Leon Turnbull Photography

I had not gone on a big hike since I ruined my back before Christmas. Well it was time to get back at it. One 11 and a half mile hike coming up. That would sure be a good test. Well long story short, the test was successful, and my back survived the big hike. The destination was Table Mountain in Oroville.

There was a lot of water on the mountain (or should I say, the table) and the waterfalls were flowing. Most of them were looking good, but not all were flowing greatly, and some were not doing too well at all. More water is still needed. It was supposed to rain in the night, that did not happen. It seemed more rain would be coming during the morning, but hopefully I could get to some waterfalls before I got drenched.

The killer cows seem to be getting bolder. They do not even move now when you approach them. They used to run away but not any longer. They just stand there looking at you. At least they didn’t come after me. Perhaps that will be some horrid event in my future.

Crossing the stream at the top of Phantom Falls, I managed to get across without getting my feet wet. A bit of an adventure, as the flow was strong, and I needed to jump (another good back test). Trepidation ensued, however, when I saw a bunch of cow bones beside the stream that had been thoroughly gnawed on by the local mountain lion. I wonder where the beast is today? The section from Hidden to Flag Falls is particularly frightening as you have to walk through a heavily wooded area, which is perfect for mountain lions to hide. And with my bright green raincoat, the lion would see me coming from a mile away and have plenty of time to find the perfect hiding spot to wait and pounce on me. Alas, I did not see the beast. But did he see me? I wonder.

I went all the way to Flag Falls (pictured here). By the time I got back to Ravine Falls, I was very tired, and my back was starting to complain. I wanted to get down to the bottom, to find a new waterfall. There was a ton of poison oak down there and it was just a small falls and flow was minimal, but then I went over to the base of Ravine Falls and Ravine Twin Falls. Wow it is an amazing spot down there. It feels like another world. You are in a jungle. The falls are loud and intimidating. The basalt cliffs tower above you, and you wonder if any of that rock is going to fall on your head. It did not.

I was very tired and hungry by the time I got to the car. Big bad burger at Jakes. Enough said.