Whitehorse Falls, Springtime, 1995, Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

(Click image to enlarge)

Whitehorse Falls is a small 15 foot (4.6 m) waterfall on the Clearwater River. This photograph was captured on film in the spring of 1995, and rediscovered in my archives during the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2020. In 1995 Whitehorse Falls was one of the prettiest little waterfalls anywhere. The very moist forest environment allowed moss and other vegetation to grow on every rock, log, tree trunk, and piece of ground around the falls, creating a lush and verdant green setting. By the spring of 2006 thoughtless people swarming around the waterfall had trampled most of the vegetation seen in this photograph, eroding the landscape around the falls and turning much of the green to brown. By the spring of 2013 the situation was far worse. Sadly, Whitehorse Falls is just another once beautiful place destroyed by the onslaught of humanity