THE BIG MOSQUITO
I was not intending to come to this particular waterfall, but sometimes that is just how things roll with me. I was hoping to drive up on Foresthill Rd and at least hoping to get to Beacroft if not further. As I drove through Foresthill, I found that it had snowed the previous night as far down as the town. That is about 3500 ft. elevation! I was pretty surprised about this. If there was snow this far down, then getting to Beacroft would certainly be impossible. I did not even try. I turned around and started thinking about Plan B. I seem to be going to Plan B a lot lately.
Plan B would be to go back to Big Mosquito Falls. I have been wanting to get back to this waterfall when it has good strong flow and try to get down to the bottom of it. It has been awhile since I was here last, but I wondered if I could even get to this waterfall. As I drove up Mosquito Ridge Rd I came once more into the snow. The turnoff is at about 4500 ft. elevation, and there was quite a bit of snow. The road goes downhill from there, but it is a steep downhill, and I was worried about getting into a jam way out here in the middle of nowhere. I am sure I could have done it, but I decided to walk. It was less than 2 miles, so it was not a problem to walk it. Besides, I needed the exercise anyway. That is what I told myself anyway.
Getting down to the bottom of the falls was an issue. It is steep enough anyway, but with the wet snow, the path was very slick, and a tad dangerous. I took it very slowly and very carefully, and I made it down to a great viewpoint of the waterfall. From the top of the ridge, there is no good view of this waterfall. But down at the bottom, the view is spectacular. I did not go all the way down to the bottom of the falls, as I was sure I would not get any better view.
I had wanted to go further downstream, but I decided against that as well. The sun was out, and the hike so far was longer and more difficult than initially anticipated, and there was a lot of poison oak, so I decided to leave that adventure for another day.
Nonetheless, on the drive back home, I did find one new waterfall for sure, perhaps even two. However, I could not get to them. I will have to try that another day as well. More adventures ahead for the Waterfall Madman.
See the latest video from Codfish Creek Falls, and please watch in HD:
No Comments