Wonder Creek / Upper Lancaster Falls

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Twitch Lindstrom
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Joined: August 18th, 2009, 5:27 pm

Wonder Creek / Upper Lancaster Falls

Post by Twitch Lindstrom » August 18th, 2009, 6:47 pm

On a recent hike out to Lancaster Falls, I looked above the waterfall and saw another waterfall that appeared to be only spray. Intrigued, I decided it would be worth a return trip on a cloudy day to bushwhack up there and see the upper portion for myself.

When I returned, I found it was a rather easy bushwhack. Just a few little rock slides underfoot here and there, but for the most part, it seemed as though there were perfectly built natural steps in the hillside made for surefooted folk who like to wander off trail.

After a short hike probably not even an eighth of a mile, I laid my eyes on a very pretty waterfall. In some ways, it's slightly similar to Camp Benson Falls.

You can basically divide the waterfall into an upper and lower portion. My first picture is of the upper portion and the second picture is the lower portion. The upper area is unique in that the water pours out over an outcropping of rocks that juts out from the rest of the hill maybe 10 feet or so. Unusual as far as waterfalls go. And it pours out in a near spray, at least it did on this day. It was very susceptible to the will of the wind and my photos varied quite a bit depending on wind direction.

It's funny, there's practically a viewing platform for the lower portion of the falls. It almost seemed strange that there wasn't a trail that lead to this waterfall, as it seemed naturally built for tourists visiting the Gorge.

Anyhow, to get there, take Exit 55 for Starvation Creek Falls, but take the trail that goes west along the highway. I think it's the Mt. Defiance Trail. It's about a mile west and you'll pass Cabin Creek Falls and Hole in the Wall Falls on the way to Lancaster Falls. Somewhere around 10 to 50 feet before Lancaster Falls, you'll have to choose where you want to go up the hill. Just keep going up and to the right until you reach the easy to find waterfall above Lancaster Falls. It's definitely worth the climb, as it's just too simple. From what I could tell, this waterfall doesn't get much traffic, although it looked like a few people have been there on rare occasion.

Cheers,

Twitch
Attachments
Upper Lancaster Falls - Top.JPG
Upper Portion of Lower Lancaster Falls
Upper Lancaster Falls.JPG
Lower Portion of Upper Lancaster Falls

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Splintercat
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Re: Wonder Creek / Upper Lancaster Falls

Post by Splintercat » August 19th, 2009, 5:20 pm

Howdy, Twitch - and welcome! A couple of us went up there last year, and it is a surprisingly easy bushwhack, plus no poison oak that I could see (that was my main concern in attempting this over the years). There was definitely a boot path for the first 100 feet or so that we followed, then just a tree-to-tree trudge up the slope to that handy fallen log that acts a bit like a ramp up to the very nice viewpoint. All of this is considered Lancaster Falls, so I think you've named it appropriate. Here's my early June photo from last year -- very green up in that bowl during the rainy months:

Image

The odd thing about Wonder Creek is that it doesn't fluctuate that much, seasonally. It was still flowing just fine when I came through the Gorge on Sunday, though many of the smaller creeks have nearly dried up. I guess that's thanks to springs flowing off Mount Defiance.

Keep those posts coming, Twitch!

-Tom :)

Twitch Lindstrom
Posts: 5
Joined: August 18th, 2009, 5:27 pm

Re: Wonder Creek / Upper Lancaster Falls

Post by Twitch Lindstrom » August 21st, 2009, 3:43 pm

Thanks for the welcome, Tom! Your picture looks great! Love the vivid green.

It looks like you had about the same amount of water flow when you took your picture as I did. That spring must be pretty consistent. I did notice when passing Cabin Creek Falls that it looked pretty dry.

It's interesting to hear about, and see, someone else's perspective of this waterfall. Thanks for your input!

Twitch

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Splintercat
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Re: Wonder Creek / Upper Lancaster Falls

Post by Splintercat » August 22nd, 2009, 2:38 pm

Sure, Twitch. I used to have reservations about this falls being "the one" named to honor Thomas Lancaster -- visionary designer and builder of the Historic Columbia River Highway -- but now that I've had a chance to explore it a bit, and especially noticing that it seems to be fed by a very consistent spring, I've come around to think that this is a pretty good tribute to 'ol Mr. Lancaster. I'm sure he would have liked that neat crow's nest view that nature provided - one of the best in the Gorge!

Not sure if it was breezy when you were up there, but one of the most mesmerizing aspects of this falls (for me) was watching the section shown in my photo swing back and forth across the face of the mossy wall -- it would literally move so fast that you'd have a "truncated" series of streamers flowing down one side after the main stream had already switched to the other side of the wall. Very cool!

Here's a shaky video that I shot from the same spot that day, showing a bit of this effect:

Lancaster Falls Video

-Tom :)

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