When I was here a couple weeks ago there was a new waterfall I found that I could see from Sailor Flat Road. I’ve seen it in the past but never had a chance to go there. I was hoping to get to it on the morning after I camped at NYC Falls but by the time I got there it was already in the sun. It looked like a big waterfall and it was flowing well. It was time for a return trip. It should only take a minute.
I was definitely not going to hike all the way from Ford Point again. Thanks to a friend of mine that is in the know, I knew that Foresthill Road had been closed because the county was still plowing. I also knew from him that they had finally finished plowing the road to Robinsons Flat and so now the road was open for the summer. I would be able to drive all the way to Sailor Flat without any issues.
I headed out one evening after work. It was the middle of the week and I saw no one on the road at all. Except … I passed one vehicle that was “parked” just off the road near Tadpole. It was 5PM. There was a lady and a couple kids. It looked to me that they were up there playing in the snow. Hmmm … I continued driving to Sailor Flat. It had only been about 1.5 weeks since I had been up there. Most of the snow on Canada Hill was now gone! In just 1.5 weeks! That is some crazy snow melt.
I got to Sailor Flat, parked, and donned my snow shoes. Snow shoes were needed. There was still plenty of snow. I would not be hiking all the way down Sailor Flat Road. That route would be too difficult to get to this waterfall. I had a different idea. In short order I came across my second bear of the year. This was a small brown colored one and it ran away when it saw me. Just like it is supposed to do. (unlike the earlier one I saw this year). I think I did get some video as it was running away.
It was not difficult to get down to the waterfall. The snow had disappeared and I had taken off the snowshoes. It was not cliffy. However … getting a view of the falls was a lot more difficult than I anticipated or hoped it would be. It was extremely brushy beside the creek. I had to clamber through very thick brush on a steep slope to get to the creekside. I crawled out on a log in the middle of the creek and I finally had a good view, but at this spot it was very misty so it was a huge challenge taking a photo. I managed to get something.
I’m not so sure it was worth the effort. This waterfall I am calling Upper New York Canyon Falls East. It is 53 ft. high. It looked a lot bigger from a distance on Sailor Flat Road. Anyhow, it is an interesting one. I climbed back up the hill and to my car.
On the way home as I got back to Tadpole I saw that the lady and her kids were still there. It was 3 hours later. I almost passed them by again without stopping. It did not occur to me that they could have been stuck. They were parked just two feet off the main road. As it turned out they were indeed stuck and there was no possibility of pushing the car out of it. Thankfully she said there was someone on the way to help and it would not be very much longer, so I said goodbye and left. It kind of boggles my mind why she thought she could drive up this road with so much snow on it. She literally drove two feet and was completely stuck. Sigh.
