A Potentially Startling Admission

[AlexanderSupertramp]

I don't like the long exposure, dreamy, cotton looking waterfall pictures . I know, I know. It's not that I can't appreciate the beauty or the artistic expression involved. I mean, they are lovely, and I'm quite jealous of every photographer on this site. And perhaps that's why, I'm not a "photographer". But I like my waterfall pictures to look like the waterfall looked when I took the picture. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a personal preference. It's kind of like cosmetic surgery on an already natural, beautiful human being. Again, this is in no way a thumbs down to the remarkable work done by many on this site that I can only dream of coming close to. Whew....It's all out there on the table now .

I prefer taking slow exposures of water scenes, but my girlfriend is in your camp. She appreciates my photos, but she definitely prefers to see the stop action that shows the water falling as it does when you see it in person. Not everybody has the same preferences, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Perfectly stated Robert! As a matter of fact that's one of the things that make this site such an interesting read, all the different interests and opinions. I started this topic just to find out if there was anybody that shared my opinion on Eagle Creek. Not discounting anybody else's opinion. Just seeing if there was somebody that shared mine. Lucky for me the good people of this site turned it into a well thought out, polite, and interesting session of opinion sharing. Heck I wasn't even called out for my gentle ribbing of fuzzy waterfalls . I want to thank everybody for their thoughts on the matter. It gave me some things to look for and consider on my next trip up eagle creek. And maybe I'll take two shots of each waterfall from now on just to see how they turn out.

Adam

[AlexanderSupertramp]

re: waterfall photos

If you can't already tell I'm talking out of my ass because I love pictures that give a "fake" painterly look to just about anything. I have something of a slow shutter fetish, though mostly with video.

Funny!

[Spoonie_B]

Sometimes I'm undecided about the whole thing...for instance I took these two photos right before Falls Creek Falls. I can't decide if I like the original or the flowy one better.

To me, the problem with waterfall shots is that the ones that stop time don't reflect the way my eye sees a waterfall either, unless I deliberately focus on a droplet of water as it makes its way down. And then, the silky look is often too silky to be realistic. There needs to be a way to get the happy medium....I'm sure these shots are out there, but I think the tendency when elongating the exposure is to get into the technique and effect that is possible, and lose sight of the eye-truth. Personally, the flowy shots have grown on me, as long as they still convey some sense of motion. I have never been satisfied with my shots that stop time, because that seems even less like what my eye actually sees.

Also - another vote for alpine meadows and summits over waterfalls. Fortunately, here in Oregon we can get all three in one hike. Yay for Oregon!

[Stevefromdodge]

Hmm, all kinds of things here.

I love Eagle Creek for a number of reasons, the waterfalls, the geology, the even elevation gain. I think its most distinctive plus is its history. There aren't a lot of trails created by blasting of sheer rock in the teens, particularly with a tunnel.

Dog Mountain is a once-a-year pilgrimage for me. I love the summit meadows and the workout is a spring ritual. Both Eagle Creek and Dog suffer from way too many people.

On waterfalls, I definitely prefer the stop action shots to the silky ones. Waterfalls to me are powerful noisy chaotic things and the frozen action captures that feeling better. I might be at peace near a waterfall, but the water never calms down.

My waterfall/summit preference is a seasonal thing. Give me waterfalls on cloudy spring days and summits on clear summer mornings.

My personal admission: I can't talk and fully enjoy a hike at the same time. As much as I enjoy gabbing here and face to face everywhere else in my life, I'm just not big on trail conversation. I find that I miss out of most of the beauty and all of the wildlife.

[anna in boots]

Steve, I feel ya. I love talking in the car on the way to the trail head, I love pointing out beauties here and there on the hike, I love waking up on the summit after a short snore and gettin' all philosophical (maybe it's the elevation that does it) but I get strange looks from my friends when I suggest that we have radio silence for at least PART of the hike.

Not to cast aspersions on my gender, but here I go. (Most) women are about as quiet and peaceful as Scrub Jays on a hike. I've always preferred to hike with the dudes. They don't talk about their relationships, they don't complain about their weight, they don't wanna discuss celebrities or anything on television. They hike. They breathe. They joke. I love it.

Okay, there might occur a little testosterone-induced gear talk and lying--I mean bragging--from time to time from them but that's okay with me. I like the info. Maybe I'm just an incorrigible Tomboy but, man, it's fun. All hail the males! (If I don't get lambasted by the chicks for this post, I'll at the very least flush out some fellow Tomboys to hike with!)

Adam, I'm with you on the Popular Routes. Case in point, I lived in Denver 12 years. I climbed 23 14ners, many of them multiple times, but I outright refused to climb the two celebrities: Longs Peak and Pikes Peak. Longs Peak was so crowded, it was like a mule train of bodies in the summertime and your view the whole way up was of somebody else's butt. Peaks Pike has a restaurant on the summit, for Chrissake. No thanks. The only one I did that had a paved route to the top was Mount Evans and that was only because it was closest (it looms over Denver the same way Hood does over Portland) and made a good warm up every year in the spring.

One time, I came out of the giant, car-sized talus near the summit of Evans, all sweaty and dusty and proud--probably bleeding somewhere, too, I have a talent--and the first sound to reach my ears was a high-pitched female voice squeaking, "I climbed Mt. Evans!" I peeked around the lichen-encrusted granite at 14,264 feet to see a gigantic woman as wide as she was tall, in flip-flops and a hectic bright pink tank top, wheezing her way up the little trail from the parking area to the summit. I thought to myself, "No, sweetheart, your Honda Accord climbed Mt. Evans, and it deserves a medal for the effort."

My, I'm punchy today. Must be 'cuz I'm sick. Fun, though.

anna in boots

[wheezer]

A lot of diverse opinions on this one - enough so that I feel compelled to add my own.

I personally love Eagle Creek. I'm a bit older and remember it when it wasn't nearly so overrun. I have a lot of fond memories of Boy Scout campouts there back in the late 60's as well as some early hiking adventures. I also like the fact that the further you walk up the creek, the fewer people you see. Having said that, I have to say that I hate the Gorge west of Dog Mountain (no, make that all of western Oregon) - too many people, too many trees, too much rain and nothing but obstructed views. My only exception in the western gorge, besides Eagle Creek for nostalgic reasons, is Munra Point. I find it an awful waste of energy to toil up trails in the gorge only to get somewhere with partial (i.e crappy) views through the trees.

I love Dog Mountain for all the reasons that I hate other gorge hikes - phenomenal, expansive views. Dog Mtn. is great bang for the buck - a relatively short hike with a moderate (compared to other gorge hikes) elevation gain. It also a great three season hike. Flowers in the late Spring, beautiful grassy meadows in the Summer and uncrowded in the Fall.

Forget the gorge. Give me the East side of the mountains!

[mdvaden]

You aren't alone. I love the trail itself, honestly, but I hate everything that goes along with it. The crowds, the break-ins, the circus atmosphere around Punchbowl Falls and the lack of a handrail near Crossover Falls. Often it's a very irritating experience. I've vowed from now on to only go on rainy days in Spring or Fall...otherwise I just don't enjoy it.

Part of the deal is that it's very close to a large city.

When I hiked in Red Buttes Wilderness in southern Oregon, I only passed hikers once in 2 years.

If Eagle Creek Trail were down in Red Buttes Wilderness, users of the trail would be reduced by ninety five percent.

One reason I really enjoy the redwoods so much in northern CA, although they do get quite a few summer visitors, is that they are far removed from San Francisco and Portland. The closer one gets to San Fran, the heavier the use of the parks.

And Eagle Creek being near Portland is the same kind of situation.

For me, the reason I like Eagle Creek so much - STILL - is because I hike there in the rainy season when hardly anyone goes there. That's the nifty season when the water runs stronger and the moss is green. Just a few souls in sight sometimes.

But in peak season, it's not a place I can enjoy very much.

[gildenj]

I have a love/hate relationship with Eagle Creek. I think it's beautiful, but I am scared to death of it. Every time I hike along those cliffs, the trail seems to get more and more eroded. The last time I went, I had a panic attack, so I haven't tried it since. It sucks being a hiker who's afraid of heights!

As for waterfall photos, I like taking them, but I'm not a big fan of looking a them. Just like mushrooms - I like collecting them, but I don't like eating them (so I'm a good person to take on your next mushrooming excursion).

Jennifer

[meana39]

I'll cast a vote! I save this wonderful trail for rainy winter days - I never see it crowded. I have had to watch for falling icicles, traverse frozen waterfalls, and try not to keep from slipping off the icy trail!

Multnomah Falls from the lodge to the junction for Larch is my least favorite.

I'd have to totally agree with that one! Although I love doing the Wahkeena/Multnomah loop, coming down all dirty, with backpack, and trek pole, looking like a wicked mountain woman. The looks you get from people headed up in their "party" shoes is amazingly funny. And hey I was able to provide a band-aid one day to one of these women and I'm sure she was grateful

[meana39]

I have a love/hate relationship with Eagle Creek. I think it's beautiful, but I am scared to death of it. Every time I hike along those cliffs, the trail seems to get more and more eroded. The last time I went, I had a panic attack, so I haven't tried it since. It sucks being a hiker who's afraid of heights!

As for waterfall photos, I like taking them, but I'm not a big fan of looking a them. Just like mushrooms - I like collecting them, but I don't like eating them (so I'm a good person to take on your next mushrooming excursion).

Jennifer

I feel for your fear of heights, it's the very reason I've never been to the top of Table Mountain. I've tried twice, gotten to the talus slope and freaked out, having to go back down. Eagle creek doesn't bother me too much because of the cables to hang onto, but I've also never taken my dog, or my daughters up either because of the drop-offs.

The first time I did Dog Mountain I had a moment where I panicked and had to really concentrate on one foot in front of the other to keep going, and NOT looking down! And there was a moment at Indian Point where I had to sit down and let my sister take the great photos from that viewpoint. I could barely watch her walk out on that narrow ledge!!
So it's round the mountain trails for me mostly!