Panther Creek Falls

[Kyle Jones]

I took this in May 2016 during a trip to the Columbia Gorge chasing waterfalls. I'd been to Panther Creek before, so I had a vision of what I wanted: getting up close and personal (and very wet) with the falls.

Any thoughts are always welcome.

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice one. Accessing the base of those falls is not a simple stroll. Interesting how slow the water flow was in May of 2016. This flow rate looks more like what I have typically seen in the fall up there.

I like falls like this when you can get all the little delicate details of the cascades like you image shows in the upper center instead of raging torrents that inundate everything. The lush greens of spring look nice here.

 

[Ryan10]

Beautiful! When is the "best" photography time to go to that area, May/June?

 

[AlanLichty]

Beautiful! When is the "best" photography time to go to that area, May/June?

Most years the flow in the fall has the most interesting water to shoot. Usually May/June are torrents that look impressive but aren't particularly photogenic.

 

[Ryan10]

Ah...ok. Thanks. Oregon is a must at some point for me.

 

[AlanLichty]

Ah...ok. Thanks. Oregon is a must at some point for me.

Panther Creek is in Washington just north of a town named Carson along the Wind River Highway. Look for Forest Service road NF-65.

 

[BarryHamilton]

Color, shutter speed, light, all very nicely done!

 

[Ben Egbert]

Wow, the whole trick here is getting down to this place, very nice.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Kyle,

Very nice work here. I do like the look and feel of this!

Panther Creek falls is on my list. I have shot in the Columbia River Gorge area many times, but either forget or run out of time to get to Panther Creek falls.

It's very possible I may swing over to that area when I am shooting fall colors this year. So from Bens comment, it's a bit hard to get down to this spot to shoot?

Jim

 

[JimFox]

Nice one. Accessing the base of those falls is not a simple stroll. Interesting how slow the water flow was in May of 2016. This flow rate looks more like what I have typically seen in the fall up there.

I like falls like this when you can get all the little delicate details of the cascades like you image shows in the upper center instead of raging torrents that inundate everything. The lush greens of spring look nice here.

Hey Alan, how long does the fall color hang out here?

Jim

 

[AlanLichty]

Hey Alan, how long does the fall color hang out here?

Jim

Pretty late actually. We normally don't really get started until mid October and often run into the first week of Nov.

 

[Kyle Jones]

Nice one. Accessing the base of those falls is not a simple stroll. Interesting how slow the water flow was in May of 2016. This flow rate looks more like what I have typically seen in the fall up there.

I like falls like this when you can get all the little delicate details of the cascades like you image shows in the upper center instead of raging torrents that inundate everything. The lush greens of spring look nice here.

Thanks a lot Alan. As much as I liked some of the photos I've seen from this year (with those raging torrents!) I prefer seeing some details as well.

Color, shutter speed, light, all very nicely done!

Thank you Barry

Wow, the whole trick here is getting down to this place, very nice.

For me the trick is still having the energy to shoot once getting there!

Hey Kyle,

Very nice work here. I do like the look and feel of this!

Panther Creek falls is on my list. I have shot in the Columbia River Gorge area many times, but either forget or run out of time to get to Panther Creek falls.

It's very possible I may swing over to that area when I am shooting fall colors this year. So from Bens comment, it's a bit hard to get down to this spot to shoot?

Jim

The first part is easy - a short but steep trail to a maintained viewpoint. From there you climb around some tree roots onto a rock face. This you need to climb down. Some call it a scramble, but I think it is worse than that - especially when wet. I recommend bringing a rope. I've been there twice. The first time I climbed down the rocks and the second time someone had left a rope. I felt much safer that way. It is only 10 feet or so down the rocks but I don't trust myself. At the bottom there are lots of options. For this shot I was waist deep in the river.