Winter is dead. Spring snow melt is in full swing and it will not last long. The snow pack in northern California is only 28% of normal and it is only going down. April 1 is the key date for end of winter. We have had no storms in March. There is no miracle March.
What this means is that the snow melt is about one month ahead of normal. Northern California is past peak flow (indeed, I don’t think we really even had a peak this year). Southern California has not reached peak flow yet but it will soon. The waterfalls are flowing right now, a month early, and waterfall season will not be long. It is going to be a very bad summer.
I had planned this backpacking trip for mid April but I had to move it up a month because of the early snow melt. My plan: Upper Pauley Falls in Tahoe National Forest. You may know about Pauley Falls in Downieville (pictured here) but probably had no clue there is an Upper Pauley Falls (and a middle one as well). I have had my eye on these waterfalls for quite awhile and I wanted to bring Journey here on a one night trip. It would be a very long day hike so an overnight backpacking trip sounded perfect to me.
My route would be 8 miles one way on the Second Divide Trail with 2000 ft. of elevation gain. This would have been all right for us except for one thing. Firstly though, we stopped at spunky little 15 ft. Pauley Falls in Downieville. It was early when we arrived. The flow was strong, about 120 cfs. Snow melt was in full force on Pauley Creek. It was a very quick stop then we drove a couple more miles to the Second Divide trailhead. The road is very narrow with steep dropoffs and few turnouts. I hate these types of roads but I saw no other cars, thankfully. At the trailhead, there is essentially only room for one car to park. That car was me. There was no one else here yet on Saturday morning.
We started up the trail. At first the going was very good. A nice gentle grade. Before too long we came along the first of MANY tree blowdowns. Some of them were extremely difficult to get by, especially for Journey. This was very tiring and made the hike 10 times more difficult than it should have been. I was surprised because this is a popular mountain bike trail, I thought it would be clear, but I guess it was because we were the first ones up here this year? I was worried we would come to an impassable section and we would have to turn back. After the intersection with the Third Divide Trail, however, there were not any more blowdowns (or maybe only a couple). By this time, however, we were dead tired and only half way through the hike. We stopped for lunch and took a big rest along Pauley Creek. Journey flopped out on the dirt ground after she ate. We still had 1000 ft. to climb from here and no more gentle grade either.
At least there were no more blowdowns. That made the hiking a bit easier. We were only hiking about 1.5 miles per hour so it was taking longer than I expected. Eventually though, we made it up the bridge over Pauley Creek near the upper falls. I thought there would be a camping spot here. There was no camping spot and no access to the water either. I could continue to the top of the falls where I was certain there would be camping but that was another 300 ft. or so of elevation. We were too tired for that. Instead we retreated back down the trail about a quarter mile to where I had seen a camping area along the creek. This was the perfect choice. It was a fantastic wide open area. We setup camp and ate dinner. By now it was late. We would go up to the waterfalls in the morning. I read some of my book. Journey was completely puckered out. We got into the tent and went to bed. It was a tiring but fantastic first day in Tahoe National Forest.
It was Sunday afternoon. Super Bowl Sunday. I had no desire whatsoever to watch it. I wanted to hike. So did Journey. I heard it was a boring game anyway. Good choice, Madman.
We went to Canyon Creek Falls at Quintette. It has been 16 years since I was here. I knew the last part would be difficult but I thought Journey would be able to do it. The hike starts out easily enough on a dirt road for 2.5 miles. It crosses one of the branches of the creek that the waterfall is on. Bone dry. Ugh. I was not expecting this. What if the other branch is dry as well? That would really suck the bone. I would be very unhappy. Maybe I should have gone somewhere else. We continued on. Worst case scenario is that Journey gets a good hike.
We got down to the creek below the waterfall. The creek was not dry. Yay! It seemed fairly decent flow. About as good as I could expect after a month and a half of dry weather. Now the hard part. There are two paths, one on each side of the creek. My notes said to go on the south side. The north side path does not go all the way up to the waterfall. The route we took was extremely difficult. It was very brushy. It was very steep. I really wasn’t too sure about doing it and thought about going back. It is a short distance though so I kept going. Journey did not really want to do it but she is such a trooper. She followed me up the whole way, through the brush, over logs, up very steep terrain. I am so proud of her. She did so awesome. Finally we made it to the base of the waterfall and relaxed and ate a snack. I took photos.
Canyon Creek Falls is very gorgeous and is 83 ft. high. It was so refreshing standing at the bottom of the waterfall.
On the way back we took a MUCH EASIER path. I had to lift Journey over a huge log but that wasn’t really a problem. We crossed the creek and then it was very easy following the path back to the road. I should have gone that way in the first place though that log was a big obstacle for Journey. We hiked back up the mountain, getting back to the car just before sunset. It was a fantastic hike on Super Bore Sunday in Eldorado National Forest.
When going to new waterfalls it is difficult to know if I should take Journey or not. I have no idea if there is going to be too much brush or if it will be too cliffy for her or something else. Well, I had my eyes on a new waterfall in Oroville area and I thought she might be able to do it. The waterfall is basically beside a dirt road. It should be all right, I hoped. We did not get very far. The road was completely washed out. If I was by myself I think I could have gotten by it but there is no way Journey could do it. Well, that was a washout. (pun intended) We did end up hiking 8 miles so she was happy at least that we had a good hike.
Two days later. My birthday. I took the day off work and wanted to get a good hike in with Journey. We would be getting to a waterfall this time. 100 percent.
My initial plan was to go back to Oroville area but I wasn’t so keen on it. It would be a good hike for sure but the waterfall was just a little one and I have been to it before. For my birthday I wanted something better. But I could not think of another option. I woke up Monday morning and considered it. What if we go up into the snow? How about Rattlesnake Creek Falls? I looked at the satellite. There was not that much snow so it should be do-able and the creek should be flowing as well. This is going to be a much better hike for my birthday. And Journey gets to sleep in an extra hour. She’ll be happier. (she would be happy anyway)
We arrived at the trailhead at sunrise. The usual parking was all snowed in. There is no other legal place to park. I found one small spot that seemed to be legal enough. Off we went. It was 28 degrees.
They are doing construction work on the Fordyce Dam and they have the road entirely closed to the public. It is ok to go here in winter since they are not working but I had hoped to go backpacking up here with Journey in the spring. I don’t think I’ll be allowed to do that until 2029 according to the sign. That kinda sucks. Sigh.
Anyway, we stopped at the lower falls first for a quick shot. Then hiked up to the middle falls for a quick shot. Then continued to the upper falls (shown here). There was snow on the road the entire way but there have been people snowmobiling up here so it was very easy walking on the road in the tracks. There was not much snow either. Sadly. We need a lot more snow this winter. Please. The last part over to the waterfall is off the road and there were no tracks. There was more snow here and it was icy and hard but I was still post-holing a bit. Journey had no troubles with that. She is much lighter than I am.
We came to the viewpoint of upper Rattlesnake Creek Falls. It was very pretty covered in snow and ice. I am certain this picture is not going to be appreciated as much as I think it should be. I really loved the look of it. It was so gorgeous.
We took our photos and Journey had her snack, then we hiked back down to the car. We were home by 12:30PM. It was a fabulous and cold and snowy birthday hike in Tahoe National Forest.
Thanksgiving Day. Journey and I were up at the crack of night and on the road by 5:15AM. One of the two of us were not happy about that. I will give you one guess. Well, she is always happy once we get on the trail.
We drove up Ice House Road all the way to the end. I have been here one time before and that was 15 years ago. It is a very easy 2 mile hike to the waterfall and it was 29 degrees when we started. There was a lot of ice on the road. And puddles! The puddles covered the entire road in places. The trick is to get by them without getting your feet wet. We were mildly successful but not completely successful. Journey was a bit less diligent about keeping dry but it must have been extremely cold for her feet. She did not seem to mind though.
When you get to the waterfall you need to scramble down the rocks to the bottom. Journey is an expert at this stuff now and had no problem.
When I was here in 2010 I somehow got the impression that the waterfall may have been on private property. There must have been a sign otherwise I don’t know why I would think that. It is probably the main reason I never came back here until now. There was no sign this time and in fact, I looked at the map beforehand and saw that the waterfall is absolutely on public land. This is good. It is a nice waterfall and easy to get to. I will certainly come back again sometime.
Gerle Creek Falls is 35 ft. high. I was surprised the creek was flowing so strong. It is a controlled creek but I figured that by this time of year they surely would have reduced the flow from Loon Lake. Interesting, but I was happy to see this. It is a pretty waterfall. We took our photos and continued on the trail past Wentworth Springs. All in all we hiked about 7.5 miles. It was a magnificent and very cold morning in Eldorado National Forest.
Journey and I went up to visit our old haunt, Horsetail Falls. We went there last year together. Heck, I go there every year.
With the government shutdown, I should not have to pay for parking. Who is going to come check your car? A furloughed ranger? I don’t think so. Yet when I arrived at the trailhead every other car in the parking lot had paid for parking. What the hey? Do they not know there is a shutdown? Now I wondered if I should pay. Should I pay or should I go? If I go there will be trouble. If I pay it will be double. Honestly I did not feel like paying for parking today. If there is going to be a stupid government shutdown then I should get some benefit out of it. That is my logic. I did not pay. (and I did not get a ticket).
If you have done this hike you know there is a little bit of scrambling on steep, slick, granite rock. Journey did very awesome on this. I thought she was going to slip and slide a couple times, but no. She is an expert at the rock scrambling now.
By the time we arrived at the waterfall we were the last ones on the mountain. We went to a couple different spots for photos. I had an idea for something a bit different that I wanted but it did not pan out so here is your Horsetail Falls shot for the year. It actually is a bit different from my previous photos. Journey ate her snack and we hiked down, arriving back at the car at sunset. It was a lovely evening in Eldorado National Forest.
