This Week's Waterfall

Wednesday I headed north again in search of my next waterfall on Myrtle Creek. About half as far away as Copper Falls - about 40 minutes to the trailhead adjacent to Kootenai  Wildlife Refuge which has also been on my list of places to visit, so able to kill two birds with one stone as it were.

It was also about 10 degrees hotter than the day I went to Copper Falls - mid 80's and a bit muggy - but I knew that wouldn't be an issue once I headed into the forest which is always comfortably cool. But wait. This trail is paved??? And I'm not supposed to be taking extended walks on pavement. Hmmm - well, I'm not backing out now!

Another surprise - this is a storybook trail, like the one at my little park close to my house. No signage about the area you are walking through, but the storybook makes it kid friendly I guess.

Winding path rising gently, big trees abound.

Trees that at some point in their growth became one at the base. Siamese twins, joined at the hip, I couldn't help myself!

Soon I reached a metal bridge crossing Myrtle Creek.

Water downstream from the falls, more than at Copper Creek.

And flowing under the bridge and onward. A real mountain creek, memories of childhood.

On the hillside above the creek I spotted a brush with brilliant red berries.

I was thinking thimbleberries but this closeup shows a cluster of berries different from thimbleberries I know.

The paved trail ended at the bridge. The trail beyond narrowed and was dirt - just what the doctor ordered. In several places springs trickled from the hillside and across the trail, contained by boards to keep them from getting out of hand, a rock strategically placed to aid in stepping over.

I spotted another tree duo, this one separated at the base but eventually leaning on each other and joining farther up.

And right next to the trail was this thick tree that had been charred by fire all around and quite a ways up.

And yet it still lived, surviving whatever fire passed through and continuing to grow. Nature is amazing.

Every now and then I could glimpse the valley floor and mountain range in the distance as the trail climbed steeply and switchbacked its way to the falls overlook.

The trail to the top is supposedly only a quarter mile long but it felt longer, no doubt because of the steepness of the trail. So heavily wooded that even at the overlook, this was all you could see of the valley and mountains across the way.

But no matter, look the other direction and here are the falls! Unlike Copper Falls, these falls do not cascade over a cliff but have cut through a gorge to fall about 100 feet. One source I found said that from the overlook you are looking down 200 feet. The elevation here is a little over 2000 feet compared to the 3400 feet of Copper Falls. I've kept the jpgs that pop up when you click on the picture large so you can explore all the details of the falling water and rock faces if you so desire.

Yes, if you are looking closely at the large versions, there is some sort of cable hanging down into the water. Not visible to the naked eye and I have no idea what that is about.

The photo has flattened this out, but it looked to me like a big round boulder resting against the rock face and covered with moss.

One source I found states: "This great cascade has exposed the native brown quartzites forming a beautifully color filled sprite." As lovely a description as one could want - can't top that!

Someone has given some care to this overlook area, adding this wrought iron backrest to the big rock so one can comfortably rest.

And placing etched pavers and stone steps with animal paw prints to help you move from one observation area to the other.

And of course, you MUST see and hear this waterfall in action! 

I'll share the wildlife refuge part of this trip in the next post.