Leon Turnbull Photography

Ok, well this is a funny story I’m sure you will all find rather amusing, and will be laughing at me hysterically.

I found this 175 ft. high waterfall a couple weeks ago at Jay Bird Canyon powerhouse, off Ice House Rd. But when I was there, the light was too harsh for taking a photo, so my plan was to return in better light and explore the falls more closely. That is what I did last weekend.

Jay Bird Canyon Creek essentially drops right into the powerhouse. But the waterfall is hidden from sight at the powerhouse, up around a bend in the cliff walls. This entire canyon is incredibly steep, and in particular, it is very steep right at the bottom of the creek here. I was not sure how I could get up to see the waterfall, but I was determined to try. Looking at the far side of the creek, I figured that was most definitely too steep to try, so I concentrated on the closer side (take note of that). I tried climbing up the closer side but ran into more poison oak, and even though I tried to get through it, I found the cliffs were just too steep here anyway. So I gave up on that … and instead, climbed a very steep set of stairs going up to a tower above the powerhouse. I’m not really sure I was supposed to go up there, but there was no one around, and no signs indicating I shouldn’t go up there, so I tried climbing the stairs to get a vantage point of the waterfall. And I found one. To take a photo of it on these steep stairs, I had to carefully get out my camera, change lenses, sit down on the stairs, and set up my tripod. It worked. And I figured that would be the best shot of the falls I would get.

My next goal was to find a way to get down to Silver Creek and scramble up stream to find a way to get close to Sugar Pine Creek Falls, a spectacular waterfall that you can see by the road side, but again, the cliffs are so steep in here that it is impossible to get down to see these falls. At the powerhouse, I was able to find a way down to the creek (though it was still steep), then I scrambled up stream, about a half-mile, through more poison oak, and got almost to the waterfall, when I hit a dead-end, with towering cliffs on either side of the creek, and no way to continue. I was totally bummed about that.

So … back to the powerhouse I went. My next plan was to walk down to the dam at the end of the Camino Reservoir. It is a good thing I did. Because as I was passing by Jay Bird Canyon creek again, I noticed a rope (on the far side of the creek, that I thought was too steep), leading up a path. What ??? There is a trail leading right to the waterfall. And once up that first steep section with the rope, it was very easy to make it to the base of the waterfall. Unbelievable. After battling through all that oak and trying to photograph the falls from the stairs, I made my way easily right to the waterfall. Well, I guess that is my job. To do all the hard work for all you people, right? You can start laughing at me now.

Speaking of poison oak … yes, I got another bad case of it. (continue laughing at me). A number of people have told me to use technu, and I would not break out in rash. Well, this time I did bathe myself thoroughly with the stuff when I got home, following the directions on the bottle, and I still got oak. Indeed, the technu didn’t seem to do much of anything for me. That was a big disappointment because I didn’t think I would get it this time using technu. I also (for the first time) got some of it in my eye, and had to go to the doctor. I looked worse than Rocky Balboa. The doctor gave me a shot and some drugs, and it cleared up very soon afterwards. I think I will now be staying well away from the oak for at least the rest of this year. I read an interesting article recently that poison ivy/oak is apparently becoming more prevalent and STRONGER, due to GLOBAL WARMING. Really? You gotta be kidding. That is bad news for me for sure.