Latourell Falls

Author's Comments

The lichen is the thing. Most people come to Latourell for the drop itself, and 249 feet in a single unbroken plunge is reason enough, but what makes this waterfall genuinely strange is the wall behind it. The basalt is coated in a yellow-green lichen so vivid it looks artificial, and against the dark rock and the white column of water, the color reads almost neon. I have not seen anything quite like it elsewhere in the gorge. March is when I prefer to be here. The volume is high from the winter rains, the surrounding alders have not yet leafed in, and the lichen is at its most saturated after months of damp. Morning is the only time worth shooting. The falls face roughly east-southeast, and by late morning the light has gone flat and the spray has turned the air into a soft gray nothing. Get there at first light if you can. The lower viewpoint is two minutes from the car, which is part of why this place draws crowds, but the early hour usually buys you solitude. Bring a cloth. Bring two. The spray reaches further than you expect and a long exposure means a longer window for water to land on your front element. I have ruined more frames here than I care to admit. A rain cover is not paranoia, it is preparation. The upper falls are worth the loop if you have the morning, but the lower view is the photograph. Wide enough to hold the full drop, close enough to let the lichen do its work.

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