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Upper Pin Creek Falls was a pleasant surprise to discover. I had eyeballed the canyon on the Topographic maps several months before I visited, but could never get any verification that there was a significant waterfall there. I suspected something large, and while the falls turned out to be smaller than I thought it would be, the canyon still impressed me. Pin Creek sluices down a very narrow gorge carved in what looked like basalt, then when the canyon starts to widen, the creek plunges over a 43 foot fall, turns about 45 degrees to the left and hurtles another 67 feet to a long talus slope below. The falls are viewed from well over 200 feet above the canyon floor and the views downstream are impressive. What surprised me further is the road accessing the falls is both paved and in remarkable shape, even though it literally goes nowhere (it ends in a clearcut about 2 miles above the falls) and the Forest Service has posted a sign at its beginning stating it isn't maintained.
- Upper Pin Creek Falls is the Unofficial name of this waterfall.
Upper Pin Creek Falls are found in the Lewis River corridor near Mount Adams in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. From the junction of Forest Roads 23 and 90, follow FR 90 east for 5 3/4 miles to FR 9035 (I don't recall it being signed, but its the only paved road branching north in the area). Proceed up the constantly climbing road for just over 3 1/2 miles and park in one of the many turnouts in the area. A GPS is handy to have to find the right spot, but once close, the canyon is visible through the trees to the left of the road. The rim of the canyon is no more than 100 feet away from the road, but its also 100 vertical feet below the road and drops off very steeply. Use extreme caution in the area because it would be very easy to slip and this isn't an area where people often come, so a serious injury could go days without notice.
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