Leon Turnbull Photography

I hurt my back again just before Thanksgiving (yes, I have been doing my back exercises every day). It was not too horrible, but the two difficult hikes I had planned for the weekend both got squelched. I did a lot of reading in bed. By Saturday I was going stir crazy and anxious to go on at least one easy hike, so that is what I did. Lower Battle Creek Falls was my destination.

It was Saturday afternoon of the long weekend (Black Saturday?), so I expected to see a few other people on the hike. Whenever I drive by here I usually see cars parked at the trailhead. There was no one at all. I would have this easy hike all to myself.

It’s a short hike on a logging road down to the bridge and then a short trail down to the falls. When I first came here some years ago it was just an obscure path, not a trail. Few people ever came here. It is a trail now. Not just a trail, it is a super highway. It feels like you are hiking on the PCT. No joke. I’m not sure I really like that. There is erosion on the trail now in some places due to all the traffic, especially the last steep part down to the creek.

There is a shrine along the trail for some guy who died here more than 20 years ago (I definitely have not seen it before – in fact, it does not seem old at all). I don’t know (obviously) but I was thinking he probably died jumping off the waterfall (which would be stupid). I imagine plenty of kids do this in the summer. It seems to be a very popular place now.

However, it’s much better to come in the winter when no one else is around. The creek flow is low but the waterfall is a straight plunge of 32 ft so it is beautiful even at low flows. It definitely seems much more than 30 ft. to my eye. Over 40 ft high for sure, I thought, but I measured it again and it was still just 32 ft. It did not grow 10 ft. since I was last here. Oh well. It is very gorgeous anyway.

The super highway trail continues a bit below the falls. I followed it for awhile but then it abruptly ends at a cliff. Does it go down the cliff? That would be nuts. It seemed like it did go down but I did not try it. I returned to my car and got back just after sunset. When I got back, I noticed some trash by the road. Was that there when I started the hike? I do not remember seeing it there. I picked it up. There was still ice in the drink cup! So that means while I was on this short hike, some loser drove by, stopped at the turn out, dumped their trash, and then continued on. That is so bloody annoying and irritating. Other than that it was a beautiful EASY hike in Lassen National Forest, and my back held up very well.

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This weekend I was off to the Highway 70 corridor in Plumas National Forest for the first time this season. I suspect it will be the first of many times this winter. Where else can I go this winter? The other side of Oroville (Feather Falls) is closed due to the fire this summer, and I suspect it won’t be open for at least 1 year. The Bay Area? The coast? Much of the central coast is also closed from fire. I will probably go to the Bay Area, but only if it rains a lot, otherwise it is pointless to go there. So that mostly just leaves the North Fork Feather River in Plumas National Forest.

For this trip I really wanted to make it to Lower Chambers Creek Falls which I have not been to before. I figured it would be a sure thing and a fairly easy hike. Ummm, not so much. I made it (as you can see), but it was definitely not a sure thing.

I have tried this hike before, after my friend Jeremy first told me about it a couple years ago. He followed the creek up from the highway. I did that, and failed. You cannot go that way if the creek is high. It requires multiple crossings of the creek and this is a large creek. I thought of a different route, going down from the Chambers Creek Falls trail. There is an obvious path there, and it is marked with ribbons, so that must mean it is an easy way down to the falls, and others have gone down there that way. Right? Nope. That obvious path ended abruptly in about 10 seconds. A wall of insurmountable brush was before me. Well, that is not going to work at all. I tried a different spot. It also was incredibly brushy. The entire area is very brushy. (understatement of the year). My route was indeed brushy but I was able to keep going for awhile. Did I mention there was a lot of poison oak as well? I almost turned back. I did not think I would make it down. But I continued. I had to give this my best effort. I did not want to fail again. I made it through the brush (finally), and got down near the top of the waterfall and found … CLIFF. All around me was a huge cliff and I could see no way down. This time I did give up. I decided to retreat back up the mountain. There was just no way to get down the cliffs. However … on the way back up I saw one more possible route down and decided to give it one last try. Lo and behold! It worked! I was able to follow this route all the way down to the creek below the waterfall. Whew! That was incredibly difficult and tiring just to get down to the creek (and let’s remember, I still have to go back up!).

Lower Chambers Creek Falls is a very gorgeous 73 ft. high waterfall dropping into a beautiful pool. It is an amazing spot and you can climb out on the rocks in the middle of the creek and get right in front of the falls. I enjoyed my time here, ate my lunch, rested, tried to sike myself for the climb back up the mountain. I could not do it. You see, the flow in Chambers Creek was very low. I was expecting the creek to be uncrossable, but instead it was very easily crossable. This is a large creek and they received 5 inches of rain here this past week. It should not be this low, but I guess that tells you we sure need a heckuva lot more rain. Anyway, I thought … maybe with the creek so low it would not be all that difficult to just follow it back down to the highway. That should be much better than climbing back up the mountain. So that is what I did. There were definitely a couple tricky spots, including down climbing a small 15-20 ft. waterfall, a couple creek crossings, a bit of brush, but overall I think I made the right decision. It was certainly a lot better than climbing back up through all that brush. Once down to the bottom, I had an easy one mile walk along the highway to my car at the Chambers Creek trailhead. It was a brushfest day in Plumas National Forest.

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I have not been hiking much lately. I went to Pit River Falls a couple weeks ago (a very short hike). Nothing last week. Almost did not go again this week. I slept well enough, but it is hard getting up so early in the morning. Nonetheless, I managed to drag myself out of bed and hit the road. I would be returning to Lower East Fork Falls in Tahoe National Forest.

The hike down to the river was much more difficult than I remembered. It was downright treacherous. I don’t remember it being treacherous. I think it is because the ground was much harder (meaning, less traction), and the leaves on the ground made it slick and dangerous. I don’t think I had those conditions last time I did this hike. I almost turned around because of the difficulty, but I persevered and got down to the river. I did not use my rope to get down this time. Last time, I know I used it, but I don’t remember where. It was not “that bad”.

I really really wanted to try to get down to Burnett Canyon this time. That was the main reason I wanted to do this hike again. Burnett Canyon was still flowing decent, I could see that, but I could not get down to the waterfall. I was prepared well enough, or so I thought, but it was just too difficult. The canyon becomes very narrow before you get down to the falls with sheer cliffs on each side. I think the only way would be to swim it (and I’m not sure that is feasible), but it was definitely too cold to swim today (34 degrees). Maybe I will have to come back next summer when it is warm and try again. I don’t know. It is a thorn in my side and I really wanted to slay it this time, but it just did not happen. The time was running out and the sun was coming. If I did not turn around, I would not even get photos of the other waterfall. I retreated to Lower East Fork Falls, a very magnificent 50 ft. high waterfall, and it was still flowing well.

I did do something different this time: I went down to the creek level and took photos of the waterfall from there. It was not too hard to get down, I’m not sure why I did not do it last time. I think I was just happy to see it at all. This time, I made sure to get down to the bottom and explore the waterfall completely.

While I was down at the creek, the unthinkable almost happened. My GPS was laying on the rocks, and I stupidly knocked it with my tripod while I was taking photos. The GPS slid down towards the river on the slick rock. It would have gone in, except that it just happened to hit my backpack. I am certain that God stopped it for me (thank you, Lord). This incident brings up a very good lesson, though: Always have a backup navigation device (whatever it may be). I admit I am sometimes (but not often) lax with this, but if my GPS was lost in the river, could I have found my way back up the mountain? Perhaps, perhaps not. If you are hiking off trail, a GPS is a necessity. If you are always hiking on trail, you may think you don’t need a backup. You may think you don’t need a GPS at all, and if you are just hiking on the Lower Yosemite Falls trail, obviously you don’t need one. But what about Bassi Falls? I know of someone that got lost on this very easy half mile trail and had to call for helicopter rescue. This is inexcusable! Don’t be that person. Always have a navigation device and backup.

Anyway, the hike back up the mountain was extremely strenuous. I’m still hurting, as I write this. It was a fabulous day in Tahoe National Forest.

 

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It was my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday celebration, so we all went up north for the weekend. I have not been up there since COVID started. So of course, I wanted to take one day and go hiking. My choice: Pit River Falls. I knew that PG&E was doing a release on the Pit River and the waterfall would be flowing well (1100 cfs). I *needed* to see a waterfall that was flowing well (after my disappointing Yosemite trip).

I was hoping to go an easier way to Pit River Falls this time. A photographer friend mentioned awhile ago that he went up from the powerhouse and I wanted to try going this way. It should be much easier than going down the cliffs. However … I arrived at the powerhouse and found everything gated and fenced off with menacing no trespassing signs. How did my friend go there? I went to the campground, which seems to be the only public access to the river, but I found no route from there. There were a bunch of kayakers camping there (it is a boon for them when the Pit River is flowing and they can go kayaking over the waterfall); surprisingly, one of them was awake, so I asked her (I think she was just using the facilities and wanted to go back to sleep) – but she did not know anything helpful anyway. I spent about an hour trying to figure a way but could not. I am not sure but I think maybe PG&E has closed off access due to COVID. I only say this because I know they have done this at other places. I am not sure about here, but regardless, the No Trespassing signs scared me away.

So now I have wasted an hour and there was just one hour left to get to the waterfall before the sun got on it. My only choice was to go the hard way. It is a short hike, but it is very steep. The first time I did this, I twisted my ankle badly and was out of commission for 6 months. The second time fared better, with no twisty ankles. This would be the third time, and thankfully again, no twisty ankles. I made it down to the falls before the sun and it was roaring. I spent the next 15 minutes scooting around and taking photos from all possible angles, and just really enjoying the beauty and power of the waterfall. It is 33 ft. high but it is very wide, spanning the entire river. It sure beats going to nearby Burney Falls (in my opinion).

I took my time hiking back up the mountain and got back to my mother-in-law’s place by noon. Then the long drive home in the afternoon. I was very tired and went to bed early. Eleven hours of sleep felt so good. It was a marvelous morning at Pit River Falls in northern California.

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Sometimes it is not all about the waterfalls. Sometimes it is about the scenery. That is what I am telling myself anyway.

I plan all my trips around waterfalls, of course. Sometimes it does not work out as planned. Especially this year, 2020. For my big Fall backpacking trip, I was not planning to go to this location, I had a different trip planned. The fires. The smoke. That put the nix on my big plan this year. For my alternate trip, Plan Z, I chose northern Yosemite National Park. This was pretty much the only place in all of California where the air seemed all right and not too smoky. There *are* waterfalls here that I had not been to before, and I thought they would be flowing decent, at least a few of them. And you can’t go wrong with Yosemite. I go to Yosemite every year, but this year, I had not been to Yosemite because of COVID-19. I thought I was not going to make it this year, but then Plan Z came into being, and off I went to my favorite national park.

I hiked in from Twin Lakes on the eastern side of the Sierra, hiking through the Hoover Wilderness, over Mule Pass, and into northern Yosemite National Park. I arrived at Twin Lakes on Friday evening. If I arrived any later I would have been out of luck. Apparently, you have to pay for parking here. You should not have to pay for parking at a wilderness trailhead, and I did not think I had to pay. I have hiked here before and I did not pay (though maybe, I was supposed to pay?) There are no signs about parking or about paying for parking, and I was not sure where the trailhead parking was, so I asked the attendant at the campground kiosk, (who was about to close). He told me I had to pay $15. Well, crap. Even though I thought I was being screwed, I payed the $15 and parked. (I don’t think I was being screwed, but I also think there should be free wilderness trailhead parking).

It was after 6PM. My plan was to hike up to Barney Lake and camp the first night. I would arrive at the lake well after dark. I saw one deer just as I started the hike, the only wildlife I saw on the whole trip. The hike took longer than I expected and I did not arrive at the lake until 8PM. (sunset was about 6:30PM). There were quite a few people on the trail, coming down from the lake, even after dark. There was also someone camped at the lake (in the best spot), but I found another place to setup camp, and went to bed.

I got up early, packed up, and continued my hike. First stop: Robinson Creek Falls (pictured here). This was the only waterfall on the entire trip. It was not flowing very decent, but I took a photo anyway. It is a big waterfall and would be impressive at high flow (if you can get to it at high flow). It was also quite difficult to get up close to. There is a large rock slide beside the creek. The boulders were huge. This, as I found out soon enough, would be the main theme for the trip: Enormous rock slides. I managed to find a path over the rocks and to the creek, but only by squeezing through a very narrow slot through a couple large rocks. If I was two inches wider I would not have made it (I am not kidding – on the way back I almost could not squeeze through). Once at the creek, I had to cross over to the other side of the stream to photograph the waterfall. In high water, this is not going to be possible, but the waterfall certainly would be much better if you could find a view of it.

So what can I say about the rest of the trip? Are you still reading? This is going to be long, and there are no more waterfalls. But as I said, the scenery is impeccable. It is Yosemite National Park.

Mule Pass is at 10,500 feet elevation. I started at 8300 feet at Barney Lake. It is a killer climb. It was not so much the high elevation, but it was my 40 pound backpack. I think that is what really did me in. This was intended to be a 5 day trip, but I ended up cutting it short because of the lack of water. On the west side of the pass, there was quite a bit of water flowing in the streams, even the small unnamed streams. I thought this was a good sign. Piute Canyon should have a good, decent, amount of water in it. Wrong. On the east side of the pass, there was no water at all. On the descent, I was starting to worry that Piute Canyon would be completely dry. I was almost out of water, and if that creek was dry I would be dead (literally). Also, the smoke was starting to roll in to the canyon from the south and it was starting to get noticeably bad. I chose this area because there was no smoke here! Ugh. I prayed it would clear up by evening. (and thankfully, it did).

I arrived at the bottom of the canyon. I could not hear the creek flowing. This could be really bad. It was a half mile up the canyon to where I planned to camp beside the waterfall. As I continued and approached closer to the creek, I could finally hear a trickle. Whew. I would not die. But it was definitely not flowing much. Not nearly enough for a decently flowing waterfall. This was very disappointing to me. I really thought this creek and waterfall would be good, even this late in a dry year. I camped beside the almost dry waterfall. I was tired. I slept well.

What would I do the next day? I did not want to go home yet. I decided to explore down Piute Canyon. Maybe there would be more water in the creek downstream. The hike started off tremendously well. There is no trail, but it is easy hiking and when the canyon opened up it was incredibly beautiful. Then I came to a dead end. THE SLIDE. I don’t know when this rock slide occurred, it was a very long time ago, but it is absolutely MASSIVE. It spans the entire canyon, from one end to the other, and up the other side (over a quarter mile wide). The rocks are absolutely ENORMOUS, from one end to the other. I could find no easy way past them, and I spent a couple hours trying to do it. This is no simple rock hop! I finally gave up. I think that it can be done and I just did not go the correct way, but I was tired, and I decided it was not worth the effort because of the lack of water. It was time to go home.

I ate my lunch, then proceeded back up to the top of Mule Pass and down the other side. I stopped at Robinson Lake for the night. There was no one there when I arrived (so I got to choose the best spot). Someone came up later, however, and camped near by. I told him I was coughing a lot and would probably be keeping him awake at night. I think the smoke was causing me to cough so much. (it was not horrible, but there was still a little bit of smoke in the air). I hope I did not keep him awake, but I probably did. I did warn him, however, so it is not my fault; he could have camped further away. Anyway, I enjoyed the beautiful alpenglow at the lake at sunset. The next day was a very long and tiring slog back to my car at Twin Lakes. Thankfully, it was all downhill. I arrived at my car at about noon and got home by dinner time. Pizza again (thank you, Tara). It was a good time in Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite National Park.

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