I spent a lot of time planning for my trip out to the Pacific Northwest this spring. I mapped out over a hundred waterfalls and created a schedule that would hopefully allow me to shoot most of them. Of course I set aside quite a few days to shoot the waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge. In my plan though, I also investigated the Washington side. I realized how busy the Gorge could get on the weekends and picked out some nice looking falls away from the crowds.

Panther Falls was high on my list based on what I had read and the pictures I had seen. It’s a unique waterfall that actually turns a sharp corner before plunging to a pool at the base. A large spring adjacent to the falls sends a veil of water down the side of the canyon. The experience of first seeing it after a short hike down from the road is exhilarating. It seems there is water coming from everywhere!

I have to admit a bit of stupidity in my quest to shoot this waterfall though. My plan was to hit this one first thing Saturday morning. I left the hotel in Cascade Locks early and crossed the bridge to the Washington side of the river. I had the location of the falls on my GPS so I was able to find the general area relatively easily. I parked in a large pullout that I had read about that was supposedly close to the trailhead. After wandering up and down the road for quite a while I finally noticed a small sign marking the trail. Eager to get down and shoot, I went back to my Jeep and opened the lift gate. You can imagine my surprise when I noticed that I had not grabbed my camera bag from the room. What an idiot! As Homer Simpson would say “D’OH”! Luckily my wife was the only person to witness this atrocity. I believe her words were “What kind of photographer forgets his camera?”. Obviously, this was shot the following morning…

Click on the image to view a larger version in the galleries.