Black Friday. Best day of the year to go shopping. Not! Best day of the year to go hiking. Absolutely! Journey and I were up again very early. This time: Whiskeytown Lake. It has been a long time since I’ve been to Boulder Creek Falls (15 years). It was closed after the Carr Fire of 2018 but is open now finally. I thought a return trip with Journey would be perfect. I could not get to the traditional trailhead. According to the park website, South Shore Dr. is now open. It was not open. How was I supposed to get to Boulder Creek Falls now? I knew the trail was open. Did I have to go on S. Shore Dr. from the other side? Honestly, I am not sure. However, I saw a sign for Boulder Creek Falls trailhead on this side of the lake. Weird. This was not the traditional route. I looked at my map and it seemed like it was possible to get to the waterfall from this side, and it looked to be about the same amount of mileage and elevation gain. OK then. Let’s hike!
It was a relatively easy, straightforward hike. Perhaps not as nice because a lot of it was on a road. At the end, there was one big boulder that Journey could not jump up so I had to lift her. And then there was a very narrow, rocky section along the creek. She did great. We arrived at the falls. It was flowing fairly nice, just about what I expected. I took some photos. Journey again waited patiently. The path to the upper waterfalls looked to be very overgrown and steep, and I did not really feel like going up there. Neither did Journey. We skipped it and hiked back.
Boulder Creek Falls is somewhat interesting now. First, it is a lot more photogenic than it used to be. A lot of the branches and logs in the waterfall are gone. Two, there used to be a bench to sit on but it’s long gone (a Carr Fire tragedy?). Three, the trail to the upper Falls used to be very nice but now it is overgrown and difficult to even see. Four, the trail I went on is a new trail. It is much shorter and easier than the traditional route. That is, if the road is open (which it wasn’t for me although I think it is open in the summer).
As soon as I got Journey back in the car, she immediately laid down and closed her eyes. She was completely pooped out from the hike. I was surprised. It was about the same distance hike as the previous day with just a little more elevation gain. I got her a hamburger. She perked up a bit for that but then slept when we got back to the house. She had an awesome but very tiring day at Whiskeytown Lake.
December 1st, 2023 at 6:18 am
You’re giving her a good life! Did you do it as a day hike, or are you camping up there, too?
December 2nd, 2023 at 5:55 am
thanks man, I definitely want her to have the best life. my wife’s mom lives up there so we were up there for the long weekend.