Wahtum Lake to Tenas Camp

Day 6, Wahtum Lake to Tenas Camp (Eagle Creek): 9.2 miles

Ryan didn’t join us during the night so we headed out without him. We didn’t have a specific camp site in mind along Eagle Creek but we expected that Ryan would catch up with us and if not he’d just check all of the campsites as he passed them. The hike was all downhill from here, literally!

Along the way we crossed several creeks including the Indian Springs Fork of Eagle Creek, fed by that elusive Indian Springs. We had seen an older couple back at Wahtum Lake who were hiking from Palm Springs to Cascade Locks and they had found the springs and told us where it was. Oh well, it was nice to have two nights in one spot so everything worked out OK anyway.

One of the features of the Eagle Creek trail is the abundance of waterfalls. Most hikers stop at Tunnel Falls, if they even get that far, but there are several unnamed but very pretty falls further upstream. As we hiked we ran into a couple of guys who had just moved to Portland out for a weekend backpack trip. We also met a college aged boy backpacking alone. I nicknamed him “Right on!” because he must have said that 20 times in our conversation with him. Karen kept calling him “Jose” though I’m not sure why as he wasn’t Hispanic looking at all.

We stopped just above some falls which are not officially named but commonly referred to as Crossover Falls. There are several pretty pools in the creek in this vicinity which look quite inviting but are a little too cold for swimming. We still enjoyed washing our feet and sunbathing on the warm rocks. In no hurry to get to camp and hoping that Ryan would wander by, we relaxed for a good hour. It was quite serene even though we were only about 7 miles from interstate 84. The only person we saw was a girl and her dog doing an overnight trip. She was hiking in flip flops (she did have boots hanging from her pack) which seemed like a bad idea, especially as much of the Eagle Creek trail is quite rough from being blasted from the basalt canyon walls. As the canyon walls were beginning to bring shade we headed down the trail to stunning but acrophobic Tunnel Falls. Here the trail makers actually blasted a tunnel through the cliff behind the waterfall! It was here that we began to run occasionally into day hikers. Onward Karen found a letterbox I had hidden last year and then I found one of hers. As I was packing up the letterbox, I discovered that I had lost my datasheet! Since we had only to head down the Eagle Creek trail, a trail we were both familiar with, it wasn’t a disaster, though it was still like losing a friend. We were then debating which campsite to stay at when Ryan came down the trail – with my datasheet! Reunited we quickly decided to camp at the campsite closest to the trailhead – and more importantly, closest to the Charburger in Cascade Locks.

So we headed down to Tenas Camp which is a mere 4 miles from the trailhead. The abundance of toilet paper testified to it popularity though being a weeknight we had the site to ourselves. Here I found a bad science fiction book someone had left behind. We caught up on the adventures since we separated. Ryan had lost his food bag and half his tarp to a bear. Even though Karen and I only brought half the food this time, we still had plently to share. Then, with mixed emotions about it being our last night, we went to bed.