Leon Turnbull Photography

In the past week, there was one more foot of new snow fallen. It was the last storm of the winter (although it is not winter anymore). I had hoped it would have all melted by the weekend, but not so. Since it was fresh, it was not packed, and the snow was soft and not good to walk on without snow shoes. I knew I would need my snow shoes on this backpacking trip, and therefore I did pack them. Since the first part of the hike is road walking, I carried them. This added 3.5 pounds of weight to my pack. Not a fun thing, but it was easier walking on the road in hiking boots than snow shoes. At least it was downhill.

Once I got off the road, I put the snowshoes on since the snow was softer and I was sinking in. I hoped I could ditch them long before I got down to the river, thinking that I would be leaving the snow far behind, as it is a 1500 ft. descent. However, there was much more snow than expected, and it continued ALL THE WAY down to river level. When I got to the top of a certain gully (I could not wear them going down the gully), I almost left them there. Surely there would not be any snow at the bottom of the gully, but reluctantly I decided to carry them down, and it’s a good thing. There was a lot of snow at the bottom of the gully, and it was much deeper than at the top. Snow shoes were an absolute necessity.

There was one big creek crossing, but it was not horribly big and I was not expecting it to be uncross-able. I put on my water shoes and it was definitely flowing swift and very cold, but not dangerous at all. Coming back in a couple days could be a different story. It was supposed to warm up quickly this weekend, and that meant more snow would be melting into the creek. I was not concerned about it. However…

There was one section of the hike I was concerned about: It was a potentially very dangerous area, with steep drop-offs down into the raging river below. Fortunately, by this point in the hike, all the snow was gone. If there was snow, I would not have been able to continue past this section. With no snow or wet slippery rock, it was pretty easy.

It was a very long and difficult hike, but after 5.5 hours of slow slogging, I finally made it to my camp at Upper Palisade Creek Falls in the early afternoon. This waterfall is hidden off the main trail, but you can practically see it from the main trail (in fact, you can see it from the main trail), and it is very easy to get to. I don’t know why I never noticed it when I was down here before, and I thank my friend Mike for telling me about this one. It is a magnificent waterfall, dropping in two tiers, 80 ft. and 30 ft., and it is a perfect place to camp, right beside the falls. I had a terrific evening enjoying the waterfall and photographing it. However, it would be a very cold night…

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This weekend took me back to Serena Creek Falls. I’ve been to these waterfalls before but … it’s been awhile, and I wanted to come back here again. I also wanted to scout out the area for an upcoming trip in a few weeks. How much snow was up there? I was not sure. Would I need snowshoes? No clue. Where was I going to park for this upcoming weekend trip? I had an idea but again, I was not sure. So Serena Creek Falls seemed like a good place to go while I did these scouting things as well.

I arrived at the trailhead. There was at least 2 feet of snow on the ground here. That is not a lot, really. I thought there would be quite a bit more than this. It was very hard packed. I determined that I would not need my snowshoes on the hike, and so I left them in the car as I hiked down the road on the hard packed snow.

When I reached the point where I needed to get off the road and head towards to the creek, I began to wonder if it was a mistake leaving my snowshoes. In the trees, the snow was softer. There were some potentially big holes. I did not want to break my ankle on this hike! I figured it could be quite dangerous down near the creek with big holes and rocky and very steep terrain. Even with snowshoes, it could be a problem.

I did not posthole even once as I hiked down towards the creek (well, maybe once). There were many tracks back on the road, as this is a popular area for skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling, but there were no tracks going to the falls. No doubt I am the first person to visit the waterfalls this year. When I got to the top of the waterfall, which is where I would need to descend the very steep hill, I found no snow at all! With no snow, it was actually very easy getting down to the bottom of both waterfalls. I did not need my snowshoes after all.

At the Lower Falls (pictured here), I knew I would have to get in the creek and over towards the middle of the creek to take photos. There was a good strong flow in the creek, and of course it was icy cold, but I was able to get to the middle. I could not get all the way over to the other side, however, so I took my photos standing in the middle. My toes froze off, but I think it was worth it. Lower Serena Creek Falls is a beauty.

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ODE TO NFAR:

In the beginning was the river, and the river flowed.

And the One who made it was pleased and said it was very good.

And its name was North Fork of the American, but its closest friends called it NFAR.

And it flowed green and wild through the rugged and beautiful canyon.

And there were towering waterfalls dropping into it, and the river welcomed them joyously.

And in the spring there was none that could tame it.

For some time, however, it was sad and disheartened.

And it longed to run wild and free again.

Many thought it would die and never come back, but after a time it did return and with a vengeance.

And there are eight waterfalls on the river, and they are splendid.

And the first is not made by the One, but the people like it and they flock to it and play in its lake.

And the second is not grand, but it has the spunk.

And the third is most glorious, but to see it you must die and be re-born.

And the fourth is the chief of the eight, and it is the maddening one.

And the fifth shimmers like a curtain in the sunlight.

And the sixth is where the emerald fairies play in the summer.

And the seventh lives in a narrow place, and is of power.

And the eighth is veiled and is usually only seen by the crazy ones on the water.

And the ones who live in the trees tried to claim part of the river for themselves only.

But the people must fight back, because the river belongs to the One, and He gave it to all.

And all the people thought that was the end of the waterfalls.

But the mad man did not believe it, and he set forth, and he was determined.

And he found the ninth, and it was beautiful and it was born of the mountain and the meadow.

And he was much delighted, and the people rejoiced.

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Grab some popcorn and watch my newest waterfall madman release. Please share and subscribe!

For my Black Friday, as I always do every year, long before REI ever came up with the idea, I go out hiking. My hike this year was going to be an epic one, but unfortunately did not quite turn out that way. It was a long one, however. I hiked 17 miles; I started my hike before sunrise, and it ended after sunset. Wow!

I started at the Salt Springs Reservoir hiking into the Mokelumne Wilderness. All access roads to the reservoir have been closed due to storm damage from last year. Two of the roads are still closed. I noticed on the Eldorado NF website, however, that Ellis Road is now open. It seemed like the perfect time to get back here. This road will be closed soon for winter, but it is not closed yet, and the river would be flowing strong as well. It was going to be awesome.

Surprisingly, I was not the only one out so early at Salt Springs Reservoir. There was a car parked at the trailhead where a fisherman was sleeping in his vehicle. I think I woke him up, but he did not seem to be upset about it, and we chatted briefly before I started my hike. Even though I started early, the hike to the end of the reservoir took longer than I thought it should. I do not really understand why. I also found a multitude of ticks. The first ticks I have seen this season, and there were a heckuva lot of them. It is only November, far too early for ticks. I was constantly swatting them off the brushes with my hiking pole as I hiked along the trail. By the end of it, the ticks had worn me out. Literally. And I think it cost me a bite. When you get to the end of the reservoir, there is something else to worry about too: poison oak. Somehow, I managed to get in the wrong place, right in the middle of the stuff. Fortunately, I somehow managed to avoid getting the big itch, which is a miracle, considering how late it was before I could get home and wash myself down.

So I was already running late, tired from swatting ticks, and already in the poison oak. I took a long distance photo of the Blue Hole Falls which I have been to previously, then continued hiking up the river. There is no more trail, or not much of one anyway, but it is fairly easy going. I did not see any ticks in this area, thankfully.

I came to this 20 ft. high waterfall, which is called Island Slide Falls by the kayaking community. It is easy to see why it is called this, as the river splits around rocks at the top of the falls. It is a gorgeous slide. I debated about even going to this waterfall because it is out of the way, and delayed me even more. As it turned out, I am glad I did go here.

From here I retreated in order to climb up the mountain. I went the wrong way up and it took much longer than anticipated. More delays. Frankly, I thought I was going to get cliffed out and not be able to get all the way up, but I made it up successfully. I then started going down the other side. Now I did get cliffed out. There was a tremendous amount of brush, and major cliffs. I could not get back down to the river. I retreated back up the mountain, and ate my lunch at the top. The views of the Mokelumne Wilderness are stunning from here. However once again, I could not get to Fantasy Falls as I had hoped to do. Will I ever try it again? Yes, for sure I will. After I ate my lunch, I did find a possible route down. I don’t know if it will work or not, but I marked it with my GPS. I think next time, however, I will backpack in here. That will give me more time.

I went back down the mountain (the proper way). It was late, I was tired, I was out of water, and I still had 7 miles to hike back to the car. I filled my water reservoir in the river, then made the long hike back. I tried to hike at a fast pace on the downhill parts. I did not want to be hiking back in the dark. You cannot see ticks in the dark. I arrived back at the car just after it started getting dark. It was not until I got back home that I noticed I had a tick embedded in my backside. I had to get my daughter to get it out for me. It is odd that I did not notice it biting me beforehand. How long had it been embedded? Thankfully, it was not a bad bite. It was a long but beautiful day in the Mokelumne Wilderness.

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It was the first major snowstorm of the season this weekend. Of course, like a madman, I wanted to get out into it. But where to go? I wanted to find a snowy waterfall that was still flowing decently. That meant it would have to be above 7000 feet and somewhat easily accessible and somewhat flowing as well. I decided to try Susie Lake Falls in the Desolation Wilderness. I knew it would not be flowing great but I thought it should still be decent at least.

I have not been hiking or exercising at all for a couple weeks because I put my back out just bending down to pick something up. OK this is what it is like to feel old. I have not had any issues with it in over two years, and now it goes out? I had been doing exercises faithfully from my physio-therapist sister, but I stopped because it had been so much better. Well I won’t be stopping those exercises any longer in the future. The back is better but still bothering me a bit, yet I still wanted to get out hiking this weekend. The worst part was driving back home from Lake Tahoe afterwards.

It was extremely windy when I got to the trailhead, a full on storm blowout. This was going to be a fun day, I thought. At this elevation, there was no snow on the ground. It was snowing a bit but it was not sticking until I got higher up in elevation. When I got up to Susie Lake there was a good 3 inches of snow on the ground, but I was actually hoping for a lot more. It seems that most of the precipitation fell further north (the northern foothills got about 4 inches); the Tahoe area did not receive too much at all.

At the lake, the wind was just completely crazy. Snow was blowing in my face from across the lake. I could see nothing. It was a struggle to walk to the end of the lake. Now we really were having fun. From the outlet, it’s a steep descent down to the waterfall. In the summer I imagine it is a cakewalk, but now? With snow on the ground? With slick terrain? With ridiculous steep dropoffs? Good luck with that, madman. Well, I found a way around the dropoffs. Overall, it was not too bad or dangerous.

I made it down to the waterfall and it was actually pretty nice with the snow, though it would’ve been a lot nicer if there was more flow in the falls and more snow (so I guess it was not such a perfect storm – but then again, could I have gotten here at all if there was more snow?).

But it was fun, and despite the cold and blowing snow I was warm and quite dry enough in my rain gear. It was a good start to the season in the Desolation Wilderness. I just pray we have another good one this year.

 

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