Getting My Feet Wet at Dog Creek Falls
Southern Washington Weekend Getaway Travelog 5
Carson, WA. Sun 23 Mar 2017, noon.
As of a few days ago the weather forecast for Sunday in the Columbia River Gorge area looked to be partly crummy: bits of rain, bits of sun. But this morning the weather is definitely mostly crummy. It's cool and it's either actively raining or looking like it will start again soon. That puts a damper (no pun intended) on our desire to hike.
After breakfast we visited an antiques shop to look around instead of spending time outdoors. But once we hit the road our wanderlust caught back up to us. As we were rolling down the highway we spotted a pretty little waterfall in a side canyon. There was a gravel parking area nearby, so we turned around and went back to it to explore.
For whatever reason Dog Creek Falls isn't in either of our guidebooks. Maybe it's too seasonal? Too short of a hike? Either way, it was flowing hard during this wet season, and the 1/4 mile walk was right in Hawk's comfort zone.
An easy trail enters the canyon and quickly leads to the 30' tall falls. From dry land the falls are partly obscured by a rock wall on the right. With my hiking boots on I wasn't afraid of a little water so I steped into the creek to take pictures like this:
I got a little too bold with my plodding through the water and entered an area deep enough to overtop my boots. The water wasn't frigid like I expected. It was merely cold so I stood in it long enough to take pictures with various settings.
Once back on dry land it was squish-squish-squish as I walked. Fortunately I have other shoes and socks in the car.
Carson, WA. Sun 23 Mar 2017, noon.
As of a few days ago the weather forecast for Sunday in the Columbia River Gorge area looked to be partly crummy: bits of rain, bits of sun. But this morning the weather is definitely mostly crummy. It's cool and it's either actively raining or looking like it will start again soon. That puts a damper (no pun intended) on our desire to hike.
After breakfast we visited an antiques shop to look around instead of spending time outdoors. But once we hit the road our wanderlust caught back up to us. As we were rolling down the highway we spotted a pretty little waterfall in a side canyon. There was a gravel parking area nearby, so we turned around and went back to it to explore.
For whatever reason Dog Creek Falls isn't in either of our guidebooks. Maybe it's too seasonal? Too short of a hike? Either way, it was flowing hard during this wet season, and the 1/4 mile walk was right in Hawk's comfort zone.
An easy trail enters the canyon and quickly leads to the 30' tall falls. From dry land the falls are partly obscured by a rock wall on the right. With my hiking boots on I wasn't afraid of a little water so I steped into the creek to take pictures like this:
I got a little too bold with my plodding through the water and entered an area deep enough to overtop my boots. The water wasn't frigid like I expected. It was merely cold so I stood in it long enough to take pictures with various settings.
Once back on dry land it was squish-squish-squish as I walked. Fortunately I have other shoes and socks in the car.