Man escapes clutches of White River Falls; gorgeous but dangerous park demands caution
Photo courtesy stateparks.oregon.gov
By Tom Peterson
Hunter Xiong of Milwaukie, Oregon had taken his family camping and stopped at White River Falls State Park 35 miles south of The Dalles near Tygh Valley on Saturday, July 9th.
A quarter-mile trail to the bottom of the canyon offers epic views of the double falls, which plunge 75 feet in its first dive and then 41 in its second.
At the bottom of the rocky steep trail below the falls, a defunct powerhouse from 1910 sits rotting and gorgeous with its cobbled structure of basalt rock.
Supplied by winter runoff from Mount Hood the oft milky White River offers a refreshing mist on hot days and frigid temperatures in its waters.
It is a vision of beauty and brute strength, and one that has taken multiple lives over the years for those that choose to swim illegally or are enticed to hike past the safety boundaries into its upper reaches.
Saturday, July 9, was slightly different.
It came with a much happier ending.
And it highlights the need for those exploring the park to use their best judgment.
Hunter Xiong told CCCNews he and his family were at the sandy beach below the powerhouse at about 11 a.m. when he heard someone shout to call 911.
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“Somebody fell into the water where the waterfall was at,” Hunter said. “I just heard them say, ‘Call 911.’”
Xiong said his phone did not have a signal, and he ran back up the canyon to get reception.
As he hiked up he could see two men pull another man from the river and begin CPR.
“They revived him immediately,” he said.
“When I was done talking with 911, I walked back down to where the powerhouse is and there was already a park ranger running toward them,” he said.
Life Flight out of Dallesport was called out and landed at the park shortly after noon, according to the Wasco County Sheriff’s log.
Hunter said the man eventually was able to get up and walk.
Local authorities and Oregon State Parks have been called to the state parks numerous times for drownings over the past several decades, as people either slip or intentionally jump into the lower Celestial Falls portion of the falls and get caught in a vortex that lies below.
Signs and public awareness campaigns have been used to stem the flow of incidents, but too often the fall’s beauty and intrigue pull people into its dangerous waters.
Saturday’s near-drowning comes almost exactly a year after an Aloha man drowned at White River Fall on July 13, 2021.
In that death, witnesses told deputies that the man went under after saving his daughter from a whirlpool, according to a story published by kgw.com
The victim, 38-year-old Jason Manuel Vantine, of Aloha, was visiting White River Falls State Park with his two children, WCSO said. According to witnesses, Vantine and one of his daughters were swimming in the river when they were caught in a whirlpool and started to struggle, KGW wrote.
Here is a link to that story.
Here is another link on the beauty and danger of the falls.
