Leon Turnbull Photography

Memorial Day weekend, my plan was to go on a big 3 day backpacking trip in the NFAR Canyon. 11 waterfalls in 3 days? It was possible. Would I succeed?

My daughter had a big dance schnazzle thing on Friday night, so it was late before I could get going. I drove up Foresthill Rd to Tadpole. There was snow here. End of the line. I would not be driving any further, but there was no one around, which was perfect; I thought for sure there would be lots of people up here on Memorial Day weekend. I got into bed at about 10 PM, sleeping in my car the first night. As I’m trying to get to sleep some guy in a truck comes up. He tries to go through the snow in the dark, and of course he got stuck. Bottomed out. He then comes down to wake me up because I am the only one around. Well there is no way to push him out, and I was not going to drive up there, I’d just get stuck myself. It would not have helped anyway (but that is what he wanted, for some reason). So I drove him back almost all the way to Foresthill before we got cell service, and he called his cousin to come get him out. His cousin was up at Robinson Flat waiting for him but he went the back way. I highly doubted he could drive over Canada Hill (and he could not, as I found out later), so he would have had to drive all the way back to Foresthill and then up Foresthill Rd to Tadpole to rescue his cousin. It was probably 3AM before he even got there. After my neighborly duty was finished, I did not stick around to find out what happened afterwards. However, you really gotta wonder what would possess this guy to attempt to drive through all that snow in the first place. It is crazy. He is a few marbles short of a full pack if you ask me. Like that boy Ray Cabalfin who was swept away jumping in the American River recently. Why on earth would anyone jump in a river that is so clearly and visibly moving that fast? It is just plain stupid. Not to mention freezing cold, you will get hypothermia in about a minute or two. On my hike, I had to cross Tadpole Creek to get down to this waterfall viewpoint. It was easy to do, but it sure was damn freezing.

Anyway, somewhere along the way driving back to Foresthill for this guy I somehow ran over a nail. My tire light came on but I thought it was a different tire that has a very slow leak. Nonetheless, it was still very disconcerting and I sure did not want to come back to the car late on Monday afternoon to find I had a big old flat tire.

It was midnight before I got back in bed. My initial plan was to get up at 4:30 AM, well that was not happening anymore. And yes, when I woke up in the morning I saw that I had a big old flat. It was a different tire than the one with a slow leak. This leak was not so slow. Lovely. That’s what I get for being a good Samaritan. I kinda felt like I should just change the tire and go home. I considered doing just that, but I was within walking distance to Tadpole Canyon. The tire would still be there when I got back from a morning hike.

Tadpole Canyon was very tough this time because all the brush is incredibly bad there now. It seems that since the forest fires that have happened in these areas the brush has grown up ten times worse than it was before. I have seen it in multiple places so far this year. I got to the waterfall viewpoint, but barely. The brush was horrendously crazy. I don’t think I will ever come back here again. This is the end of the line for Tadpole Canyon Falls. It will be completely inaccessible in another year or so. I really wanted to try to get down to find a view of the lower falls on this Creek (my main reason for coming back here again), but the brush was even worse further down and there was no way I could do it. I don’t see any possible way to get down to it now.

I got back to my car. The tire was still flat. Bummer.

After changing it, the tire light was still on. I guessed the spare just had low pressure but I could not risk that it had a slow leak also. I decided to just drive home, get them all fixed up, then come back out the next day.

My conclusion: God really does not want me to go backpacking down in the American River Canyon this year. That is three strikeouts so far. My wife says maybe there is something to that. God is protecting me from something. I say, well maybe, I don’t know, but it’s “NFAR Canyon”!

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On November 12, 1987, my best friend at the time and I boarded a boat and sailed across the waters from Victoria to Vancouver British Columbia, arriving at BC Place stadium sometime in the afternoon. Where are you now, Jim? I was 19. We had no tickets. For $100 each, we found a scalper and bought a couple. At that time, $100 was a lot of money for a concert. They were floor seats. We got into the stadium and got up close to the stage. We had a great position, very close to the stage. We were excited! We waited for the event in great anticipation. It was our first time seeing our favorite band U2, on the Joshua Tree tour. The first opening band played, I have no recollection who they were. The second opening band (again, no recollection) started to play. I cannot remember the exact timing, if it was during the second band or after they played and before U2 came on stage (probably the latter), but at that time you could all of a sudden sense a sudden change and tension in the crowd. This tension grew by the minute. All of sudden, within seconds, the crowd rushed to the stage, and we were crushed. I soon lost my friend in the madness, and did not see him again until after the concert. I could not breathe. I could not go forward, backwards, or sideways. I was trapped. Everyone was trying to get up closer to the stage. This was before U2 even came on stage! I had to get out of there. For those that wanted out, the crowd was lifting people up high and pushing them hand over hand to the front. These were mostly girls, but not all. It was my only way out of there. I convinced the guys beside me to lift me up and the crowd lifted me to the front. I could finally breathe again. I got over to the side and much further back, away from the frenzy, and I enjoyed a terrific show from one of my all time favorite bands, and not the last one. I don’t really remember any songs they played, mostly all I remember is the frenzy of the crowd, though I do remember they ended with “40”.

Little did I know that my future brother-in-law Sean would be at his first U2 concert two days later in the Bay area. I beat him by two days. Now 30 years later, Sean, my wife Tara (who was too young to see them on the Joshua Tree tour but nonetheless has seen them a number of times – including with me when she was 7 months pregnant with our firstborn), and I return to see U2 again on the Joshua Tree anniversary tour in the Bay area (and for about the same price as those scalped tickets in 1987). At first, we thought we had good seats, further back but looking directly at the stage. When we got there, however, we found that there was a huge housing structure right in the middle of the field. We could only see half the stage, and would not be able to see the band at all during the first five songs (actually, much more than that). This structure apparently was requested by the band at the last minute. Thankfully, they were offering everyone in this seating area new tickets. They turned out to be excellent seats, we were right at the side and very close to the stage. They couldn’t have been better seats, really. We had a great time and it was a great concert. Many of the songs were incredibly powerful, most notably Bullet The Blue Sky. Some songs, though, were just meh (are they getting too old for this?). One thing for certain is that I am too old for this. We did not get home until 2:45AM, a couple hours sleep, and then I had to get up for work in the morning. Ugh. Where is my coffee!?!?

Anyway, I thought you might like that story. It has nothing to do with waterfalls. I did dream once that I flew with Bono and the band in a helicopter to New York Canyon Falls where they wanted to make a video for their song, New York. But sadly, that never came to reality.

Since we are reminiscing, here is an old photo of Upper Heath Falls from last year. I was excited to finally get to this 40 ft. high falls last year and get a good photo of it. However, I still haven’t found what I am looking for with regard to the lower Heath Falls. I do not have a good photo of it at high flow, or some of the other ones in this general area. As I mentioned in my previous post, I tried to get down to it last week, but came across too much snow, still up to 8 feet of snow in this canyon! I was unable to get to Heath Falls at high flow. It is not too late, however, to try again later this spring. I just may do that.

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This is the lower two tiers of Lower West New York Canyon Falls, 62 and 73 ft. high respectively. When I did this hike a couple weeks ago, there was 2-3 feet of snow on the ground (sometimes less) at the 6600 ft. level on Foresthill Rd. It was quite easy walking through the snow at this location.

This weekend I did another hike, same elevation, but off of I-80 (before the Donner Summit). There was 6-8 feet of snow on the ground!!! These two locations are very close, yet so much more snow at I-80, I could not believe it! I was expecting a fairly easy hike down to the river, and losing the snow completely before I got down to 6000 ft. I’m not complaining about all the snow, but this day I could not even get close to where I wanted.

I realized right away before starting that I would need my snowshoes for this hike, as I was sinking in at the trailhead. So that was no big deal, and the snowshoe hike started off very pleasantly. It was easy going, but I was a bit tired as I climbed up to the 6900 ft. level. There were a lot of holes I needed to be careful of, and dropoffs into deep tree wells. I would not want to fall into one of them, I might never get out. The snow was quite slippery on these steep areas, and easy to slide, and sliding down a steep embankment into a tree well was not something I wanted to do.

As I descended into Palisade Canyon, the scenery opened up into beauty. Magnificent wide open landscape. Devil’s Peak looms over the canyon, with snow on top, and light fluffy clouds over it. That mountain is *not* named appropriately. I followed fresh bear tracks through the snow down into the canyon, and I saw that Mr. Bear seemed to have trouble in one section as he climbed up an embankment, and the snow broke under his weight.

The snow was *not* disappearing as I descended, indeed the going became more and more difficult. Under the snow, I could not find the trail for the life of me. Sometimes I was on it (I guessed), sometimes I was way off base. I was hiking through a brushy forest, surely there was no trail through this area. There were numerous streams to cross, and these were very difficult, not because they had great flow, but because they were in steep areas, and the only way across them was on snow bridges, which I was extremely leery of and praying furiously that they would not break under my weight as I crossed on them. In one instance as I was crossing such a snow bridge (this one was not over a creek), I heard a thundering crash as the snow collapsed beneath my feet. I did not break through the snow, but it sure scared the heck out of me. It was loud! I should have turned back by then, but I kept going, thinking it would become easier as I descended and found the trail proper. Nope. By 5800 ft. elevation, there was still very much snow, and eventually I came to a spot that was not passable, or it would have been a huge effort to pass it, and by this time I was done for. It took five hours to hike six miles. It was well past time to head back up the mountain. I ate my lunch and rested, then reluctantly headed back up. Along the way, I found fresh tracks from a coyote, who had been walking in my snowshoe tracks that I made on the way down. I guess I just missed him. It took another five hours back to the car. I was beat.

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The main reason I made the big descent down the mountain was not to see New York Canyon Falls. Does this surprise you? New York Canyon Falls was really just a bonus waterfall to see on this hike. Well, that might be exaggerating things a little bit. Of course I desired to see New York Canyon Falls at peak flow.

However, I really really wanted to see the lower falls on West New York Canyon Creek. This is the one and last waterfall in the New York Canyon area that I had not seen yet. You cannot get to this waterfall from above, i.e. from Chert Knoll. My brother- in-law and I glimpsed it on our trip to New York Canyon Falls. However, we were high on the other side of the creek, and could not get down to see it. For 11 years I have been wondering how to see this waterfall.

After getting down that mountain, I was so close. But I was so tired! Just getting down the mountain was extremely tiring, and I still had to climb back up!

From the viewpoint of New York Canyon Falls, it was still a pretty big descent down to the one on West New York Canyon Creek. I really did not think I had the energy for it. I would have settled for just a long distance view of it, but there were far too many trees in the way to see anything on the creek. I had to go down. When would I ever be back here again? Never.

It was actually much easier to get down than I thought it would be. I made the short journey over towards West New York Canyon Creek.

I came to a glorious rocky overlook where I could see up into the canyon. The waterfall on West New York Canyon is stunning! It is a magnificent 217 foot high tiered cascade. To get the full view, I had to get right to the end of the rocky outlook. The drop down from here to the pool at the bottom of the falls is scary huge. Here I am standing on the very edge. It was the only way to see all 217 feet of this beautiful waterfall. Up above me, I could see the very top of New York Canyon Falls. Wow.

This hike will probably be my number one top hike of 2017. I don’t see how I can top this. Indeed, it will make up for every strike out I have or may not have in the future of this year. If I forget that, be sure to remind me.

But it is also the toughest hike of the year, and like I said, probably the toughest I’ve ever done. I still have to hike back up this mountain!

Well, no time like the present. I packed up my gear, my very heavy gear, and started the ascent.

It started raining! It was not supposed to rain until the afternoon. This normally would not bother me, except that I did not bring my rain gear. I did not think I would need it! And on top of this, now those loose rocks are all wet and slippery. This is not good. By the time I got to the top, the rain had finally stopped, but by then I was cold and wet because I was not wearing rain gear.

I actually felt pretty good on the ascent. I made sure I stopped plenty of times, and drank water and ate food. I did not bonk, unlike at Wabena Falls or on my previous hikes in New York Canyon. I credit it to being in better shape, and also eating and resting more as I hiked up the mountain.

When I got back to the car I saw that I had a tick embedded in my leg. Ugh! The first tick bite I had in years. Thankfully I had bought this nifty tick removal device from REI. It came right out. Hopefully it doesn’t get any worse. I just read an article the other day that not only can ticks give you lyme disease, but now they can give you a different disease that is even worse. Lovely.

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Getting to New York Canyon Falls in the spring at peak snow melt flow? Impossible you say! On a day hike no less? Most certainly impossible you say! Well the Waterfall Madman thinks differently. I first discovered this potential route a couple years ago but I did not have a chance to try it out last year. It would require three important things: one, a cloudy day, and not raining. Two, Foresthill Rd road needs to be open at least to Beacroft . And three, of course the river needs to be at a peak flow, which means early to mid April in most years (but not this year).

But wait! All this is exactly what we had this weekend. The forecast on Saturday was for mostly cloudy conditions all day. I called the Ranger office and they said Foresthill Road was plowed to Beacroft. And to top it off, we have peak snow melt this week thanks to the very warm weather. I changed my original hiking plans and decided to head back into New York Canyon one more time.

Two weeks ago, remember, I tried to backpack to New York Canyon. Unfortunately, the trail is now so overgrown it is completely impassable. At that time, there was so much snow that I could not even drive to Mumford Bar. I said that it will be at least a month or more before you can drive to Beacroft. And here we are two weeks later, and there is no snow left at all! There was no snow at Mumford Bar, and no snow at Beacroft. I could not believe it. That much snow had melted in just two weeks! So I was actually able to drive past Beacroft, almost all the way to Tadpole. This saved me 900 feet of hiking, which was huge. Even though I was ready to hike from Beacroft, if I had to I do not think that I would have made it all the way. This was one of the toughest hikes, if not the toughest, of my life. It is on the scale of the Wabena Falls hike, and I think based on elevation gain, that it is tougher than that one. Total elevation gain for this hike: 3200 feet.

I started my hike at about 6200 feet elevation. There was snow on the ground, about 2 to 3 feet, and I was hiking in the snow. I was unsure if I needed to take my snowshoes or not. The snow was hard packed, but I still had to gain 300 feet to the top of the hill. Would I need them? I decided to leave them in the car. I was not sinking in more than 1 or 2 inches, so I think I made the right decision. However, on top of the hill the snow was a lot softer, and snowshoes would have been helpful and made the hike much easier. Nonetheless, I managed without them, and I only sank through the snow once. As I was walking along, and with my foot already in mid air, I saw a big hole and thought I better not step in it, too late, I put my foot down and promptly sank through the snow one and a half feet. Well, no permanent damage done and I continued on.

On the other side of the mountain, we start off with a slow and fairly easy descent of 1000 feet. I lost the snow somewhere along the way. At this point, you see New York Canyon Falls for the first time. It is from a long distance away. I did bring my big heavy lens, which of course I did not want to bring on such a tough hike, but I figured I would need it. I took photos of the waterfall from up here with the big lens since I did not know if I would be able to get any closer or not.

From this spot, it is another 1700 feet to the bottom, and it is not for wusses. Honestly, when I found this potential route, I did not think, in fact I was pretty sure that I would not be able to get to the bottom from here. When you look at Google Earth, it looks steep, severely steep, crazy steep, stupid steep, cliffy steep. But it is worth a try, right?

I started the descent. Man, this looks steep! I figured I would just go down as far as I could, certain that it would not be far. I kept going down. And going down. And going down. And going down. You can see the North Fork American River below, and Snow Mountain on the other side rising high above; the views are spectacular. Far far up the canyon, I could see what looked like a waterfall. I’m not sure, but it may have been Wabena Falls. On the way down, there were a few spots that were especially steep, and the rocks were very loose and shifty so I had to be extremely careful. I did not need the rope, however, until the very last section at the bottom. I used it here, but only for safety, I probably did not even need it there.

Finally down, I made the somewhat much easier traverse over towards the waterfall. I say somewhat, because it was a bit brushy at the bottom, but once I got past the brush, it was easy.

Oh glory!

I came into view of New York Canyon Falls. What utter magnificence! From down here, the lower cascade of the falls is blocked by Chert Knoll as you can see. There is no view from this side which is not blocked. Even from the top of the mountain, the lower cascade is blocked from view. Nevertheless, you can still see the top 300 feet of the waterfall, the main drop of the falls, and it is absolutely amazing.

This is close to peak snow melt. I actually made it to New York Canyon Falls at peak flow after all these years! This was one of my major goals since first seeing this waterfall 11 years ago. On Thursday, the flow on the North Fork American River reached 5290 cfs. This was the maximum it reached. On Friday, it was 4900 cfs. When I got here on Saturday morning, it was a bit less. Essentially, it was about double the flow that I saw it in April 2006, when I backpacked here with my brother-in-law. Incredible!

I rested, and took many photos, thoroughly enjoying the moment.

But wait! There is more…

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