On Black Friday (after my morning hike) I had to drive my daughter back to her university in the Bay Area. I hate driving to the Bay Area because the traffic is always bad. I despise traffic. I would rather sit at a Starbucks for two hours (waiting for traffic to subside) than sit in traffic for two hours. It was pretty good on the way there and we made good time but I could see that it was horrid going back the other way. There is no way I was going to drive in that mess to go back home. I would take Journey on a hike instead and then drive back in the evening.
It had only been five days since the Bomb Cyclone but I was sure that all the waterfalls in the Bay Area would be back to just a trickle. The only one I thought might still be good is Cataract Falls which is the perhaps the biggest creek in the area. The problem is that Google Maps was saying the lower road was still closed. That meant I had to drive all the way around to the top of the waterfall and hike down from there. That is a lot of extra driving but I thought I had time for it. I did not realize, however, that they lock the gates on the upper road at sunset. That meant I did not have very much time after all. I figured I would just hike down as far as I could and then whip back up to the car before sunset.
There were only about 10 cars or so at the trailhead, however there were a ton of people on the trail. Where were they all parked? I passed well over 50 groups for sure. Journey had to be on leash for the entire hike. She still very much enjoyed it though.
I made it down to the big waterfall (shown here) and stopped. I would have to boot it back up the trail and did not have time to photograph any of the other cascades (except one other). That did not really bother me because the creek was not flowing very well anyway. I want to come back here when it is flowing much better. For sure I will do that when I can drive to the bottom and also first thing in the morning (when there aren’t very many people). I learned that much today. I also learned not to trust Google or Apple Maps. On the way back up I passed a ranger who told me the lower road was indeed open after all. That explains where all the people came from. Ugh. At least Journey had a good hike but she was quite tired afterwards. I got her a hamburger because she was such a good girl. The drive back home was not too horrible. It was a quick but lovely hike in Marin County.
Journey is not a morning person (dog). Just like her momma, she loves to sleep in. I am a morning person though and if I am hiking I need to get up at the break of dawn (or earlier). That means Journey needs to get up also (if she is coming with me). Once we get to the trailhead she is excited but getting out of bed is the problem. She does not want to get up! This was the situation we found ourselves in on Black Friday.
It probably didn’t help much that it was very cold. About 33 degrees. Brrr… We arrived at the trailhead. Now Journey was excited. Let’s get on that trail and get warmed up.
The plan was to go to Whiskeytown Falls. Journey has never been to it so this is another one I am re-visiting so I can take her to all these beautiful waterfalls. We saw no one at all there and back so she got to be off-leash for the entire hike. A bit surprising but I guess everyone was out shopping or something. Whiskeytown Falls was the hike where my previous dog Kaya almost went over the waterfall. I was not paying attention to her while I was photographing it and she slipped in the stream and almost went over (thankfully she caught herself just in time). I was paying attention to Journey this time as I photographed the waterfall but there is a railing there now so it would have been hard for her to do the same thing. I’m pretty sure there was no railing when I brought Kaya here. Journey just waited very patiently for me. She is such a great dog.
The upper tier of Whiskeytown Falls is now very ugly and un-photogenic. There is a huge awful branch blocking the waterfall and it is not adding any character to it. Someone needs to cut that thing. Perhaps God will take care of it eventually but it could be a few years. The lower tier is a bit better. I let Journey wander around as I photographed it and I was not paying much attention to her but there was no waterfall she could fall down if she slipped in the creek. We finished photographing and hiked back to the car. It was a cold brisk morning at Whiskeytown Falls.
Thanksgiving Day. Just five days after the Bomb Cyclone. I returned to North Table Mountain on my way up north to visit family. Without Journey this time. One, she was with her momma. And two, I had hoped to find a way to the bottom of Flag Falls which I knew would be very difficult (if even possible).
The water was much reduced from five days prior. Much more so than I anticipated. Over ten inches of rain here but flows are already back to below normal and now we are in an extended dry period. I pray it gets much better in the last half of December. I did not have much time but I always find it impossible to bypass Ravine Falls and Phantom Falls without taking photos. I do think I got a different composition of Ravine Falls this time so that makes a quick stop more than worthwhile.
I continued past Phantom Falls. I did not notice the dead cow right at the stream crossing above the waterfall. How could I not notice this!?!? I was clearly not paying attention. I thought it was a log I was walking over, not a leg. I must have come within inches of stepping on it. On the way back I definitely did notice it. Its rib cage had been ripped open by a mountain lion or coyote. There was no smell so it must have died (been killed) very recently. On the far side of Phantom Falls I always see plenty of cow bones and today was no exception (in addition to the dead one along the stream).
I arrived at Flag Falls. I took photos from the viewpoint and thought about my options. I realized that it would take at least an hour to get down to the bottom of it, if it was even possible. I only had about 15 minutes before the sun was on the waterfall. Not worth the effort. I will have to come back another day. I retreated past the dead cow and back to Ravine and Ravine Twin Falls and took more photos there. Then I continued north to see my family for Thanksgiving. So long, Table Mountain, and thanks. Until next time.
Bomb Cyclone 2024. Over 10 inches of rain in 3 days. The waterfalls should be rockin if I pick the right place. I was definitely going to hike on Saturday. But where? My initial plan was to go the Bay Area, however I learned on Friday the road was closed to the place I was wanting to hike. Now what? Somewhere else in the Bay Area? It had to be somewhere that Journey could do fairly easily. I decided to return to Phantom Falls in Oroville.
How would the Phantom be flowing today? It should be pretty amazing. It should be incredible. As I drove up to the trailhead I always look to Schirmer Cascade. This will tell me how the rest of the waterfalls on Table Mountain are flowing. I could not see Schirmer Cascade at all! It was completely enveloped in fog. I think God wanted to surprise me at Phantom. I wondered.
I arrived at the trailhead 30 minutes after sunrise. There was already a car here! Who else other than the Madman would be out on the trail so early? There is another crazy person around here? I wondered.
I also realized I forgot my tripod at home! Doh. That was stupid. I usually always keep it in the car but I took it out for a certain reason and forgot to put it back. Ugh. How am I going to take photos of the waterfalls today? I wondered.
Journey was ecstatically happy. The previous day she had been cooped up in the house all day. Not able to go outside because of the rain. Not wanting to go outside because of the rain. I promised her we would have fun on Saturday. She was so excited to start the hike! There were no cows at the beginning so I let her off leash. I had to keep a close watch. It was foggy which made it more difficult to see and you can quickly come up to cows if they are hiding just over the next hill. Before we reached Ravine Falls we came across a big conglomerate of them so I put her on the leash. They were right on the trail so we had to go a bit cross country to get around them. At this time I saw someone coming back on the trail. He was talking to himself or someone on the phone or to the cows. I don’t know. We chatted a bit when we reached each other. I quickly realized I knew this person! It was my Facebook photographer friend Bradley. It was very cool to meet him. He had been out at Phantom Falls for sunrise. That is what I should have done but Journey woke me up a couple times in the night and I slept in a bit too long. I would have gotten some great shots of the waterfall in fog had I been up in time but now the fog was all gone. When Bradley realized I had forgotten my tripod he very generously offered to let me borrow his but I declined. I would figure out how to get a decent photo without a tripod.
There is a big creek crossing at the bottom of Ravine Falls. The waterfall was flowing very strong. I was worried Journey would not be able to cross the creek. I thought I might even have to carry her across it. She does not like creek crossings and this would be a big one. In fact, it was her biggest creek crossing yet. The water was up to her belly and she crossed it like a trooper. I was very proud of her.
Before we reached Phantom Falls the rain started. It was not supposed to rain for another two hours! Darn those forecasters again. It was raining and also windy and cold when we reached the viewpoint. Journey is usually extremely patient with me as I take photos but not today. She was cold and wet and not wanting to stand around waiting for me. I do not blame her. We did not spend much time at Phantom Falls and were soon on our way back to the car. I managed to get a decent shot though. Not too bad for no tripod in the rain and wind!
Phantom Falls was amazing. It is not the biggest I have ever seen it though. After more than 10 inches of rain I thought it might be even bigger. Nonetheless, it was a terrific and very wet morning at North Table Mountain.
La Nina has arrived. A weak La Nina. The exact same conditions that we had in 2023. Remember that huge record breaking winter? You may be wondering (like I am) if we will have a 23 peat. A repeat of that 2023 winter. Or at least an above average winter. It would be pretty nice. But where is all the rain anyway? We just had our first winter storm this weekend but it was a small one. Well let’s remember 2023: We had nothing in October that year either. We had some rain in November but not a huge amount. It was not until December when the flood gates opened. So in other words let’s just wait a bit longer and see what happens. And pray for a good winter.
Waiting is not so easy though. I have a lot of ideas this winter for hikes with Journey but we need a lot of rain first. Where could I take her right now though? Lower Cherokee Creek Falls was my idea. That is a big creek and I thought it should be all right.
We arrived at the trailhead at sunrise. There was fog along the North Yuba River which was pretty interesting as we hiked along. It is a flat and easy walk until you get to Cherokee Creek. Perfect for Journey. She was off leash the entire hike. She would trot on ahead and then stop and wait for me to catch up. Repeat ad infinitum. She was perfect.
Once we got to Cherokee Creek I put her on leash for this section up to the waterfall. There are steep drop-offs, many logs to maneuver and jump over, and the trail is washed out in a couple places. I had to lift her up and over some very tricky and difficult spots. I knew it would be like this but it was perhaps more difficult than I remembered, especially one particular section where there was a landslide. It is great that she does not mind me lifting her up and over these difficult spots. Our previous dog Kaya would not let me do that. Kaya would have insisted on finding her own way around the landslide (and she would have). Anyway, Journey and I got past it and we made it to the waterfall!
Lower Cherokee Creek Falls is a lovely 23 ft. drop. It was not flowing great but it was not horrible either. After I took photos we had a nice snack (Journey did anyway). Then we hiked back past the landslide to the nice flat trail where she could be off leash again, and then back to the car and home. It was a wonderful morning in Tahoe National Forest.
