The Pacific Northwest's largest river flows northwest through Washington from it's headwaters in British Columbia to form the majority of the border between Washington and Oregon. This massive river is the heart and soul of the namesake 'Columbia River Gorge', a complete spectacle in it's own right. There's hundreds if not thousands of tributaries that will contribute to the Columbia River before it finishes it's long journey into the Pacific Ocean; Eagle Creek is just one of them. This lush ecosystem was recently scarred bad by a wildfire back in 2017, but since then, has been recovering. Portions of this scenic area are still actually closed. However, the crown jewel of the area is this loop! There's about a dozen waterfalls in the first 7 miles before you then make a long and steady slog up to the not so exciting, Wahtum Lake. From Wahtum Lake though, you can make the short, very steep, ascent up to Chinidere Mountain. If you're lucky enough to be doing this on a true blue bird day, oh how you will be treated. From Chinidere Mtn, you can see nearly all five of Oregon's tallest peaks. Mt. Hood takes over the sky, with Mt. Jefferson nearby and the Three Sisters peaks in the distant barely visible horizon. Furthermore, you get wonderful views of three of Washington's tallest peaks that happen to be volcanoes: the infamous Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and the tallest peak in Washington-Mt. Rainier. A truly mesmerizing site to see all of this in one spot. I spent well over an hour here even though wind speeds were easily 30+ MPH constantly. While the 'oohs & ahhs' seem never ending, you won't gasp in excitement for your campsite options. Most of the sites through the trek are simply, meh. Save for the one or two excellent near-waterfall camps early on - which I imagine are next to impossible to snag. With that said, I was fine with it. This hike is very unique. There may be no other trail where you can see a dozen waterfalls, walk behind the biggest and best waterfall of the bunch, AND get mountain top access to such outstanding 360 degree views all in a hard days work. I also did this hike end of June, which was ideal, but in low snow years it's possible to be out there several weeks earlier. Early season backpacking, another reason to visit. That said, a deceiving amount of snow will fall in these low elevation mountains, so it's best you're very up to speed with trip/ranger reports so you don't run into the dreaded wall of snow somewhere on trail. Hope you all enjoy.

00:00 Introduction
00:21 Day 1
00:51 Waterfalls
02:33 Wahtum Lake Ascent
03:32 Chinidere Mountain 360 Views
03:56 From Peak to Camp - Benson Plateau
04:32 Setting Up Camp
05:06 Day 2 Begins
06:11 Day 2-On the Trail Again
07:32 Last Waterfall

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