When I visited Bend, Oregon in October 2017 on a solo work trip, I decided I wanted to do some sunrise hiking while I was there. Earlier in the year I had taken a group photography trip to Peru where I learned that the best light for landscape photography happened at sunrise or sunset. And I also learned that the best locations to reach those photogenic scenes required some hiking.
I had some freedom to explore on my own on this trip so I decided I would plan a couple sunrise hikes to start my days in Bend. I googled the best photo spots in Bend, as well as the best (and easiest hiking) trails and made a plan. Because I arrived on the Pacific Northwest on East Coast time I decided waking up early on my first morning in Bend would be my best option.
Tumalo Waterfalls in Bend, Oregon; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
There are numerous waterfall photo opportunities in the Bend, Oregon area and when I found Tumalo Falls in Deschutes National Forest, I was pumped. It was an easy walk to the falls and the photos I was seeing online told me I would be able to make a nice photograph, too. My research also confirmed that sunrise was the best time to visit because the light hit the waterfalls just right, making for great photography shots.
I googled what time sunrise was for that day, set my alarm for several hours in advance in order to give myself time to wake up, drive to the falls and arrive just as the sun was cresting over the mountains.
My alarm went off, I hopped in the car with all of my equipment and layers of clothing because it was chilly outside at 3 o’clock in the morning. I drove the 45 ish minutes in the dark from my hotel in the heart of Bend to the Deschutes National Forest just outside the city center. Once I was inside the nature park, driving on a dirt and gravel road with large natural speed bumps on the road, I realized I hadn’t planned this out entirely well. My timing was off. Way off.
I wanted to be at the falls, with my camera set up and ready to go as the sun was rising. But I hadn’t exactly considered that BEFORE the sun rises, it’s dark outside. Like really freaking dark outside!
As I drove deeper into this nature park, it got darker and darker. There were no street lamps. There were no lights at all. The stars and my car headlights were all that was guiding my way to the Tumalo Falls. I was starting to have some anxiety about my first solo, sunrise photoshoot hike but figured it would be fine once I arrived at the parking lot by the waterfalls.
Nope.
Instead, that’s when I discovered I’m actually afraid of the dark. I parked at the lot near the falls and all I saw around me was darkness. I opened my car window and could hear the waterfalls so I knew I was in the right place, but there was no way in hell I was getting out of the car only to be engulfed by this complete black abyss that surrounded me.
Then came the bear anxiety. There was a sign in the parking lot that said to beware of bears, and that was all I needed to envision a giant monster of a bear just casually walking up to my car, smashing the windshield and eating me. It was at this point, that I started to leave the park. I pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the dirt and gravel road that just took me forever to drive down because of these weird natural like speed humps in the road. I thought I would go sit in a lit, store parking lot somewhere until the sun started to creep up a bit and then drive back. But this road was so annoying to drive down, I didn’t want to do it three more times so I said no, and headed back to the dark, likely bear-filled parking lot where no one would hear me scream over the loud sound of the waterfalls in the distance.
And what did I do next you ask? I called my mommy.
It was probably close to 5 a.m. in Oregon but on the East Coast where my mom was, it was an acceptable time to call. My mom of course confirmed that I was being ridiculous and should just wait in my car until some light started to appear in the sky and my scared butt could muster the courage to begin this journey to the waterfalls.
So I listened to mom and waited. But my head remained on a swivel keeping an eye out for bears. Naturally.
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Finally, the sky started to turn a slight shade of gray and then a deep blue and I could see the wooded trail and even a sign that said Tumalo Falls this way! I put on my hat and gloves, grabbed my camera gear and slowly started to creep down the trail, which was lined with the tallest of trees and immediately it was dark again, but I kept walking toward the sound of the waterfalls.
The rushing water thunder sound that filled this path had me thinking I could be on the trail for awhile before I got a good view of the waterfalls. There were several different hiking trail options in this area and I hadn’t exactly pinned down where I was going to walk.
I took maybe about 10 steps along this path and maybe it was 20 steps total from my car and there was a lovely, man-made observation deck with a perfect view of the Tumalo Falls. I immediately laughed out loud at how ridiculous I had been for being so afraid of the dark. Just 20 steps from the safety of my car was this majestic spot in nature that was not scary at all. Granted, I wouldn’t have been able to even see the waterfalls in the dark so my planning still wasn’t ideal but this realization just solidified for me what I already knew.
There was nothing to be scared of, it was all in my head, and I should have confidence to get outside and go explore!
Sunrise at Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon; Courtesy of Courtney Elko
Learning My Lesson on Hike Number 2
I had one more sunrise hike in mind a few days after my episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? This hike I definitely planned better. I did not set my alarm for several hours prior to sunrise. I timed it perfectly so I arrived at the bottom of Pilot Butte only a few minutes before the sun began it’s ascend.
Pilot Butte, a lava dome from an extinct volcano, is located right in the center of Bend. That’s one of the things I love most about Bend (and much of the Pacific Northwest), is that the city is immediately surrounded by nature, and nature can be found in the heart of the city. I haven’t experienced destinations like that on the East Coast. It’s either city OR nature, it’s hard to find places that offer both in the same location.
So Pilot Butte was a quick 10 minute drive from my hotel, AND there were other people arriving as I did for their morning hike or jog up this circular, less than 2 mile (up and back) trail. The best part of this trail and something that I’ve never experienced while hiking before is that the trail was circular. As you ascend up the trail you are walking around the dome to the summit. So you have an entirely different view of Bend below as you walk on.
It was gorgeous to watch the city below begin to glow in a pink hue and see the residents slowly wake up to their every day lives. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness as I walked up the paved trail to the top of Pilot Butte. I’ve definitely never felt this level of happiness on a hike either before or since. As the sun slowly rose I kept saying to myself, I totally understand why people do this. I totally get why people hike at sunrise. I need to do this more often. I feel so alive.
It was cold out, but the hike was indeed easy. There was a clear start and end point. My journey was laid out for me. I may not have known exactly what to expect but I saw what was ahead and knew I could accomplish this with no fear.
Both of these hikes ended in greatness. I was ultimately happy I did both of them in the end. But one began in fear and darkness, while the other was serene and bright from the start. One required me to walk into the unknown of darkness and I was rewarded with a majestic waterfall only steps away. The other required me to walk a mile uphill in the pink hue of sunrise and I felt I was rewarded along the entire journey, although the journey took longer and required more physicality.
There is a metaphor for life here but I’m not entirely sure how to explain it. I’m also realizing how much all of my limited hiking experiences are metaphors for my life.
Walking into the unknown, whether it’s pitch black outside or there is a pretty golden glow cresting above the mountains, you are still walking into the unknown. But it turns out, you’re rewarded either way. But maybe when you walk through the darkness (whether for 20 steps or 20 years) the waterfalls that will greet you on the other side, will have you realizing and laughing at how silly you were for being afraid of the dark in the first place.
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