Leon Turnbull Photography

Hello, old friend. This is now the fourth time I have been to East Fork Falls.

The last couple weekends I have struck out on my hikes. This weekend I needed a sure thing. Enter East Fork Falls. Why do I keep going back here? Well, I like it because this river flows year round. Even in horrible drought such as this year, the river still flows. It is a tough hike but a good one and a fun one, and the waterfall is pretty accessible (ie. not too crazy to get to). It is located in a stunning location, dropping into an incredible emerald green pool and towering cliffs all around. It is also close to home. I strongly considered going to the Eastern Sierra to see the fall colors but I just did not feel like driving so far. I decided to go to East Fork Falls at the last minute instead.

It is fantastic that we have rain already this year. It has been many years since we have had an early start to the season, and looking at the forecast it seems that by next week many of the winter waterfalls will already be flowing! It is only mid October! Praise the Lord for this, we surely needed it this year. Yet, we still have a weak La Nina this year, the exact same as last year, and despite the early start to the season I am still not feeling very optimistic for our winter this year. Maybe we will be surprised this year (like in 2011). I am praying hard for a good winter.

Anyhow, I was up at 4AM and was on the trail by 6AM in the dark. I hoped to get to the upper falls after the lower falls, so that is why I wanted the early start. I arrived down at the bridge over EFNFNFAR and thought: well, this is different. There was a brand new bridge over the river. Interesting. Not only that, but the old, incredibly overgrown road is now completely cleared. It confused me a bit, mostly because it was dark and I couldn’t see much but I knew this was not how it was last year. The good news is that this makes the hike a bit easier, but the bad news is that it means they are going to be clear cutting down here in the near future (probably next year, I imagine).

The road does not go all the way down to the river and the last section is still off trail and difficult. It seemed a lot brushier this year as well, especially near the river. I made it down to the river about sunrise. Now it is time to get in the water and wade up to the waterfall. As anticipated, the water was freezing cold so I brought my neoprene socks to keep my feet nice and toasty. They were not actually toasty but they were not freezing  either. I also bought new hiking shoes and I must say that I really like them. My feet (as you may know) have been in much pain over the past 6 months or so. Even after resting for most of the summer they were still in pain when I went out backpacking in late summer. It occurred to me the problem may be my hiking boots (even though it is the same brand and boot that I have always worn). So I decided to try some new shoes. With these ones I can just wade through the river and they dry off fairly quickly. And guess what? I have had zero pain on the last two hikes I have done. I am very happy so far.

I took a lot of time taking photos at the waterfall . With the lower water levels I was able to get a different composition than usual (shown here). I guess I took too much time taking photos. I figured if I was to get to the upper falls I needed to start hiking back up the mountain by 8AM at the latest. It was already 8:30AM by the time I was done taking photos. I would not have time to get to the upper falls. Well, that is all right. I had a very enjoyable time at the lower falls. Also, I was supposed to get home to take my daughter to dance class. Now I would not be late for that and she would be happy. Everyone wins.

I did not sleep well. My tent was not on a perfectly flat spot and I kept sliding down on my pad. I just could not get comfortable.

I got up very early and packed up camp. I only had a 6 mile hike back down the hill to my car but first I wanted to see one more waterfall: Miller Creek Falls.

This is the one waterfall I had already been to. I don’t remember the trail being so overgrown and brushy before. I also don’t remember it being so darn treacherous to get down to it. It was all of the above and more. It was almost too treacherous and I thought about skipping it, but hey I did it before, I could do it again. Right?

I made it down to Miller Creek Falls and it was just as I remembered, but this time it was at high flow. It was spectacular but …

There is a Lower Miller Creek Falls as well. I do remember seeing it when I was last here but I did not go down to it because I did not have enough time. It looked even crazier to get down to it than the upper part. This time I wanted to make the attempt to get down to the lower falls. But how? It was very cliffy and very brushy. I found a route that looked possible. It was actually not too bad at all (much better than the upper part). I arrived in quick order down at the bottom of the lower falls and … WOWZERS …

Lower Miller Creek Falls is …. Absolutely NO WORDS … it is just MAGNIFICENT. (I guess that is a word but still…). Of the nine waterfalls I saw on this trip I saved the best (by far) for last. What an amazing waterfall. It is not easy to photograph but I got some shots and then ate my breakfast down at the falls.

I still had to climb back up both the waterfalls and get back to camp where I left my pack. Then I had a 6 mile hike back down the Rubicon Trail to my car. There were a lot more jeeps that had come up the trail on Saturday and Sunday. The snow was now hard packed and easier to walk on. I wondered how the jeeps could even drive on this trail so early in the year with the soft melting snow. Wouldn’t they get stuck? What if the snow bridges collapsed under the weight of the vehicle? How did they manage to cross roaring Miller Creek and especially how would they cross the Rubicon River near the end of the trail? Anyway, back to my hike, even though the road was easier to walk on it seemed a lot more snow had melted and there were more obstacles than before. It was very slow going. My feet were now hurting quite a bit and I was limping down the trail. I had no problems with my feet on day 1 and day 2 (the hardest days), but now on day 3 (the easiest day) my feet were hurting. I arrived back at my car just after noon. It was an amazing top five backpacking trip into the Rubicon River in Eldorado National Forest.

My plan for day 2 was not a good one. In fact, it was a very bad one, but I had no other choice. I really wanted to see Barker Creek Falls on this trip and I wanted to photograph it in good light. The problem is that it is in the sun until sunset at 8AM. That meant I had to be down at the falls at sunset, and that meant I had to setup camp near the waterfall. The problem is that there is no camping there. It is a very steep descent on a cliff down to the waterfall and you cannot get close to the creek either. On my way down to Rubicon Cascades the previous day I saw a spot somewhat near the waterfall. It was flat enough and there was water. It was just a pond, more of a swamp, but I definitely could get drinking water there. It seemed there were bugs also. It was just not a very nice place to camp. And if I camped here, I would have to get up super early the next day in the dark if I wanted to go photograph Miller Creek Falls. It was not ideal but it was the only option.

Back at the magical Rubicon, I was sleeping in. Well, according to my wife’s idea of sleeping in, it was definitely not sleeping in, but it was sleeping in for me. I would have slept a lot more but I had to get up to use the facilities. Once I’m up, I’m up, so I walked up to the waterfalls again and waited for the sun to make its way down into the canyon. Once that happened, the temperature warmed significantly. I enjoyed my breakfast and coffee, and took my time packing up. I really really really did not want to leave. It was such a glorious morning.

Eventually, I decided I should start my climb up out of the Rubicon River canyon and make my way back over to Barker Creek. I arrived there about noon.

There were quite a few clouds throughout the morning and the sun was in and out of them. A thought occurred to me. What if I could go down to Barker Creek Falls now, and hoping for the best, clouds would cover up the sun, and I would be able to get a good photo of the waterfall now, at noon. Then I could hike on to Miller Creek and camp there. It would be SO MUCH MORE pleasant to camp at Miller Creek. There were some big clouds in the distance now and heading this way towards the sun. If I hurried down there, I would not have to wait long. I prayed for the clouds to come.

It was not very difficult to hike down to Barker Creek Falls but it is a big descent and once down there, you are standing on the cliff edge looking across at the waterfall. It was absolutely spectacular! This is a monster waterfall (270 ft. high) and it was flowing very strong, probably at peak flow for this year. What an amazing sight!

I setup my camera and waited. Those big clouds came as hoped for and I did not have to wait long. God provided for me. It was a miracle. Thank you! I was able to get a decent photo from multiple different angles. There is an upper section as well you cannot see from this spot but it is possible to get right up beside the upper section, which I did as well, and which is also amazing. Barker Creek Falls is a top tier waterfall and no one has even heard of it before. A new discovery by waterfallswest.

I got back to the place where I left my pack and after a rest, I continued on to Miller Creek. I arrived at Upper Miller Creek Falls and set up my camp by the waterfall. I had to wait a long time, almost to sunset, before I could photograph the falls. The clouds were all gone, and my camp was cold because it was all in shade, but the waterfall and other side of the creek was in sun. Crossing the creek to sit in the sun was NOT an option. Miller Creek was absolutely roaring. So I waited. In the cold. Then I went to bed. It was a fantastic day.

Spring is my favorite time of year to go backpacking. Most people prefer summer. That is understandable but for me it is spring. Why? 1. WATERFALLS 2. NO BUGS 3. PLEASANT WEATHER (NOT HOT) 4. FEW PEOPLE. Spring backpacking has a lot more challenges: high flow creek crossings, snow, access to trailheads, parking issues (something I learned this year – some towns close off all overnight parking in winter and early spring which is very annoying). If you plan properly, you can get around these issues. It is worth it. This was my second backpacking trip of the spring so far this year and I’d have to say, it is probably top five of all the backpacking trips that I have done in my life.

What are my top five? I am talking about the best places I have camped, not the best waterfalls I have seen. I think Lake Aloha/Waterfall Camp, and West Cherry Creek Canyon (three different spots). After that, I would add in this one: Rubicon River. This may surprise you. It surprises me because I have never heard of the Rubicon as being such a stunning location before. It would not be so stunning in the summer, but in the spring the waterfalls and river are spectacular. I saw nine waterfalls in three days, and some of them were absolute wowzers.

I started my hike at the Rubicon Trail trailhead. This is the world famous Rubicon Trail. It is extremely popular in the summer. The only time I’ve been here before was in the summer and the trailhead was completely packed before sunrise. This time there was just one other vehicle here.

I decided to leave my snowshoes in the car. There was no snow at the trailhead. I had to climb about 400 ft. so I expected some snow but not too much. I also expected the trail to be packed down from the jeepers so snowshoes would not be necessary. I would be getting off the trail at the top; hopefully I would not be needing them for that section. This was what I was thinking before I started and it turned out to be fairly close to reality.

There were a lot of snow patches as I hiked up the trail. A lot of obstacles. Huge puddles in the road that I could not walk through. I either had to bushwhack around them or walk beside them on quickly deteriorating snow bridges. The snow was melting rapidly and it was soft. Only one jeep had been up here recently so the snow on the road could be walked on but it was still soft. I ran into those jeepers camping at Miller Lake about 3 miles in. After that no jeep had been on the road. This was unfortunate because the snow was soft and now I was sinking in. I could have used snowshoes but I managed. There were other obstacles such as numerous creek crossings. Again, I had to cross these on logs or weak snow bridges. Nothing was too horrible, it was just very slow going.

I finally reached my turnoff point where I had to get off the trail and go down to the Rubicon River. It was open and in the sun here, and all the snow had melted. This made me happy. I would be done with the snow for the rest of the day. I would be descending 1200 ft. to the river but now I had other obstacles: cliffs and brush. I had mapped out what I thought was a good route on Google Earth so I was mostly sure I could make it down, but not 100% sure. It worked out pretty well. There was one short section that was incredibly steep and incredibly brushy. I almost did not make it but I persevered through it. After that I came upon one of the most majestic traverses I have ever walked. It is only about a mile but I was walking along the top of the ridge above the Rubicon River. Across the canyon, snowy mountains and waterfalls. Down in the canyon, a roaring river. It was spectacular and very easy hiking along the ridge. The entire hike was worth it just for this one short section. But I was not done yet.

My original plan was to continue past the Rubicon Cascades. The reason was because from my study on Google Earth it did not look like there would be any camping down at the cascades. It is a very steep descent all the way to the river and it did not look like there was anything down there but cliffs, and in fact, I was not sure I could even make it down to the river. Certainly not any place to put a tent. I planned to continue on another hour or so past the cascades to find a better place to camp. HOWEVER, when I arrived along the ridge directly above the cascades I could see down to the bottom and I could see there were flat areas where I would definitely be able to camp. I decided to go down here instead of continuing on. I was already very tired and I did not want to be hiking any further (with more bushwhacking also). It was the best decision I’ve ever made (or close to it).

It was very steep getting down to the river but do-able. I arrived down at the Rubicon Cascades and found a perfect camping spot at the bottom right beside the river. There were other spots but this was the best one. It was absolutely stunning here. The fast rushing river. The magnificent canyon walls on the other side. Waterfalls. It was Heaven on Earth.

There was a fire pit at my tent spot so obviously someone had been here before. However, I suspect it is from kayakers, not from hikers. Has anyone ever hiked here before? Maybe, but who knows. I setup my camp and ate my dinner. While I was eating, a stunt plane flew up the canyon, directly overhead. He wasn’t doing anything too fancy, just tilting his wings back and forth, but it was interesting. After dinner, I went upstream to explore all the waterfalls. There are five here. This one I am naming Devils Peak Falls, about a 130 ft. drop off a cliff into Rubicon Canyon, my favorite of the waterfalls here. It was a magical day on the Rubicon River.

I woke up at 4:30AM. It was about 35 degrees but I was warm in my sleeping bag. I had my sleeping bag liner, plus 3 tops and 1 pair of long underwear. I packed up camp in the dark, ate some breakfast, and headed up the hill.

To get to these two new waterfalls I had to cross Palisade Creek. This is a very large creek. In the spring, in any normal spring, crossing it would be impossible. This is not a normal spring and I got lucky. Before I started this trip, I had little hope that I would be able to cross it. It is not peak flow yet but it is getting close to peak flow; and as I said I got lucky. Cold weather this week brought the rate of snow melt down to about 600 cfs at the North Fork Dam. Nonetheless, there were some sections of the creek that looked do-able and others that looked completely uncrossable. Fortunately, at the spot where I intended to cross there was a perfect (and very safe) section. I easily crossed the creek. (I could have crossed with NFAR at 900 cfs but probably not more). Now I had to continue up the east side until I reached the upper most waterfall. There was brush, there were snowy sections I had to walk over, there were very tricky steep sections. It was not easy. I saw a lot of bear prints in the snow. Mountain lion also. This is a very remote place. I somehow doubt any human has ever been up this way. Only the wild things go here (and madmen).

Finally, I reached the waterfall: Upper East Palisade Creek Falls. It is about 60 ft. high. Another first discovery by waterfallswest.com. It is not the most impressive waterfall but it is still very pretty (it would be better at high flows, but how would you cross Palisade Creek?). I quickly took my photos then hurried back down. I still had to get to the lower falls (which I did, and also is another first discovery by yours truly).

When I got back to the Palisade trail I was very tired. It was a heckuva lot of work climbing up to these waterfalls but I still had to climb 1400 feet out of the canyon. I took a long rest and then started up the hill at 9AM. I was dog tired and it was very slow going through the soft snow. I got back to the trailhead at about 3PM.

My feet were really hurting when I got home. I have a foot injury this spring. So far it has been manageable, but after this trip it was much worse. I basically could not walk the next day. When my mom reads this (and she will), she will immediately call me and tell me not to hike anymore until it is healed. Perhaps some of you are thinking the same thing. Well, it may come to that but I still have 5 more backpacking trips I really want to do this spring. As I write this, my feet are now all better and I’m raring to go out again. It is a very short season this year and the waterfalls will be all gone by mid June. I have to at least try to plow through this injury. I can heal it during the summer.

My first backpacking trip of the spring was a tremendous success. I was so excited to get to these three new waterfalls (plus two oldies). Mission accomplished in Tahoe National Forest at the North Fork American River.