Waterfall Season

It's that time of year when waterfalls start springing up everywhere.

This unnamed waterfall at the edge of Gifford Pinchot drains into Canyon Creek,

and originates south of Merwin, but we were so close to Merwin at this point

 that it doesn't seem possible for all this water to keep pouring over the edge.  

Where is it all coming from? 

Never ceases to amaze me.

Mystery Falls

I remember reading, on one of my earliest visits, that there are 77 waterfalls throughout the Columbia Gorge, on both the Oregon and Washington sides, but more in Oregon.  And I remember thinking how can there possibly be that many waterfalls!  Now that we've lived here for a few years, my thinking is just the opposite.  77 seems like a ridiculously low number!  Gorge waterfalls must number in the hundreds.  Unless 77 is just waterfalls falling right at the edge of the Columbia.  Either way, this waterfall would be one of the 77.  It's one of two waterfalls I walked past on my short walk along the Historic Hwy 30 Trail near Starvation Creek.  I especially liked the tree clinging to the edge of the cliff wall. 

Top o' the Falls

The view from the top of White River Falls.  It's not uncommon for a waterfall to work its way around a tree at the edge of the cliff, but in this case the trees are actually off to the side of the river. Still, I liked the illusion created from the vantage point below the falls, and I was imagining the falling water like the trees' roots under the ground. 

Edge of the Table

So here is the edge of Table Mountain.  There was a mushy ledge trail leading down the hill, and I wish I'd taken it now so I could post a photo of the front of the waterfall.  You can see the stream in the upper right of the photo, and almost see the falls.  It was interesting, because you could still ford the stream almost right up to the edge of the falls, and then it just drops off the side of the hill.  This family was dangerously close to the edge if you want my opinion.  Just before I took this photo the little boy at the top was stumbling around.  I would not make a very good photojournalist, because I was just frozen in my tracks, willing him to catch his balance, and I'm sure that was the "decisive moment."  Thankfully they all moved safely away from edge.

April 18

Today we went hiking at Lake Cushman at the Staircase entrance to the Olympic National Park. This was a little waterfall leading down from Mt. Rose to Lake Cushman. I used a slow shutter speed to make the water blurry.

This is my least favorite photo I've posted so far. I'm not sure why. I think I just didn't have a sense of how to compose the shot and where to put the waterfall, plus I don't really like the branches and dead leaves in the left corner. I liked that the water was moving in so many different directions throughout the photo, so that's why I chose it.