On a quick trip to the Columbia River Gorge, I decided to revisit Dry Creek Falls. My last visit was 5 months before the devastating Eagle Creek Fire so it only seemed right to see how the forest and trail have recovered in the time since.
I parked at the Bridge of The Gods trailhead around 8am with only two other cars in the lot. The bathrooms were closed for the season, the USFS website says they close on Oct 1st but not when they reopen. It was nice to see a sign on the other side of the road now where the trail takes up to go under I-84.
When I passed under the highway, I was surprised to see that the road was now paved to the trailhead and a sparkly new trailhead was built where the trail crossed Harvey Road. The bathrooms were much nicer than the other trailhead but just as closed. I guess I would be rewriting this guide description when I got home!
The curbing for the road was level with the trail entrance, marked for both the Pacific Crest Trail and Gorge 400 Trail. It looked like there was an attempt to make the trail slightly accessible with compact dirt and raised gravel but there are still rocks and roots that would make it a challenge for a wheelchair. And the drainage needs some help as the clay-based soil as very muddy in the first half mile or so.
The trillium was abundant but had been around for awhile and it wasn't long before the scars of the Eagle Creek Fire presented themselves both on long ago downed logs and the surviving forest trunks. The understory was much more open and allowed for a better viewing of the glacial history possibly even some kettles like on Whidbey Island?
I reached the junction with the falls in about an hour and turned up on the right. I was surprised to notice that there are a few living stumps at the intersection, a testament to nature's amazing ability to persist. The decommissioned road had multiple trees down.
There was one other person at the falls when I arrived but there was plenty of room for both of us to feel like we were alone with the cataract. It was too early for the sunshine to reach the alcove and the drizzly forecast wasn't helping either but the waterfall cascading through the slit in the basalt was impressive as always.
I passed a handful of groups on my way out and there were about 20 more cars between the two parking lots.
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