INTO THE MADNESS
Hike number three of my vacation. Winter backpacking. In the snow. Yes, you heard that right. Am I utterly mad? The destination: Canyon Creek Falls in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.
The forecast said 29 degrees. This would be the coldest I’ve ever backpacked. There would be snow as well.
I was not worried about freezing to death. I had two sleeping bags and plenty of warm clothes. I had my snowshoes as well. My pack was heavy. I did not weigh it (I was afraid to).
It was only 25 degrees when I arrived at the trailhead. I had to climb 2000 ft. up the canyon. Would it really only be 29 that night? I wondered.
There was no snow at the trailhead. I did not know if I should wear my hiking boots or my snow boots. If I chose hiking boots it would be easier for the first half of the hike but then my feet would be wet and cold for the second half. If I chose snow boots then it would be uncomfortable for the first half but my feet would be warm and dry for the second half. I chose warm and dry feet. It was a very good choice.
I finally hit the snow at about 4000 feet but there was not much. There was also a well worn path through the snow. The entire way. I did not even need my snowshoes. I did not need my spikes or gaiters either (which I also brought). That’s a heckuva lot of weight I did not need to carry. However, on my last hike at Lake Tahoe I did not bring the snowshoes but then I needed them and so I could not finish my hike that day. I did not want the same thing to happen on this hike. I did not know what the conditions would be like 2000 ft. higher (so in other words, I don’t regret carrying them).
However, my memory failed me. I have done this hike once before and I remembered there being plenty of good camping at the upper Canyon Creek Falls. When I arrived, I only saw one small camping spot. That does not seem right. What happened to you, memory? Well, I had no choice. It was getting late. There was a bit of snow on the ground but not much. I setup my camp in the snow and ate my dinner. Then I went off to go photograph the upper Falls and the far upper Falls.
Far Upper Canyon Creek Falls (pictured here) is probably my favorite of all the waterfalls on Canyon Creek. There are three other ones that are bigger, but this one is just so pretty. It is 65 ft. high. Lo and behold, I saw plenty of terrific camping spots right near this waterfall. How did I not remember this? Well, it was too late to change my spot now. It was already very close to sunset. I took my photos and then went back down to photograph the upper Falls. It was pretty much dark when I arrived there and I’m not sure my pics of the lower falls will turn out very well, but I knew I would not have time in the morning cuz I still had to get down to the lower Falls. One reason I wanted to come back here to backpack is so that I would have more time to relax and enjoy the waterfalls. It did not turn out that way. I could not relax. There is just not enough daylight in the winter, and there were too many waterfalls to see and photograph. But I will definitely be back here in the future (in the spring).
It was dark at 5pm when I got back to camp. I went right into my tent to warm up and go to bed. I did watch a movie first, but it was still very early when I “attempted” to sleep…