July 4. We were up north visiting my wife’s mom for the long weekend. I really wanted to take Journey hiking somewhere. I wanted to do something new but also something that we could get to in time before the sun got on it. She is not allowed in Lassen Volcanic National Park so I could not go there. I could go to Lassen National Forest, however. There was one hike that would work: Digger Creek Falls.
We were up at 4:30AM. Journey was not very appreciative about this disturbance to her beauty sleep but she would be excited once we reached the trailhead. We arrived at about 5:45AM.
It is a short hike up to the waterfall. The USGS topo map shows an old trail following the creek up to Heart Lake. It is not the official trail to Heart Lake but I was confident it would work and I have heard of others going up here before. The trail to the waterfall was not too bad but there were a lot of downed trees we had to climb and jump over. Journey was a trooper and did very awesome. There was only one that she could not jump and which I had to lift her over. (on the way back down I was getting ready to help her again but she surprised me and insisted on jumping over it on her own).
We arrived at the waterfall in short order. Digger Creek Falls is a very pretty 47 ft. high tiered cascade. The creek was flowing quite well for early July. I was pleased. In order to photograph the falls, I had to get right in the middle of the creek. It was really the best and only spot to photograph it. I left Journey beside my pack while I did this. She waited very patiently and was absolutely perfect. That’s my girl.
After the waterfall my plan was to continue on the old trail up to Heart Lake and then come back down on the official trail. It would make for a very nice loop and a perfect hike for Journey. It did not happen. After the falls, the trail became much much more difficult. I lost the trail many times and in fact, it was impossible to follow. We were essentially going off-trail. Lots of downed trees. It was slow going. Journey did very well to follow in my footsteps as I tried to find the best route for her up the mountain. We got very close to the lake but then the route became much worse: too difficult, too rocky. I could tell that Journey did not want to continue any further and I don’t blame her. We turned around to go back.
When we got back to the waterfall I gave Journey her breakfast. There were a few mosquitoes but they were not bothering me (though I think Journey may have gotten a couple bites). Mostly, I think the mosquitoes have migrated to higher elevations now. It ended up being about a four mile hike by the time we got back down to the car. Not as much as I had hoped and I felt bad about bringing Journey on a tough off-trail hike. It was hard and she could not run ahead on the trail as she normally loves to do. I would have to do something better tomorrow. Even so, it was a great morning hike for both of us in Lassen National Forest on Independence Day.
This was my first hike since my big Yosemite backpacking trip. I have not been motivated to get out hiking. Recovering. Small injuries. Car troubles. Mosquitoes. Heat. Whatever. The weather was good this weekend. I forced myself to get out. Just do it.
I drove up to the Echo Lakes trailhead on Friday after work. I have done this hike twice before (14 and 16 years ago) but both times it was late Fall. The waterfalls were not flowing. I have wanted to go back and see the waterfalls for quite a few years now but the timing was never right. This weekend should be perfect, finally. Sadly I did not have Journey with me. She was out of town with her mommy. This would have been a great hike for her.
It was very windy as I hiked along the Echo Lakes. That should definitely keep the mosquitoes away. There were also quite a few people on the trail. Day hikers on the way back. Backpackers heading up into the wilderness. The parking lot was almost completely full late on a Friday. But I got a good spot.
There are three waterfalls here and I wanted to see all of them (I did). The first stop was Ralston Lake. A tall fleeting waterfall drops into the lake and there is a short window of time to see it. Surprisingly there was a second waterfall as well and it was perhaps even better but it was in the sun and I did not have time to wait around. I continued to Cagwin Lake Falls, a pretty 28 ft. cascade. I had my dinner here on the rocks. When the wind stopped I was swarmed. Not by mosquitoes. By gnats! They were absolutely nuts and they don’t care about mosquito repellent. That is why it is called mosquito repellent, not gnat repellent. Instead of going back up to Ralston Lake I thought to continue cross country over to Tamarack Lake Falls. I wasn’t sure how difficult this would be or if it was even possible but it turned out to be very easy. It was a perfect little cross country loop to see three waterfalls. Tamarack Lake Falls is a very pretty 43 ft. drop (pictured here). At high flow I think it would be incredible.
It was an easy climb from the waterfall back up to Tamarack Lake. There were people camping along the creek above the falls but I wondered if they even knew there was a waterfall here. It is a bit hidden and unknown. It was 7:30PM when I got back over to the main trail. I had an hour until sunset and 3.5 miles to hike. I booted it back down the mountain and jogged as much as I could. I arrived back at the car at 8:40PM, just a bit after sunset. It was a marvelous hike in the Desolation Wilderness on a Friday evening.
The photo is Far Lower Piute Creek Falls, where I camped on night 3 and saw the bear.
I was worried about the Morrison Creek crossing. I should not have been. I had already estimated that even if the creek flow was double I should still be able to cross it with no issue. But would I? What if I made a mistake? The Tuolumne River was substantially higher and overflowing onto the trail. I found out later it went up from 2000 cfs to 2900 cfs from Sunday to Thursday. (that is a 45% increase). I prayed to God to take my worries away and let me sleep. It was all in His hands now. But it is hard. I kept thinking to myself, it’s in God’s hands, it’s in God’s hands. I did end up getting a decent amount of sleep (but not great).
I woke up early and was on the road by 6:30AM. All the creeks leading up to Morrison were only “slightly” higher. But Morrison is a different beast. I knew from looking at the satellite beforehand that there was still a lot of snow in the Morrison Creek drainage. When I finally got up there I saw that it was actually no higher than before! Maybe just “slightly” higher. I did not even need to use the log to shimmy across the creek, I easily waded it. God’s word to me: “I told you so”. I do not understand why the creek was not much higher. It should have been 45% higher. With the temperatures rising and the snow melting at a high rate, it just does not make sense. Or maybe it does. And God had something to do with it.
All good things … must come to an end …
It is a 3300 ft. climb to Harden Lake where I initially had planned to stay the night. It was only noon when I arrived and I still felt really good after the big climb. Surprisingly. At most it is a 7 hour hike from here back to the trailhead (if I am hiking slowly). I could easily make it back and get home a day early. The deciding factor: pizza. I could not stand another night of ramen noodles. I had it 3 nights in a row and a 4th seemed revolting to me. I will not make this mistake again, bringing so many noodles. It took 5 hours to get back to the car and I arrived at 5:30PM. It was 19.3 miles in total this day. I drove straight to Pizza Factory. Day 7 of Yosemite backpacking trip complete. It was an absolutely amazing trip in the Yosemite Wilderness.
It was my 26th wedding anniversary today. Happy Anniversary Tara. I love you. Wish you were here. You may wonder why I was out backpacking on my anniversary instead of being at home. Well, it is not my fault! I initially planned to do this trip a week earlier but both my wife and daughter wanted (needed) me home that week, so this week was my only other option. Probably just as well because it was raining the previous week.
My pinky toe was much better today. The NERO rest day really did the trick. It took 2.5 hours to hike down to the waterfall. I thought it would be much less, more like 1.5 hours or 2 at the most. It was extremely difficult. Lots of brush. One class 3 maneuver. I really wondered if it was worth the effort or if I’d even make it.
I descended down the final approach ridge. I could see the waterfall. I thought WOW. This is going to be absolutely amazing. Thank you, God. Oh wait. Maybe not. I was on the wrong ridge. I could only see the top half of the waterfall from here. Doh! It was still an incredible spot and I took some photos but I really should try to get to the bottom of this thing, I thought. More steep scrambling. More thick brush. I was running out of time. Finally, I made it to the bottom. The sun was almost hitting the top of the waterfall. I made it just in time. Piute Creek Falls is absolutely incredible, about 220 ft. high. There was a lot of mist at the bottom making it difficult to find a spot to photograph it. I am almost completely certain that no one has ever been down here before. It is just too hard. But man oh man is it ever awesome. This easily made my entire trip worthwhile.
Time to go back up the mountain. I finally got back to the trail at 11AM. I rested and ate my lunch. I still had another 1000 ft. to climb out of Pleasant Valley and then a descent of 3500 ft. to Pate Valley. I made it down to Pate Valley at 5PM. The Tuolumne River was now very full, quite a bit more than 4 four days prior. It was almost overflowing its banks, and indeed it was overflowing onto part of the trail. I literally had to wade through a fast flowing little creek to reach my campsite. This was going to be a big concern for tomorrow. I saw a rattlesnake right on the trail. Thankfully he let me go by. There were also mosquitoes down here as it is a much lower elevation but there was a bit of a breeze which kept them away. Thank you God for that. Time for bed. Tomorrow would be a big day. Day 6 of Yosemite backpacking trip complete.
I woke up with frost on my tent. I thought it was supposed to be getting warmer this week, not colder! I also woke up with my pinky toe hurting. Just like a couple years ago when it was broken and I had to hobble 20 miles back home. It was not broken this time but it was certainly hurting. Should I go home now, while I still can?
I tried to hike down to Piute Falls. I did not make it. It was very difficult, it was very brushy, and before too long, I got cliffed out. This was very disappointing. This was the primary waterfall I wanted to visit on this trip. The sole reason I came up here. If I did not make it to Piute Falls this trip would be considered a failure despite all the other waterfalls I saw. I wanted another crack at it. I could get another crack at it tomorrow if I stayed a second night at Table Lake instead of continuing on to my next planned destination. This would also let me rest my toe for the entire day. It would be a NERO day as through hikers call it, a little bit of hiking involved but mostly zero hiking. My toe really needed to rest for a whole day and I really needed to try this waterfall again. It was the best decision I made on this trip.
But it would be a boring day. I had nothing to do for the entire day. I could not go on a hike, not even a little one. All I could do is listen to the birds all day long. Which ones were most prevalent and which had the prettiest song? I heard the Fox Sparrow, Mountain Quail, Mountain Chickadee, and Western Wood Pewee, among others, but the Fox Sparrow won on all counts.
The photo is Middle Piute Creek Falls from the previous day, one of the two waterfalls I saw that day. It is about 40 ft. high. I almost missed this one on my research. I saw it but thought it was less than 20 ft. high so was not going to bother. I checked again just before I left and realized it was much bigger and definitely worth a visit. You can get right up next to it (which is cool) but in order to photograph it I had to go all the way around to the other side of the big pool. It was getting late by this time and I still had to go to the upper falls so I did not spend much time here. Day 5 of Yosemite backpacking trip complete.
