The two-mile hike into Punchbowl Falls in the Columbia River Gorge makes for a spectacular scene. Day hikers were passing the crew of mostly kayakers, carrying their boats on their shoulders, and asking the usual questions: “You really going to paddle off that?”
Punchbowl’s entrance (top of frame) has a unique hole-like feature that can send some into having a terrible line. Having such a stylish tuck is hard to achieve, let alone a good line. Ben demonstrates both.
There have been a lot of images throughout kayaking history at Punchbowl. The angle at the lookout on the popular hiking trail is hard to beat: showing not only the height of the drop, but also the notorious entrance. I knew that zooming into the waterfall would help highlight Ben’s powerful form. But most of the credit of this image goes towards Ben’s control and style. Without that, it would just be another Punchbowl shot.