Elowah Falls.

I needed to step away from the computer, so I loaded up my two Labradors and my camera, and headed off to the Columbia River Gorge for a small hike. The sun poked through the broken clouds as I pulled out of the driveway at my house in Milwaukie. As I drove east on Johnson Creek Boulevard, I could see this ominous dark cloud hovering over northeast Portland. The the rain dumped heavily.

My first destination was Latourell Falls, but it was dumping rain there too. I headed east on the old highway, passing Wahkeena, Multnomah and Horsetail Falls. The further east I went, the rain was lighter. By the time I reached John B. Yeon State Natural Area near Warrendale, the rain stopped. The dogs jumped out and we headed up the trail to Elowah Falls.

I packed light for this small two-mile hike. I really didn’t think it was necessary to pack 20 pounds of camera equipment to a shooting location that would soak every piece of camera equipment I had. I also don’t believe every photograph taken of the natural outdoors should be on a sunny, cloudless day either. I’ll just capture the weather, no matter what mood Mother Nature is in (that is, if my camera doesn’t drown in the rain).

The leaves are beginning to change. The trees are very much still green in the Columbia River Gorge. A few trees are starting to hint some gold, red and brown.

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