My new tent arrived earlier than I expected. Before the weekend. This would be a perfect opportunity to give it a test run since I was not playing drums on Sunday. I wanted to take Journey along as well. New journeys with a new tent. The Eastern Sierra would be a great idea to see Fall Colors, however it was going to be 23 degrees at night. I could handle that but not Journey. That would be way too cold for her. Well I could go by myself or find a different place. Nearer to Lake Tahoe it was only going to be 37 degrees. Granite Chief Wilderness. This seemed perfect. Let’s go!
It is a very long drive to the trailhead. On a very windy road. Journey loves that. Not! Finally we got there at 11AM and were happy to get on the trail. It was a beautiful day. The first storm of the year just finished with about 2 inches of rain. Would all the creeks be up now? Not really but hopefully the waterfall would still be decent. It seems we are going to have a weak La Nina this winter which is a good sign, however we also have the Big Blob back which was very prevalent in the drought years. Are we going back into another extended drought or will we have a good winter? Pray for rain.
The hike to the waterfall is fairly easy, about 5 miles with minimal elevation gain. The first part is through an old growth forest. Huge trees. Redwood. Spruce. Douglas Fir. Absolutely incredibly beautiful through here. After crossing the Middle Fork American River (which was easily rock hoppable) the terrain changes in Picayune Valley. There are a lot of Aspen trees. Sadly they were all still green. I really wanted to see some Fall Color on this trip but I guess the elevation is too low and they have not changed yet. The trail was also a bit overgrown in places. It was not difficult but I was sad about that as well.
We arrived at the waterfall about 1:30PM and set up camp. It is very rocky and there was just one small spot to put the tent. I bought the Durston X Mid2. It takes some getting used to for setting up and taking down but so far I really like it. The camping area is quite large (and rocky, as I said) so Journey had a lot of room to explore while I was setting up the tent or doing other things.
Since it was an easy hike and still early I thought we would continue up the trail for awhile. I wanted to tire Journey out some more before bed. We hiked about 30 minutes up and 30 minutes back. I am not sure if that really tired her out more or not. Ah well. It was overcast when we got back to camp so we went straight to the waterfall to take photos. It was a bit difficult getting Journey up to the falls. There were some tricky spots including walking along a cliff edge, crossing the creek, and lifting her up over a big rock ledge. She did great though and we made it. Going back I found a much easier way for her.
Picayune Valley Falls is 41 ft. high. I thought it would be flowing a bit better, at least twice as much, but oh well. What can you do. It was still all right.
We got back to camp, made dinner, and went to bed. I had two coats for Journey but even so, she woke up at 4AM and was shivering. This was surprising to me. I took my sleeping bag liner (which was keeping me very cozy) and put it on over her. After this she stopped shivering and I think she was warm enough for the rest of the night.
We woke up, made breakfast, and hiked out, getting back to the car at 10:30AM. Then the very long drive home. It was a marvelous trip with Journey into the Granite Chief Wilderness.
I have been up Ice House Road 4 times this year with Journey so far (and no more). We went to Bassi Falls of course but we had a couple other strikeouts that we won’t get into. One last time to one I know we can do: South Fork Silver Creek Falls. I went to this one last year without Journey but since she had not been to it yet I thought we should try it.
The snow is all gone so it is easy to drive right to the trailhead. It is only a half mile hike. That is not enough for the little doggie. Not even close. I parked the car two miles from the trailhead so we would have a five mile round trip hike. This was all good but it is a paved road and there could be cars. I had to be careful if Journey was going to be off-leash. On the hike in to the falls it was no problem, we are early birds (well, daddy is an early bird anyway). There would not be anyone out yet but on the way back there certainly could be cars (and there was one). Fortunately it is possible to walk on the beach alongside the lake for a lot of the distance so that is what we did on the hike back to the car. It was very pleasant and fun for Journey as well.
I was just here last year but getting up to the waterfall was a lot trickier for Journey than I thought it would be. There were a couple spots I had to lift her up and over big rocks or logs. Getting up to the high (better) waterfall viewpoint was not possible for her. There was a very big rock to climb up and even trying to lift her was not going to happen. The main (lower) viewpoint was far too misty to take photographs. I found another possible path up to the higher viewpoint and although a bit sketchy it was do-able for Journey. She did an awesome job getting up there and then laid down while I went up a bit higher to take photos. I even found a different composition of the waterfall that I did not get previously. It was golden. After photos she ate her entire bag of beef sticks, then we carefully went back down. It was worse going down but she did awesome again. It was a fantastic morning in Eldorado National Forest.
It was dance show weekend again. I did not want to go hiking in the morning in the Bay Area. The waterfalls there are not flowing much anymore. I did not want to hike in the foothills with poison oak and ticks either. I wanted to go into the mountains. However, my wife wanted to leave early for the Bay Area which meant I had very little time for hiking. I really had no desire to go back to Bassi Falls but it is the only hike I had time for. Bassi Falls it is.
Journey’s first ever hike was to Bassi Falls but it was in the off-season and the waterfall was not flowing very well when we were there. She had never seen it at high flow. Hopefully she would enjoy it much more this time. I don’t think she really cared. She just wanted to get out hiking!
We arrived at sunrise. I hoped to be able to drive in to the trailhead official but the road was gated even though there was no snow and it was dry. We had to hike from Ice House Road which would add another 1 or 1 1/2 miles to my hike and I did not have much time to begin with. My wife would not be happy if I was late.
There was a little bit of snow still on the trail so Journey was very happy about that. She loves the snow! We arrived at the waterfall in short order. Bassi Falls was full and roaring.
Surprisingly there was someone camped here at the waterfall. He was just getting out of his tent when we arrived. Journey, of course, was very curious about this strange sight and went up to see him. Why the heck is there someone sleeping here? she said. She is so funny. Actually, I was thinking of camping here at Bassi Falls myself. I thought it would be a good one to do for Journey’s first ever backpacking trip but I am not sure. It would be very easy and she would not even be remotely tired when we got to camp. She is a very high energy dog. I think it will be better to have a longer and more tiring hike for her so she will sleep a lot better at camp. I don’t know. We shall see.
We took photos and then headed back. It took a lot less time to get to the waterfall than I thought, even with hiking from Ice House Road. I was about 45 minutes ahead of schedule when we got back to the car. My wife would not be mad at me but the traffic sucked going to the Bay Area anyway. Surprise surprise. At least it was a beautiful morning at Bassi Falls in Eldorado National Forest.
Don’t worry folks. I have plenty of new stuff coming this spring. I have four trips already planned for Yosemite National Park (weather permitting) and there will be some epic new waterfalls found. Don’t worry, be happy. In the meantime, Journey and I made a return trip to Grouse Falls. I knew that all the snow from last week would be melted and I would have no troubles driving the road this week. I did check the satellite images beforehand to make sure and I was not wrong. The road was all clear.
I am certainly the first person this year to visit Grouse Falls. I know that because there were two blockades across the road of fallen tree branches. I had to get out and cut them down in order to get by in my vehicle. The road is a bit rougher than I remember. You definitely need a high clearance vehicle now but it is easy as long as you have that kind of thing. We got to the last turnoff and parked. It is still a half mile to the trailhead from here but both Journey and myself had more than enough of the long excruciating drive and needed to get out and walk. I could have driven this last half mile except there was a big tree down in the road just before the trailhead. In any case I am glad we walked.
The trail to Grouse Falls is messed up. This area was burned in the Mosquito Fire of 2022. The trail is very indistinct in some places and hard to follow. There are a lot of downed trees and branches strewn all over the trail. It is not difficult as long as you know where to go. (which I do of course). The overlook is completely gone. Burned in the fire. You can still see the waterfall, obviously. However, there is a better viewpoint down the hill a short distance. It is a steep descent but Journey is awesome and had no trouble. Then she waited very patiently beside me while I took photos because there was no place for her to sit down on the steep hillside.
Grouse Falls was flowing magnificently. This is the perfect time to see it with the snow melting right now. A spectacular 504 ft. high waterfall. The other side of the canyon (where the falls is) was not burned (thankfully).
After taking photos we went back up to the non-existent overlook where there is a spot to sit. Journey ate her breakfast and I enjoyed the waterfall, then we hiked back up the trail. I spent a lot of time on the way back clearing debris and branches from the trail. I think I made it a small bit better. Journey was wondering what the heck I was doing and why I was going so slowly. Hurry up, daddy!
When we got back to the car we had only hiked two miles. I could tell Journey did not want to quit yet and neither did I so I put my tripod in the car and then we continued down a different logging road for 2.5 miles all the way to South Branch Grouse Creek. It was easy hiking. In total we hiked about 7 miles. It was a wonderful brisk morning in Tahoe National Forest.
I am very much enjoying my hikes with Journey. I am having more fun going on an easier hike with her that I have done before than going on something more difficult by myself. And she loves it so much, it makes me very happy. This week’s journey to a repeat waterfall: Grouse Falls. Well, it was “supposed to be” Grouse Falls.
As we drove up Mosquito Ridge Road I could see all the small creeks and waterfalls were flowing. I was surprised but this was a good sign for Grouse Falls. It should be spectacular. Then we hit the snow. At the turnoff for Grouse Falls there was too much snow to drive the road. I expected there to be some snow but not this much. We decided to hike from here. It would be 10 miles round trip which is not too bad but actually it was. There was six to eight inches on the ground for pretty much the entire hike. It was quite difficult, especially for Journey. She loved it though. She would run way ahead in the snow and she was having a blast. But somehow she hurt her leg. It did not seem to slow her down and she was not limping but she would not let me touch it so I know it was hurting. We hiked an hour on the road and we were not even half way there. I felt that another 3 hours of hiking in this deep snow would be too much with her hurt leg so I decided to turn back. If there was just 3-4 inches less snow I think we would have had no troubles making it all the way, and with the warm weather coming this week all this snow will probably be gone so perhaps we will try this again soon.
On the way back I stopped at this waterfall by the roadside. I have seen it before but never had a good chance to stop and photograph it. Although it is on an unnamed stream it is a very pretty one and I think it deserves a spot on my website. I am calling it Mosquito Ridge Falls and it is 60 ft. high. It was a wonderful snow day in Tahoe National Forest.
