right off the freeway exit.

Tom

[jaimito]

Tom send me a link when you get the new proposal revised.

JC