Leon Turnbull Photography

I honestly did not think I could get to this waterfall.

This is the same waterfall you see in my photo from last week, from a mile away. I determined to return to it this week, and try to get up close to the upper two drops on this river. I said I was going to wait until spring, but after examining the maps, I realized the only possible way to get to these falls would be to cross the river. No way that would be happening in the spring. It is go now or go bust.

I came down to the river crossing. The crossing looked very easy, thankfully. From a mile away, it is hard to determine how strong the river is flowing. However … it is daunting to look up above you and see a huge dam. They could release water at any moment. If I am on the wrong side of the river when that happens, I am skumped with no exit point. Do not release! Please! Well, I figured that on a Saturday afternoon in late Fall with no rain yet, it would be a safe bet to make the crossing.

On the other side, the route becomes extremely brushy. It is no cake walk. I came down to the upper falls, which was a bit smaller than I hoped, 21 ft. high (a generous measurement). I took some photos of it and continued on to the next one, the one I did not think I would be able to get down to. I came to the brink of the waterfall, but it was too steep to drop down from the brink. That meant I had to head up the canyon and find an easier way to drop down. The problem is, the brush! It was thick and nasty. I have quit hiking over less brush than this. But I was right there! I could see the falls! I had to find a way through this schmuck. I found a way. My legs were scratched up all the way from here to kingdom come, but I found a way through it. After this, it was a pretty easy descent down to the bottom of the falls, but the granite rock was slick, so I had to be careful. If it was wet, I would be sliding right into the river.

What a fun little waterfall! And so very pretty! I measured it 27 ft. high, but it seemed much bigger than that to my eye. I enjoyed it here very much, taking many photos. Then I headed back up quickly before they decided to release from the dam, arriving back at my car just before dark. It was a grand adventure at Bear River Reservoir.

So as you all know, more wildfires recently started in California. In particular, the Camp Fire ravaged through and destroyed the town of Paradise and surrounding area. Many homes were lost, including homes of people I know. Some lives were lost as well. I hike up in this area often. It is close to home. I’m not going to say much more but I feel this fire should not have happened. Most likely it was caused by PG&E power lines, which is also likely how the Napa fires were started last year (though neither is officially determined). Such unnecessary devastation in my view.

Anyhow, this past weekend I went on another scouting expedition in search of waterfalls that I will return to in the spring. The first one I found, the creek was pretty much completely dry. I was surprised by this. All the large creeks I have seen this Fall have still been flowing decent; this was a large creek, and yet this one was dry. I did find a waterfall here, but I did not take photos. Thankfully, it was very easy to get to, so I will definitely return in the spring.

The second one I went to was much more difficult to reach. The canyon below Lower Bear River Reservoir is incredible. Getting down to see it is more incredible, and even more difficult. The cliffs here are totally extreme and wild. I found a view of the waterfalls and canyon after much trepidation and fear, standing on the edge of a sheer dropoff of hundreds of feet. I had thought this would be one big waterfall, but it seemed more like a series of smaller waterfalls. I saw 3 or 4 drops with a big space in between each of them. So from far off, as I was, it was not as impressive as I anticipated. Nonetheless, in the spring, with the river raging, it might seem more like one big slide and much more striking. Thus I think that I will return. However, I may try a different route next time. I think I might be able to get up close to the first waterfall and (perhaps) the second waterfall (not the third and fourth – as those are way too steep). I will definitely try that, maybe even sooner than later.

This is the main Haypress Creek Falls, 32 ft. high. As you can see, it is a bit difficult to view it as the upper part is wrapped around a corner and out of sight. There is no better viewpoint of this one, nonetheless it is still an interesting spot. I think it would be much better at high flows, but then you would not be able to cross the creek, which I had to do to get to this location. The creek was extremely cold and my feet were numb, but otherwise it was not difficult to cross. It was a fun, short hike.

I do not like the drive from Nevada City to Downieville/Sierra City. It is just very long and very windy and very slow. I can get car sick even though I am the driver! Normally, I would go there maybe once per year, and I was not planning to go there this year until the rains started again. I still have quite a few waterfalls in that area that I want to see, and I figured it would be pointless to go now before the rains started. Or would it?

Upon further review, and thanks to waterfallwest friend Jeremy, I changed my mind about going to Sierra City. I decided I must go right now.

Haypress Creek Falls is a waterfall I had not been to yet, and it has been on my list for a long time. The creek was still flowing quite nicely too, and when I thought about it, I realized that I may have to cross the creek or get in the middle of it to see the falls, and once the rains start, that would be impossible. So actually, this would be a good and proper time to visit this waterfall.

I arrived at the trailhead at sunrise after a long drive at an awful hour or two of the morning, and I began my hike up to the falls. It is a quick hike, but then you need to descend the cliffs to get down to the waterfall. I only tried this once before and there was snow on the ground. It was far too sketchy to get down that day. Today, however, no snow. No rain. The ground was dry. It was very steep, with a couple severe dropoffs, but I did not need to use my rope to get down to creek level. Not too shabby, madman. Once I got down, I quickly realized that indeed I would need to cross the creek to see the falls, so I donned my water shoes and crossed the extremely cold but not too swift or deep water. Once on the other side I glanced up at the waterfall. What?

This was NOT the same waterfall that Jeremy had posted, though this was the main Haypress Creek Falls for certain. I realized there must be a second waterfall further downstream, though really I had no idea exactly where it would be. I took photos of this main falls, taking my time to warm up my numb toes, then I climbed back up the steep hill. I decided that I would explore downstream and try to find this other waterfall, though the light would most certainly be bad by the time I got to it.

The lower falls is shown here. The light was still good when I arrived, and it was actually not very difficult to find or get to. It is also much prettier than the upper falls, and that is why I am posting the lower falls first. I will post the upper falls next. They are both about the same height (30 ft. lower, 32 ft. upper), but definitely the lower falls is much nicer and as I said, much easier to get to. It is very gorgeous and I was so happy finding this second and very unexpected waterfall. It was a magnificent day in Sierra City.

Many years ago someone told me about a waterfall on the North Fork Cosumnes River, but he was extremely vague about its location. Nonetheless, at that time, I went down to explore the area where he had told me to go, and searched the river up and down and found nothing, except for a 5 foot high falls. I figured that was all she wrote, as has happened often before when people tell me about waterfalls which are not waterfalls at all. A 5 foot drop is not a waterfall people! Indeed, my wife just recently showed me a picture of a little so-called waterfall where she took a photo of our daughter. It is a beautiful photo, but it is not a waterfall! Yet she insisted it was.

Well, fast forward to this summer. As I explored Google Earth during the off season, as I always do, I discovered what seemed to be a potentially big waterfall drop on the same river. I decided to check it out. This would be a scouting mission for the spring, because I was not expecting the waterfall to be flowing too much in mid October. As it happens, it was very close to where my friend had told me about many years before. Could this be what he was referring to after all? I suppose it is possible, but I am thinking not. This waterfall was extremely well hidden, with very difficult and cliffy access. It was no cakewalk, and I saw no evidence that people were ever down here before. I only saw a bear trail along the cliff side (and why they would be going down here, I have absolutely no idea).

I tried to get here last week but failed miserably. It was pretty easy to get to the top of the waterfall, but you cannot view the falls from there. I tried to get to the bottom, but there was no way. There was a cliff ledge on the other side of the river across from the falls. If I could get there, then maybe, just maybe, I could view the waterfall, but crossing the river at the top of the falls was not an option. It was not because of the flow in the river, but because of the cliffs on the other side. This is one crazy location. The waterfall is tucked in between these cliffs on both sides of the river, and it was not going to give up its views very easily. The only possibility I saw was to approach it from the top, on the other side. I would have to come back another day to try that, but I did not have much hope. It looked extremely steep and cliffy.

I tried again the next week. No surprise, the descent from the other side was crazy steep. The drop-offs were severe. The waterfall, as I said, is extremely well hidden, especially from this other side. You cannot see the falls, or even see where it is located. I could not see the cliff ledge that I wanted to get to either, as it is also hidden. I definitely did not want to approach the river above or below the waterfall because I would be cliffed out and then have to backtrack. As I got closer to the river, I finally saw some clues to where I should be, and then finally got a view of that hidden ledge. I used my rope to be safe, and lo and behold, and shockingly, I found a way down onto that cliff ledge. From there, I was looking down on the waterfall, and I could see the entire drop, a beautiful 47 ft. high falls in two tiers. I was standing on the very edge of the cliff to get this view. What a sweet view. Now THIS is a waterfall. I will definitely be returning here in the spring when the river is much higher.