A Potentially Startling Admission

[AlexanderSupertramp]

Ok, I have been on this forum long enough, and trust those on it enough to come clean about something. I don't like the Eagle Creek trail. I don't. I have struggled to. But I still don't. To all those for which this trail is sacred ground, please take no offense. Accept my humble apologies, I mean no harm. There are a number of reasons I can come up with for this little piece of hiking blasphemy. I'm new to the area, I've only been up there five times, I've never gone much past tunnel falls. Are these reasonable? Sure punchbowl and tunnel falls are neat. The trail goes along a creek, and that's pretty niffty. You get to hang on for life along blasted out cliffs. Also very cool. But there are so many other trails in the area that are so much better to me. Now this may come down to a simple matter of opinion, and mine just stinks. That could be it. But for my money, if the Trail of Ten Falls were an all-star ball player, Eagle Creek would be a journeyman triple A guy with a nagging hamstring injury. Sorry, again, no offense . Am I the only one? Could it be just me?

Don't banish me,

Adam

[mattisnotfrench]

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.

Actually, the Gorge in general I get burnt out during the winter months. Come April I don't even want to go anymore from having taken the same route to the same general area over and over again. Growing up in Salem we varied between the Coast range, some of the low elevation Valley trails (Silver Falls, Baskett Butte, Corvallis-area trails), the Santiam canyon and the Coast Range/coast in the winter. Living in Portland I find myself going to the Gorge again and again without much variety in the winter, and it gets old after awhile.

[fishy]

No offense taken! So far, I've only been as far as Punchbowl Falls, but this weekend, DH and I are backpacking up to 7 1/2 mile camp. So far I've enjoyed it, but I'll agree with you, it is crowded.

Everyone has their likes and dislikes. Personally, I can't stand Multnomah Falls. I went there once, just to say I've been there, but I don't think I'll ever go again. Something about trudging up a paved "trail" and passing multiple women in high heels that really turns me off.

[meana39]

Adam...no you aren't alone. I like the Eagle Creek trail, but I wouldn't say I LOVE it for many of the reasons mentioned. The crowds is the main thing I don't enjoy, and I don't feel very comfortable taking my girls on the cliffs, not to mention my own fear of heights. I've never taken them past High Bridge, I've been up to tunnel falls many times and once hiked all the way from Wahtum Lake down to the trailhead when I was 5 months pregnant. All that downhill was a bit much, I'd much rather hike all the way to Wahtum.

I have another admission simular to yours.....I don't really like the Dog Mountain trail either! Too rocky, too exposed to sun, rain, wind, tooooooo steep and the same too many people issue as Eagle Creek. I've been on way too many trails I like a whole lot better than both Eagle Creek and Dog Mountain.

Should we start our own group? Not My Favorite Trails Annonymous??

[chameleon]

Hey Adam,
Personally Eagle Creek and the adjacent canyons and ridges are some of my favorite places on earth. Most of the things I like about it are the intricate things...the incredible diversity of plants, insects, animals, and even waterfall formations. From giant pacific salamanders to bears to cougars, Eagle has them. I've found comlete 3 point buck skulls with both antlers still present, a place where a cougar fought and caught a raccoon and then proceeded to enjoy dinner next to a stream, and even an old shasta can from the 1940's. And then there are the trees! Some of those trees have been growing long before Lewis and Clark sailed the Columbia River, and a few even before Columbus "discovered" America. Having worked for the Forest Service, even the trail itself impresses the heck out of me. It truly is one of the most incredible pieces of trailwork I've ever witnessed. While the Multnomah falls trail seems to have been planned by a blind-folded kindergartner, the Eagle creek trail demonstrates ingenuity, vision, and a spirit of adventure. It is a marvel among trails.
I could go on about why I love Eagle...but you get the point. I have a feeling that if you spend some more time up there it will grow on you! Yet I do have to admit, I too get annoyed with the fratish/sorority-ish trail users who flock to punchbowl. But hey, at least even those folks are getting out to appreciate a bit of nature (probably before they go to someone's house to party and get "wasted."). Overall, I think the Eagle Creek trail is Oregon's crown jewel. But not to say there aren't others as well!
-Zach

[Spoonie_B]

Hey Zach, don't knock getting wasted. It has its place in the Grand Scheme as much as anything. Well, maybe not as much, but I'm too wasted to reason clearly.

Adam, I don't care for Eagle Creek much myself. And I have managed two trips there without crowds. I agree with your general assessment, and while I see Zach's point about its many charms, they just don't grab me on a gut level the way Gorge trails like, say, Hamilton Mtn, Table Mtn, or Cape Horn do (I won't count the unofficial trails, as that's kind of a different category, and I have yet to do some of the big boys like Larch or Defiance/Starvation). It is certainly beautiful, but as a hike, it just leaves me lukewarm. Maybe it's the lack of elevation? I can't really say. But as Dom DeLuise's Ceasar says, "Nice. Not thrilling, but nice."

[AlexanderSupertramp]

Hey Adam,
Personally Eagle Creek and the adjacent canyons and ridges are some of my favorite places on earth. Most of the things I like about it are the intricate things...the incredible diversity of plants, insects, animals, and even waterfall formations. From giant pacific salamanders to bears to cougars, Eagle has them. I've found comlete 3 point buck skulls with both antlers still present, a place where a cougar fought and caught a raccoon and then proceeded to enjoy dinner next to a stream, and even an old shasta can from the 1940's. And then there are the trees! Some of those trees have been growing long before Lewis and Clark sailed the Columbia River, and a few even before Columbus "discovered" America. Having worked for the Forest Service, even the trail itself impresses the heck out of me. It truly is one of the most incredible pieces of trailwork I've ever witnessed. While the Multnomah falls trail seems to have been planned by a blind-folded kindergartner, the Eagle creek trail demonstrates ingenuity, vision, and a spirit of adventure. It is a marvel among trails.
I could go on about why I love Eagle...but you get the point. I have a feeling that if you spend some more time up there it will grow on you! Yet I do have to admit, I too get annoyed with the fratish/sorority-ish trail users who flock to punchbowl. But hey, at least even those folks are getting out to appreciate a bit of nature (probably before they go to someone's house to party and get "wasted."). Overall, I think the Eagle Creek trail is Oregon's crown jewel. But not to say there aren't others as well!
-Zach

I hear you Zach, and thanks for pointing out the things that make the trail wonderful for you. I'll keep them all in mind next time I'm up that way. I knew that this post would draw a response from you . I'm just glad I didn't release unbridled Zach fury

[AlexanderSupertramp]

Hey Zach, don't knock getting wasted. It has its place in the Grand Scheme as much as anything. Well, maybe not as much, but I'm too wasted to reason clearly.

Adam, I don't care for Eagle Creek much myself. And I have managed two trips there without crowds. I agree with your general assessment, and while I see Zach's point about its many charms, they just don't grab me on a gut level the way Gorge trails like, say, Hamilton Mtn, Table Mtn, or Cape Horn do (I won't count the unofficial trails, as that's kind of a different category, and I have yet to do some of the big boys like Larch or Defiance/Starvation). It is certainly beautiful, but as a hike, it just leaves me lukewarm. Maybe it's the lack of elevation? I can't really say. But as Dom DeLuise's Ceasar says, "Nice. Not thrilling, but nice."

That's a very good point Spoonie. And probably more to the point than my original post. It doesn't really grab me the way so many other hikes do, on a gut level.

[retired jerry]

I like Eagle Creek in the winter when everywhere else is snowed in.

Way too busy this time of year.

[AlexanderSupertramp]

I have another admission simular to yours.....I don't really like the Dog Mountain trail either! Too rocky, too exposed to sun, rain, wind, tooooooo steep and the same too many people issue as Eagle Creek. I've been on way too many trails I like a whole lot better than both Eagle Creek and Dog Mountain.

Should we start our own group? Not My Favorite Trails Annonymous??

That's great! My wife had the same reaction to Dog Mountain. It was muddy the day we went and she got stuck on a particular incline, but of course wouldn't accept any help (you would have to know her). She said she was quitting and would meet me and my daughter back at the car. She caught up with us at the first meadow .