Lindsey Creek

Be aware: Upper Lindsey Creek was overrun by the Eagle Creek wildfire in Sept 2017. While the area been reopened, use extreme caution when descending the creek. Between landslides, fallen trees, and loose rocks, this area may be extremely unstable and dangerous for years to come. The canyon may have changed dramatically. Do not rely on the beta below being accurate. If you run the canyon, please update the beta. Lindsey Creek is a major drainage located between Shellrock Mountain and Mt. Defiance on the south side of the Columbia River Gorge. This page describes the upper section of the creek which has a superb set of narrows and falls located between 700-1100ft elevation - with some 6+ drops in rapid succession. Be ready, however, for a long day out. The relentless logjams and damage from the Eagle Creek Fire in 2017 may tarnish the allure of what would otherwise was a splendid canyon. Lindsey Creek drains a large part of the north face of Mt. Defiance, including North Lake and Bear Lake, and sports significant water into early August and September. Lindsey is likely quite dangerous earlier in the season. Hydraulics will be present at many of the falls in high water conditions. There are a number of deep pools along the way. Watershed: 4.45mi^2.

Note: the parking area is ONLY accessible from I-84 traveling eastbound. About 2.3mi past Wyeth (exit 51), park in a gravel pulloff just off the highway's shoulder. There is room for 4-5 vehicles. Be aware: this trailhead comes up fast and is easy to miss when moving at speed. Be ready for it. A gated powerline access track leads up from the pulloff to a junction with the bike trail above (~2min). Do not block the gate. This is the same trailhead for Summit Creek. From the pullout, walk past the gate and follow the powerline access track upwards, crossing the paved bike path along the way. Once under the powerlines, bear left and follow the track on a rising traverse up to its end. There's a faint use trail here leading south into the woods here, which drops onto an overgrown logging track. Follow the old road grade south about two minutes and watch for a place where the user trail drops down into Lindsey Creek to your left. This will likely be your exit. Follow the logging grade a short distance further, then break off to ascend the ridge. (The road grade is overgrown and trying to follow it is more trouble than it's worth.) The ridge, however, is fairly open forest, but was hit hard by the Eagle Creek Fire.

Continue downstream ~5min to reach the place where you dropped in. Continue downstream to the top of the narrows. Hike 0.1mi to the next rappel. Below R8, the creek passes through some beautiful sections of bedrock to a couple of short steps. Below, significant tributary enters DCR. May be possible to escape DCR here up to overgrown logging grade on the east side of the canyon. Hike downstream 0.5mi, climbing over innumerable logjams. Eventually the canyon narrows up again. Just before this happens, watch for a user trail DCR which may be a possible exit to the aforementioned road grade. It's also possible to exit DCL up onto Lindsey Ridge just above R9. (This is the "early entrance.")