ROCKY ROAD
Well I did have a big big hike planned this past weekend. It was going to be glorious. However, on Friday, we got over a foot of new snow along the I-80 summit precisely where I was planning to go. That is fantastic, especially in May, but I did not think I would be able to drive through all that new snow on roads that had not been plowed. I could not think of anywhere else I would want to go. So I gave up and slept in. (it was easier to give up than you might think – haha).
The next day I felt that I needed to do “something”, “anything”, nothing too hard, but at least “something”. I came up with the idea of going back to Rocky Canyon. I was pretty sure there was another waterfall on this creek, and with it getting some good spring flow now, I knew it was time to go back to it.
It is a steep climb up the mountain. If you don’t know where you are going, you get to go through brush as well. I went through brush. (on the way back down, I found the proper route – no brush- much better, but you do have to walk a bit more along the crazy highway). I took photos of the lower falls. The last time I was here, my camera broke when I got to the falls. All I could take was a crappy iPhone photo. This time I got a better photo, but it is still a tough one to shoot. The terrain is very steep.
I continued up the mountain. One thousand feet up. Straight up. It is not a hike for pussy foots. I finally came to the upper falls, which I could see, but I screwed up. I tried to get down to the bottom but it is very steep, and very brushy, and even using my rope to help me get down, I could find no decent view of the cascade. What a wasted effort. Then it started to hail, and hail a lot. I packed up and got back up to the trail, where I put on my rain jacket. I was good now, and ready to go back down to the car with no decent shots. But the hail stopped, and I thought maybe I should try going further up the trail and see if there might be any more waterfalls up there. I am glad I did!
I found a very easy path over to the top of the falls, no steep terrain, and a clear view and shot right in front of this magnificent 49 ft. high drop. It was pretty much perfect. It was well worth the quick trip up from the valley, and the short but steep hike up to the falls. By the time I got back down to the car, it was snowing, and snowing hard. I love that kind of weather!