Little Necktie Falls

This entry is accessed from the Wahkeena Creek trail, starting at Wahkeena Falls. The falls are heard just after cresting the ridge as one approaches Lemmons Viewpoint, 8/10 of a mile from the trailhead. The abandoned trail descends steeply past the falls and follows a precarious old route to a viewpoint overlooking the top of Wahkeena Falls. There is railing and fencing along portions of this old route, but it looks as if a good shove will send it toppling off the cliff, so be exceptionally careful here.An abandoned path splits off from the Wahkeena Trail near Lemmons Viewpoint and winds steeply to the top of Wahkeena Falls, passing this 30 foot waterfall just upstream. Thick brush blocks portions of the falls from view downstream, and without crossing the creek, the entire falls are likely not going to reveal themselves (I would not recommend crossing the creek, as a 250 foot waterfall lies just yards downstream). This is one of three waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge known to exhibit a criss-crossing shape as the stream falls. Later in the year, one of the two channels may run dry.Like what seems dozens of other waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge, there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the waterfall labeled as Necktie Falls. The issue here is which features are named and what. Since 1980, A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest has called this 30 foot fall Necktie Falls. Later, photos appeared in a "Story behind the Scenery" series book showing a different waterfall labeled as Necktie Falls. Both falls appeared similar in shape, having crossing streams of water that could lead to either fall being named as Necktie. Recently, historic photographs were uncovered labeling this second waterfall as "The Necktie of Wahkeena Falls" and further onsite scouting proved that it is, indeed, the top of Wahkeena Falls itself that was originally called The Necktie. So it would seem the name was erroneously applied to the next waterfall upstream. To remedy this, I propose this fall be known as Little Necktie Falls, as both a descriptive and disambiguation.