Take a trip down one of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic whitewater creeks. It’s best known for its 100-plus-foot-tall Metlako Falls. These falls have over 80 feet of freefall and are iconic in the paddlesports community.
It is the previous tallest waterfall kayaked by a woman and the tallest waterfall paddled in a tandem kayak. It was even paddled tandem by legendary paddler Steve Fisher and infamous skateboarder Bam Margera.
The iconic double-dropping and hard-turning Punchbowl Falls is also found in Eagle Creek. It has been featured in iconic paddling films for decades now, and is one of the highest drops ever attempted on a standup paddleboard.
Where Eagles Dare
This short film by Seth Ezekiel West is visually stunning and takes you in close to the action. This one isn’t about storytelling, but is about the iconic beauty and whitewater action found deep in Eagle Creek, one of the Columbia River Gorge’s whitewater gems.
Not only do paddlers drop the big, well-known drops, but they also take on many of the lesser-known, yet still challenging and significant, rapids found in this steep creek. Top paddlers Dave Fusilli, Tyler Bradt, Anna Wagner, Rob Fusilli, Dakota Rogers, and Sam Iatarola are featured in this film.
Their lines down these drops not only make it look easy, but they also do it with style. I can assure you, these are not easy rapids!
As you can see in the film, the rapids are big and dangerous. However, the real hazards are all the downed wood in the creek — and the steep rock walls that the creek flows through at the bottom.
I’ve trail run and hiked the ever-popular Eagle Creek Trail that goes along this whitewater gem, and been a photographer on a few kayak descents of the big drops. There is never a shortage of people on this trail, but there are very few paddlers who step up to this whitewater.
Even fewer do a majority of the drops on the run, as the normal move is just to do Punch Bowl and Metlako and call it a day. Other big drops featured in “Where Eagles Dare” include Grand Union and Skoonichuk.
Eagle Creek: Finally Legal
For over 20 years, Eagle Creek has been illegal to paddle in its entirety, with a specific closure of Punchbowl Falls as one of the largest legal hurdles. But, American Whitewater was able to legally open it back up in 2022 for kayakers and canyoneers. This came as the trail along the creek reopened after a devastating forest fire in 2017 ravaged the area.
Runtime: 14 minutes
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