Mountain Climbing
This is a little 12 ft. waterfall I found on Humbug Creek near Downieville, all part of my most recent grand adventure. I was looking for a big waterfall on Humbug Creek, and indeed I thought I had. But not exactly.
My adventure started off on the easy and beautifully maintained North Yuba Trail, following the North Yuba River up river. But shortly, we come to the Humbug Creek confluence, and that is where things get interesting. My goal is to work my way up Humbug Creek to the waterfall, which is hidden way back in the steep narrow canyon. There is no trail up Humbug Creek. Indeed there is no way to get up Humbug Creek, from creek level. I had to go off trail, straight up the mountain. Poison oak was very plentiful through here. As I climbed, I noticed a trail heading off to the right, traversing the cliffs along Humbug Creek. Obviously, other people had been up here before. I decided to follow this trail. I guess you could say that was a mistake. Though not totally, because it led to this small 12 ft. high waterfall on Humbug Creek. From the trail looking down on the waterfall, it seemed that it was much bigger than 12 ft. Because of this, I decided to try to get down to it, even though it was not my primary destination for the morning. It was a treacherous descent to say the least. But I made it, and once I got down I realized how small the waterfall was. It was a pretty one, but I was hoping for something bigger, so I took my photos and went back up to the trail (it was much easier going back up). The trail continued on, up Humbug Creek, so I decided to keep following it. This was my biggest mistake of the day. Eventually, the trail came to a dead end. The only way out? Straight up the mountain. About 1000 ft. up to the top. It was a tough climb to say the least, but fortunately it was not a sheer cliff, and it was climbable, though there were a couple tricky spots. It took me quite awhile to get up to the top. At the top, and after a good rest, I was able to continue going up to where I had initially planned to go. I was still going up the mountain, but the going was easier now, and there was a trail as well. I came to a rocky area, and I could see the very top of the mountain, which was straight up the rock. But I did not need to go up that section, as I came to a viewpoint of a towering waterfall across the canyon. It was about 450 ft. high, dropping in many tiers, tumbling this way and that down the mountain on the other side. The flow in the creek was fairly high, and it was a magnificent waterfall. I thought this was Humbug Creek and that this was my waterfall that I was searching for. Only when I got home did I realize it was Little Humbug Creek, not Humbug Creek. There was still another waterfall on Humbug Creek that I missed. If I had tried to continue, it would have been another 1000 ft. descent to the bottom of the canyon (and then back up), and the terrain was a lot steeper here, so I am not sure it would have even been possible. Nonetheless, you know I will return here someday and see if it can be done. I must find Humbug Creek Falls.
It was somewhat sunny, but I do have pictures of the waterfall on Little Humbug Creek:
http://www.waterfallswest.com/waterfall.php?id=1642