Leon Turnbull Photography

There is a path from the road at Devils Falls going down to the bottom where the creek dumps into Shirttail Creek. There you will find this pretty little thing. It is a two tiered waterfall, and I did not measure it but I do not think it is 20 ft. high. I only photographed the lower tier, being as I thought it the most prettiest. I do think it might be more interesting at higher flows with both tiers together, if that is, you could find a good view point of both tiers together. Could be tricky.

You might think it funny that I had never been down here before, since I have been to Devils Falls many many many times. I always thought it did not look all that interesting when I peered over the edge from the road before. This time, I was sufficiently bored enough so I decided to go down (just for the heck of it). I think I was right about it not being too interesting down at the bottom, in the sense that the waterfall was not very big. But on the other hand, even small waterfalls can be pretty, and this one certainly was.

There is finally some rain in the forecast next week. It has been a long time coming. Much too long. It has felt like summer lately, and it is totally killing me! I even noticed some wildflowers starting to bloom. Really?? If you are one of those people that like this weather, then ummm, don’t talk to me. Unfortunately I don’t see any big storms coming, only small ones. We need big storms please. Ah well it is better than what we have had thus far this year: nothing on a stick (as my wife always likes to say to me – usually in reference to what is for dinner).

This weekend I first went to Upper Chamberlain Creek Falls, wanting to get a good shot of it from up close. When I was there last year, there was so much flow I could not get a good angle to photograph it. This time, it was barely flowing at all, and I was quite disappointed; I am not sure if I will share that photo or not. I didn’t think it would be great by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought it would be at least as much as nearby Stevens Creek. Not so. It was certainly not worth braving the poison oak and all the ticks. I must have flicked at least 30 or 40 of them off the grasses as I walked along the trail. Eck.

I decided to go over to Devils Falls next since I was in the area, taking the long route from Windy Point. By the way I did not see much evidence from the forest fire last summer. Right around Devils Falls there is a lot of charred remains but even the very close Mexican Gulch was not touched. I’m certainly glad Windy Point at least was not burned because of the beautiful wildflowers that display there in the spring (p.s. it is not spring yet!).

I am not really all that keen on Devils Falls anymore, since I have shot it to death. But it keeps coming back to life, and in fact it usually has decent flow most of the year (not to mention that it is so very easy to get to – except for that awful narrow road). This time, though, I did something different. Shocking. I went to the very bottom of the waterfall (below the road where it dumps into Shirttail Creek). I have never been down there before which is an oddity for me (as it is not hard to do). There is another small waterfall down there, not anything to write home about, but it is a pretty little thing, so I think I will likely post that shot next.

I was also scouting a new location with a potential new waterfall. I found a possible route down to it, but I did not want to make a huge effort, since it would likely be only trickling. If it rains much in the coming weeks, I will likely be back to try it. I’m not telling where it is yet, but if you see me post yet another shot of Devils Falls in a couple weeks, then you will know that I struck out. Stay tuned and let’s hope for some rain and new waterfalls being found.

Here is another view of Iowa Canyon Falls, the same waterfall I just recently posted. I think this is a much better viewpoint than from up close at the base of the waterfall. The angle at the bottom of the falls was just too severe and it was not possible to see the entire waterfall from there. Nonetheless, I was really happy to finally get to the base of the falls last time, it was not too difficult, and I am planning to go back and do it again, when (a) the flow is a bit less so there is not as much mist, and especially when (b) the water is not so cold, so I do not freeze my toes off again. I think I might be able to find a nice (or at least a different) view from down there when there is not so much mist.

I went back to Slab Creek Reservoir this morning to try to get up close to Iowa Canyon Falls. It was not my first choice for hiking, but my first idea for a hike could not be done because it turned out to be on private property. So plan B it was, back to Slab Creek.

It was a BRRRRRRR …. very cold morning, the temps were below zero, there was ice on the road, and even snow in Placerville in some spots from the miniscule amount of precipitation we received a couple days ago. I am still hopeful for a big change to the current weather pattern by middle of February. So anyway, here I am down at the bottom of Iowa Canyon, trying to figure out how to get up close to this waterfall. The prickly brush lining the creek bed taunts me saying, yeah come on man, you can do it, we won’t hurt you, hee hee. Well I know better than to listen to those lies. It was wading up the creek bed I knew was the only way to go. Did I mention that it was a cold morning? The bridge over the creek was ice, I could slide the whole way across. Too bad I wasn’t younger, I might have had fun doing that instead of worrying about breaking my neck. I rolled up my pants and started up the creek (though first a bit through some of that prickly brush was a necessity – doh!). The creek was freezing. Yikes. The going was not too difficult however. I made it up to the base of the waterfall in short order. The last pool was a bit deep, coming up to my knees. Did I say it was cold? My feet were starting to get a bit numb, then I realized the only way to photograph this sucker would be standing in the middle of that freezing water.

I always attempt to photograph my waterfalls as best as I possibly can. That means being there in good lighting conditions, and just as important, finding the best composition that can be safely had. This is OFTEN not possible at waterfall locations. Some people have recently mentioned to me things like, this photo would be much better if not centered, or it would be better if you moved over to one side a bit, or it would be better if you did this or that. These people have never been to these waterfall locations, and do not realize those things are not even remotely possible. If I move over, I will fall off the cliff and die! There is one and only one composition of this waterfall, so it must be centered in the frame! Wake up and smell the coffee. Photographing waterfalls is often times much more difficult compared to other easy-to-get-to-within-a-very-short-walk-from-your-car general landscape scenes. Ok, end rant.

This waterfall is a perfect example. The angle from the base of the falls was severe. I could not get any closer to photograph due to the extreme mist from the falls, plus the angle was no good. If I moved to the left here, I would not be able to include the upper tier of the falls, and there would be too many branches in the way. If I moved to the right (which I would have liked to do), then that big rock would have obscured too much of the waterfall, plus I would have been standing up to my waist in a deep pool. This was the best possible composition, and it may not be a great angle, but it was the only one available.

There was only one problem with this. I had to stand in the creek to get this photograph. The freezing cold creek. So that is exactly what I did. I think I would have been fine if I did not have to stand in the creek to photograph. But by the time I was done (and believe me, I did not take very many photos), my feet were completely numb. Really bad. I don’t remember the last time my feet were so cold, probably not since skiing when I was a kid. I took my water shoes off and sat down on a rock, drying them with my towel, and trying to get some feeling back in my toes. I sat there about 20 minutes or so, and my feet were still numb;  I was getting a little bit of feeling back, but still they were very cold. I put my water shoes back on, now having to wade back down the creek, trying to stay out of the water as much as possible. Back at the bridge and walked quickly back to the car where I promptly turned on the heat and sat for another 20 minutes or so, trying to get my feet warm from the heater. My next purchase will be: waders.

It is a very long drive down from Monterey to Salmon Creek Falls. I have been down there a few times now, and it always takes much longer than I think it will. You would think I’d have learned by now. I have to say I hate that highway. All the twists and turns just drive me psycho by the end of the day. It is a beautiful drive I suppose. Mostly though I wouldn’t know about that because I have my eyes on the road all the time, going bonkers. Ah well.

I was not planning to go to this waterfall, actually. I wanted to go to a couple waterfalls upstream from this one. Yes there is indeed an Upper Salmon Creek Falls. However things did not turn out as planned of course. Firstly, Tara’s knee was on the fritz again from the hike the previous day. I wanted her to come with me on this hike, but she could not. She insisted it was ok for her to wait in the car while I hiked. I hesitated. But she insisted again. And again. Well, ok then … I started up the trail but I did not get very far. The trail seemed to be going in completely the wrong direction from my map, up and far away from the creek. This could not possibly be the right way! I went back and tried a different route, going up beside the top of the lower falls, however that route eventually just fizzled out and it got too difficult to continue. Well I did not feel right about going on a very long hike anyway so I just went back and photographed this lower falls again. As I found out later, the first route was the correct one after all, but my map was wrong. It was completely my fault. Ugh. I will know better next time! If I can brave that crazy drive one more time, that is.

Since we were all the way down the coast we continued further down to Hearst Castle, a place I had never been to before. It definitely was a very interesting place, and I do recommend going if you have not been there. It was an extremely hot day; it is supposed to be winter, but it felt like summer. It was totally nuts. Up at the castle, however (1000 ft. higher in elevation), it was very chilly (and of course I left my jacket back in the car, brilliant!). I was hoping to see one of the zebras that run freely on their land, but instead we saw some of the very interesting aoudads (barbary sheep). The dumb bus driver only stopped for a grand total of three seconds to let us see them (and try to photograph them in that time). Geez is it really that important to keep to your stupid timing schedule so Alex Trebec doesn’t get off track on your useless voice audio (if you have been there, you know what I am talking about). I did get a somewhat ok kinda crappy photo of one of them in those three seconds. If you would like to see it click here.