GOOD MONSTER
As I drove up to Oroville (yet again), I debated to myself where I should hike. Should I go to Feather Falls (again)? Or should I go on a different hike to a new waterfall? I did want to go to Feather Falls. We had over 10 inches of rain in the past few days. Feather Falls would be a monster. I have seen it at full force before, but that was a long time ago, and also was before I had a good camera. I really wanted to go back there. However … I also wanted to do this other hike to find something new. It would be awesome as well for sure. I decided to go for the new waterfall. The decision was made. I continued on my journey to Oroville.
But alas, things do not always work out as planned, do they? When I got to the Feather Falls turnoff, I found snow on the road. This is very low elevation, and there is already snow here. For my planned hike, I would be at 1500 ft. higher than this. It was pretty clear to me that I would not be able to drive anywhere close to where I wanted to go, there would be way too much snow on the road, and it would be pointless to waste time trying to drive up there. I made the turnoff to Feather Falls.
Feather Falls is certainly no small consolation prize.
There were creeks flowing along the trail that are normally dry. Frey Creek was amazing. I’ve never seen so much water in that creek. I knew Feather Falls would be awesome. The anticipation was mounting but the hike seemed to take a lot longer than usual. I was not dawdling either. I began to wonder if Feather Falls would be just too much. There would be so much mist at the overlook, that I would not be able to take any photos at all. It was a pretty big concern, but it was unwarranted. There was no mistiness at the overlook, but there was a lot of mist on the waterfall. Feather Falls was a monster. A good monster. It was not what I would call “in flood”, though. The river had come down a lot in the last couple days. If I had been here two days earlier, the river would have had about twice the flow. Hard to believe but it would have been even more spectacular. Nonetheless, it was still incredible.
It really bugs me that there is always so much trash at Feather Falls. I just do not understand people. You want to come out in nature to see a beautiful waterfall, and then trash it? I picked up a lot that I saw along the trail, but there was just a ton of it thrown down in places that would be very dangerous or impossible to go pick up (particularly, at the overlook). Please people! If an empty can really is too heavy for you to carry back to your car, then at least leave it by the trail where someone else can pick it up for you. I do not want to take out your trash, and I should not have to take out your trash, but I will do it.
Anyhow, I spent about 1.5 hours at the falls, taking lots of photos and video, and enjoying the view. Then I headed back. I was surprised I did not see anyone else on the trail. I would think others would have the same idea as me, to see Feather Falls at monster flow. I almost made it all the way back to the trailhead, then I finally saw some other people just starting out their hike. There were just a couple cars in the parking lot. It was certainly a most special day at Feather Falls.