Leon Turnbull Photography

There are at least seven significant waterfalls on Canyon Creek, all 20 ft. high or taller. The last one is located right where the creek dumps into the North Fork American River. This one is 26 ft. high, and definitely a pretty one. It takes a bit of work to get to it though. Well, not so tough getting to it, as it is downhill all the way. But whatever goes down, must go back up. That is Leon’s reverse gravity rule. It applies only to hiking. In this case, down was 1700 ft. in elevation loss over 2.5 miles. That means we had to go back up that 1700 ft. unless we wanted to spend the rest of our lives down by the North Fork American River (which might not be too bad, as it is the most beautiful river in the world – but … it might get a bit chilly). Rob did talk about bringing a raft down, then we could just hop in the river and take out at Colfax. Hmmm …well, not this day. After a good sandwich overlooking the river and waterfall, it was back up the trail we went. Somewhat surprisingly, I felt pretty good on the hike back up. I was tired at the end of it, but not overly tired. Maybe I’m finally getting back into decent shape.