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Local Lens: Chasing Waterfalls with @matthew__cohen

In this series, local Instagrammers show you their favorite places to shoot around where they live. For more photos from Matthew’s adventures through the waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest, follow @matthew__cohen on Instagram.

Nature has always inspired a sense of awe inside Portland attorney Matthew Cohen (@matthew__cohen). “I’m originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up on the shore of Lake Michigan,” Matthew recalls. “I remember appreciating nature as a young child as I explored the forested shoreline of the huge lake.”

Now living in the Pacific Northwest, Matthew keeps his love for the forests alive through regular adventures to waterfalls throughout Oregon and Washington with his wife, Tessa (@la_tigressa).

“All of my senses are triggered when visiting waterfalls,” he shares, adding, “The air just seems cleaner and crisper near a waterfall. Once I reach the falls, I feel as if time is standing still, and I stand in awe at the story that the land and the water are telling me.”

Matthew shares some of his favorite waterfalls found throughout Oregon and Washington:

• Panther Creek Falls – “This 136-foot (41-meter) waterfall in Skamania County crashes down into a moss-covered amphitheater. I’ll never forget seeing this waterfall for the first time in 2005 and thinking I’ve never seen anything like it.”
• Falls Creek Falls – “This enormous multi-tiered 335-foot (102-meter) waterfall can be reached by following a two mile trail through old-growth along the creek. Even in an area popular for waterfalls, this waterfall stands out for its sheer size.”
• Spirit Falls – “What makes this falls special is that it’s world famous with kayakers but rarely visited by hikers. You might be lucky enough to catch a kayaker making a run. The last time I was there I caught some very talented kayakers running the falls.”
• McClellan Falls – “McClellan Falls was confirmed to exist in 2008, but there is no path or signs to the falls. Reaching the falls requires bushwhacking down a steep river canyon and following animal trails. Once at the falls you’re delighted with a very rarely visited 143-foot (44-meter) falls surrounded by volcanic rocks and outcroppings. I’ll never forget the feeling of reaching the falls for the first time.”