In the mid-Columbia River Gorge, a creek (and later its falls) was originally named “Starveout Creek” due to a wreck in 1884 where two trains were trapped in a blizzard for two weeks. Nobody died, but it was clearly nip and tuck for awhile. Fast forward to today and the 227-foot Starvation Creek Falls drops out of a slot and into a natural bowl, where the creek spills down through a large bed of rocks before cascading past a picnic area and on to the Columbia River.

On the last day of friend Dan’s visit from Las Vegas, we drove to the mid-Gorge on a nice, mostly sunny day. Usually I park at the Starvation Creek Reststop to do the grueling 12-mile, 5,000-foot elevation gain loop hike to Mt. Defiance. But not this day. Instead, we took a leisurely stroll over to the Falls. And, what a nice falls it is. We enjoyed the deep slot canyon area, dazzled by the beauty of the falls for a while, before returning to the car and beginning the next leg of our outing.

Starvation Creek Falls (note the columnar basalt)

Fallen trees in Starvation Creek

My Favorite Model and Friend Dan near Starvation Creek

Starvation Creek