Leon Turnbull Photography

Thanksgiving Day. Time: 3:30AM. Event: Alarm Rings. Action: Wake Up. Make coffee. Drive north to meet family for Thanksgiving Day. First stop off at Brandy Creek for a quick morning hike and exploration.

This was how my day shaped up for me. Getting a good solid hike in before eating a big meal is always a good thing. My first stop along Brandy Creek was Lower Brandy Creek Falls (Rich Gulch Falls), which I have not stopped at in a very long time. Though I have called it Lower Brandy Creek Falls in the past, the waterfall is not actually on Brandy Creek but on Rich Gulch. The small 10 ft falls on the right is Brandy Creek. The larger one on the left (which I measured as being 18 ft high) is Rich Gulch.

It is a steep descent from the trail down to creek level but is not really too difficult. I quickly decided the best viewpoint was from the other side of the creek and since the creek was flowing higher due to recent rain, that meant getting wet. I donned my water shoes and crossed the creek. It was cold. Fortunately, there was a nice large rock on the other side to stand on so I did not have to shoot from in the creek.

After spending quite a lot of time here shooting this lower falls I continued on up the trail as I still had some time before Thanksgiving lunch with family in Redding. Not to the upper falls though. I was in an exploring mood for searching out new waterfalls on Brandy Creek. Did I find any? Stay tuned.