PLUMMER

So we really have not had all that much rain yet this year. It does look like we are going to get our first really big storm next week God willing, but up to now we are actually below what we had last year at this time. We are actually a bit below average thus far; remember last year we had a very big November. The trouble last year was we didn’t get anything after that. I heard at least one news report saying that we have had more this year so far than last year at this time. Don’t believe everything you read folks, especially in the media.

And yet this waterfall, Plummer Creek Falls, was sure roaring last weekend. It is 113 ft high and it was magnificent … but darn near impossible to get to. And as you can see from the photo I still couldn’t get a completely clear view of it.

I have wondered about this waterfall for awhile. It is clearly labeled on the USGS topo maps, but no trail leads to it, a bright spot in the midst of nothing. It seems so inaccessible. I have serious doubts if anyone has been down here before (at least not the way I went down). This one is very strenuous and quite a bit dangerous too.

After studying Google Earth I decided to try it from the south side. It is a 1200 ft. descent to the river in only a mile, however I parked further up the road, adding another 500 ft. and 1.5 miles to my hike. I suppose I could have driven this last 1.5 miles but it was a bit muddy and steep so I decided to walk it. I also started my hike late in the day (11am). The highway out here has got to be the most agonizing highway in the state. There are so many twists and turns in the road, it is impossible to drive the speed limit (55) for most of it (reminds me of a song by Sammy Haggar). It is a long long long drive. I finally got out there and started hiking down an old dirt road but it soon became impassable and too overgrown. I almost turned back. But before doing so I decided to drop off the edge of the cliff down into the canyon – er I mean hill not cliff. And I just kept going down. When I got to the edge of the cliff – er I mean hill – overlooking the waterfall, I found I could not see it from there so I just kept going down down down. Near the bottom it got extremely sketchy with large drop-offs into the river. Not good. If I fell in I would not be getting out anytime soon. Again I almost turned back. But I was almost there, the waterfall was just around the corner, I had to find a way. The terrain was far too sketchy for my tastes but I did manage to get down to the bottom finally. All in one piece.

Unfortunately, even after all this work, you can still only get a partial view of the waterfall. The bottom part is not viewable from this side and crossing was certainly not an option. There was also a lot of spray making it very difficult to take a photo. But I did the best I could. And it definitely is a glorious waterfall. I got back to my car about 30 minutes before sunset, extremely tired and with an aching back. It was a great day.

4 Comments

4 Responses to “PLUMMER”

  1. Robin S. Kent Says:

    Yikes, that was quite an effort. I wonder if using one of those drones to fly a camera around that last obstacle would be cheating. But that would mean lugging it in. Bad idea, I guess.

  2. Leon Says:

    Yes bad idea Robin!

  3. Kristina Says:

    I like the green in it!!

  4. leapin26 Says:

    Thanks Kristina

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