TO LASSEN
Being up north at the in-laws for the weekend, my initial plan for Good Friday was to go on a 12 mile hike to a couple new waterfalls. However, that all changed to naught when I could not get to sleep on Thursday night. Ugh. The hike would have involved getting up super early in the morning. Not only did I not want to get up early, I did not want to get up at all, and scrapped the idea of hiking all together. Instead, I took the kids to see Captain America, so it was not a lost day anyway.
On Friday night I slept much better, but still did not feel like going on a long hike, so I opted to go back to Lassen Volcanic Natl Park and West Sulphur Creek Falls. Easy drive, easy hike. I had wanted to get back here since I first discovered this 50 ft. waterfall last year.
When I arrived in Lassen, I found quite a bit more snow at the trailhead (6700 ft) than I thought there would be. About two feet of snow was on the ground. Considering that northern CA only has 25 percent of AVERAGE snow pack this year, I was thinking there would be much less snow here. A nice surprise but it made for a more difficult hike than anticipated.
It was very early but there was a big group already here. They were about to climb Lassen Peak and ski down. Cool. I wish I could join them.
Instead I opted for the Mill Creek trail (probably a very good idea since I did not have skis). The trail was all snowed over and no one had been on it. So in other words it was going to be difficult to follow. Good thing I had GPS or all hope would have been lost. The snow was hard packed so snow shoes were not needed but there were soft spots that I sank through. Nonetheless, I managed to keep moving forward and not downward.
400 feet lower in elevation I arrived at the West Sulphur Creek Falls viewpoint where there was only light patchy snow. Quite a difference from the trailhead. The waterfall was flowing beautifully and the view from top of the ridge is really sweet. It was way better than when I visited here last fall.
I had initially hoped to find a way down to the base of the waterfall. However that proved quickly to be quite impossible upon close inspection. The ground was very crumbly, and the slope far too steep and cliffy. Even with rope it was not going to work. I think however that I will return someday and make one more go of it, though if I do it will not be to go down that cliff.
There is a second waterfall located just above this one and that waterfall is even more elusive. So much so that it is impossible to see it at all. I was able to get to the brink of the upper falls but that is it. No views. It is sandwiched between massive cliffs on each side. Again though, I think I will try one more time in the future. If there’s a way I will find it.
I continued on downstream, which was my primary plan for the day. I thought there might be yet another waterfall on this creek. I hiked downstream and then literally crawled out on a knife edged ridge with cliffs on each side of me, in between West Sulphur Creek on the right and Mill Creek on the left. At the end of it, shortly before the confluence of those two creeks, I then worked my way down a steep slope on the right (for which I needed my rope) down to where the waterfall should be located on West Sulphur Creek. But alas, there was no waterfall. Darn. I was sure there would be at least a small one there. C’est la vie. It was still a very fun day in Lassen. And I will be back.