The Eagle Creek Trail stood out as the highlight of the 1977 PCT hike. With waterfalls and swimming holes every few hundred yards I thought of this stretch as a wilderness amusement park. The trail is not the official PCT only because some parts would be too dangerous for horses.
I was so impressed with the Eagle Creek Trail that I brought several of my hiking buddies here in 1982. One of them, Jerry Brisson, joined me in a jump from the cliff above Punchbowl Falls down into the pool seventy feet below. I recall that while falling I thought I must be about to hit the water, only to notice I was only halfway there.
I sliced into the pool cleanly, causing momentary concern among my buddies when I disappeared into the depth of the pool for quite a few seconds. The real concern needed to be for Jerry. He entered the water at a slight angle and consequently fractured his sternum.
If we had made that jump today both of us also might have incurred a $300 fine. There are now posted signs forbidding cliff jumping or diving into the Punchbowl pool. On the one hand I can see where that might be necessary, given the increased numbers of both casual hikers and thru-hikers on the trail.
On the other hand the increased numbers of thru-hikers might not matter. When I listen in on a gathering of 2014 thru-hikers I don’t hear tales of making a spontaneous side trip to climb Mt. Thielsen or of taking a whole day to hike just a few miles to maximize the time spent in a wilderness playground such as Eagle Creek. I’m more likely to hear tales about the different microbreweries visited off the trail.
Not that our group is any different now. I had no urge to jump off of Punchbowl falls at my age even if posted signs were absent. I did look longingly at some of the swimming holes that once invited me in to play. Unfortunately the day was cool, nor would Cindy swim in a cold pool now even on a hot day, while all of us were urged along to finish the miles. By reaching Cascade Locks we would be done with Phase Two of our hike and move on to Phase Three, hiking the Washington section.
