Last Week's Waterfall

When I headed out last Wednesday for another hike, it had rained over the weekend and the temperature had gone from the mid-80's of the previous week's hike, to a cooler but still comfortable mid-70's. Time to pack a sweatshirt cardigan just in case, because I was headed to Grouse Creek Falls and had been warned that except at high noon, most everything would be in shade. I anticipated a short day since the trail head was closer than my previous road trips, less than 20 miles of mostly paved road that I was quite familiar with. It was only those last 5 miles that I hadn't been on before that slowed me way down as the road went from paved to gravel to washboardy and narrowed to dirt with huge potholes which meant it took nearly as long to get there as to the trailheads farther away. My directions were a bit sketchy - take a right and follow Grouse Creek Road for about 4 miles and take a right down an unmarked road - but another later site indicated that there might be a marker now. All of a sudden, there was a narrow one-lane road dropping off to the right and I spotted the marker partly obscured by bushes, just a square stick with "Grouse Falls" printed vertically on it - see the red arrow. Did I really want to drive down there for who knows how far? I got out of the car to inspect and decided to make my way down to the parking lot that supposedly awaited.

I did not have to go far for the road to open up into a very large parking area where sat a big motorhome. Ok then, I was being a bit wussy about the road in I guess. I chatted with a woman coming off the trail who assured me it was beautiful but a lot of up and down. My information said it was about half a mile to the falls so it shouldn't be too bad. As I headed out of the parking lot, I spotted hoofy prints - surely people aren't riding horses to the falls, but perhaps this trail hooked up to the one I'd seen that did accommodate horses?

I didn't go far until I noticed several horses, saddled and tied up back in the trees, no humans around. A puzzle . . .

This may be one of my favorite hikes. Unlike other trails I've been on, this one stays right along the creek which is seldom out of sight and never out of hearing. There may not be much water in the creek at this time of year, but you can see how big it must get with spring runoff, filling the creek bed all the way to the far treeline.

I've gotten use to wide and well maintained trails and this one started out that way. Soon it narrowed and led through a section nearly overgrown with grass, as if few people had been through.

Then this section which left me peering past a boulder field to see if the trail really did take up again on the other side. This was the place where I really appreciated my walking stick for balance as I worked my way across, remembering how my dad had taught me to traverse rock-strewn areas and reminding myself to be extra careful so as not to twist or break an ankle.

And there were several sections where springs crossed the trail, making for muddy going unless you could step from rock to rock. No boardwalks here. Click on the picture for a large view to see all the way down the wet trail.

As I was picking my way through I suddenly realized why those logs were there. Oh yeah, one can walk along those instead of down in the mud. Thankful for that walking stick again - don't do this kind of balancing walk anymore.

Making my way through another muddy section I was surprised to see these stairs in the steep hillside. They were deceiving though. To climb them was not unlike climbing a ladder and they were wet and slick. Still, a tiny bit better than climbing the bare hill itself.

So after all that primitive stretch of trail, it was a surprise and a bit of a relief to see the trail widen out into a sort of path I'd become used to. A little farther up, some trails looked to split off and lead down toward the creek, but not decisively so. I thought of my directions "when the trail starts to climb, take a right towards the water", but I wasn't sure I was there. I followed the main trail up a bit farther, far enough to see it was heading closer to the edge of the hillside than I wanted to go and maybe stopped altogether. I turned around and tried one of the trails heading down . . . 

The indistinct trails eventually merged to one leading up the creek and I was soon ready to cross over these boulders down into a lovely beach area. Well, almost, because I could hear voices, not just a couple but many, and somewhat raucous ones. I spotted a cowboy hat just poking up behind the rock before I saw the group and realized these were the people who had left those horses tied up at the beginning of the trail. I'd seen signs for a "guest ranch" and "Adventure Pony Rides" on my way up and these must be "dudes" from the dude ranch.

I beat a hasty retreat before any of them saw me and made my way to a spot by the creek, hidden by one of those big rocks. I am such an introvert! But viewing the creek and the falls was not an experience I had planned to share with distracting strangers, so I savored the stretch of creek before me while eavesdropping on their conversation and waiting for them to leave, which they soon did. You'll recognize familiar features: large boulders and cliff faces, trees hanging onto them for dear life, mosses, clear clear water.

I'm glad I waited them out. This is such a lovely spot and I'm sure this whole hike culminating in this cathedral of sorts was tapping into a lot of childhood memories. This looks to be a well-used area, with signs of a campfire and rocks rearranged in the creek to create pools for cooling your beverages or your feet.

But where are the falls, you may well ask? Well, I'd been warned that one could not see them because they were hidden around that big boulder. Bring your water shoes, it said. You'll have to get in the water to see around it to catch a glimpse of the falls. I'd not brought my water shoes, decided to gamble that maybe the creek would be low enough to expose some dry beach to stand on. I was wrong. So I had a little debate with myself. Are you brave enough to take off your shoes and socks and wade in? How cold is that water? A quick check proved it was not that cold.

So yeah, I'm gonna do it! Using the boulder for balance and ouch ouching my way along the pebbly creek bed, I didn't have to wade too deep and the water felt great!

And here's the prize! Click on the picture for a larger view because there's not much water and the falls actually comes in at an angle from the right, you can just see some water splashing up there before it turns and comes down towards you. All the same, I was thrilled.

And here's a video that zooms in so you can see better and hear that lovely racing water.



And as long as I was standing there in the creek, I continued a pan down it.

Still mesmerized by the crystal clear water and the sound. It conjured up a memory of camping trips, with my mother and I heading down to the creekside to sit, look, listen, sometimes break into song, as if we could be heard over the sometimes roar.

And fascinated by these rosy boulders and their cracks.

I suspect that if I'd followed that rising trail, it might have led to a place where one could look down on the falls, see it in its entirety. No doubt if one were nimble and willing to scramble up this steep face from the beach (and it looked like some had), you'd get a similar view. 

Not me, at least not today. I still had to pull myself up over these rocks and navigate that primitive trail back to the car. More of a challenge and took longer than I expected to snag this particular waterfall, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and this glorious day. This is one that would be worth coming back to . . . with water shoes!