MORE DEVILS
There is finally some rain in the forecast next week. It has been a long time coming. Much too long. It has felt like summer lately, and it is totally killing me! I even noticed some wildflowers starting to bloom. Really?? If you are one of those people that like this weather, then ummm, don’t talk to me. Unfortunately I don’t see any big storms coming, only small ones. We need big storms please. Ah well it is better than what we have had thus far this year: nothing on a stick (as my wife always likes to say to me – usually in reference to what is for dinner).
This weekend I first went to Upper Chamberlain Creek Falls, wanting to get a good shot of it from up close. When I was there last year, there was so much flow I could not get a good angle to photograph it. This time, it was barely flowing at all, and I was quite disappointed; I am not sure if I will share that photo or not. I didn’t think it would be great by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought it would be at least as much as nearby Stevens Creek. Not so. It was certainly not worth braving the poison oak and all the ticks. I must have flicked at least 30 or 40 of them off the grasses as I walked along the trail. Eck.
I decided to go over to Devils Falls next since I was in the area, taking the long route from Windy Point. By the way I did not see much evidence from the forest fire last summer. Right around Devils Falls there is a lot of charred remains but even the very close Mexican Gulch was not touched. I’m certainly glad Windy Point at least was not burned because of the beautiful wildflowers that display there in the spring (p.s. it is not spring yet!).
I am not really all that keen on Devils Falls anymore, since I have shot it to death. But it keeps coming back to life, and in fact it usually has decent flow most of the year (not to mention that it is so very easy to get to – except for that awful narrow road). This time, though, I did something different. Shocking. I went to the very bottom of the waterfall (below the road where it dumps into Shirttail Creek). I have never been down there before which is an oddity for me (as it is not hard to do). There is another small waterfall down there, not anything to write home about, but it is a pretty little thing, so I think I will likely post that shot next.
I was also scouting a new location with a potential new waterfall. I found a possible route down to it, but I did not want to make a huge effort, since it would likely be only trickling. If it rains much in the coming weeks, I will likely be back to try it. I’m not telling where it is yet, but if you see me post yet another shot of Devils Falls in a couple weeks, then you will know that I struck out. Stay tuned and let’s hope for some rain and new waterfalls being found.