Leon Turnbull Photography

Thanksgiving Day. On my way up north to visit the family for Thanksgiving I had to stop off for a hike. I always try to get in at least one if not two hikes on this long weekend. It is a necessity. A BEAR NECESSITY.

I found this little waterfall at Bear Lake quite awhile ago but disregarded it immediately. It did not look to be very big, and certainly looked to be less than 20 feet high. Then last year … my friend Jeremy went to it and I saw that it actually looked quite nice and he said it was about 25 ft. Disregard retracted. Let’s go visit this little gem out in the boon docks.

Getting to the waterfall is easy (if you go the illegal way) or quite a challenge (it you go the legal way). I did not go the illegal way. It is very brushy at first but I battled through it. I was expecting the last part down to the creek to be very cliffy but it was actually fairly easy. Then you have to cross the creek. This was a challenge. The water is currently at low flow but this is a very large creek. The water was deep, up to my thighs, with a strong pull. And it was cold. On the other side of the creek there is a ton of prickly brush. I struggled my way to get to the end of the lake, all scratched and bruised. Finally I could see the waterfall.

It turns out the waterfall is exactly 20 ft. high, thus it does qualify for my website. It is a beautiful oasis, a gorgeous lake with a stunning waterfall dropping into it. After immensely enjoying the waterfall for quite awhile, I made the trek back up the mountain to my car, then continued my journey north in search of Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a great day.

I initially had a different plan for hiking this weekend and it was a good one, but at the last minute I changed the plan. Why did I do that? I don’t know. I have to go where I am feeling it. By the time it got around to Saturday, I just wasn’t feeling the other one. But the new plan didn’t really work out so well either.

I got to the parking area just after sunrise and made the quick trek up to Bear Ranch Creek Falls which I have been to a hundred times before. I took a quick shot of it. From there I would hike up to the Middle Bear Ranch Creek Falls (pictured here). I’ve only been to this one once before. The first section of the hike seemed a lot better than before, as there is now a well trodden path up the mountain. I did not see much poison oak either. However, the second half of the hike seemed to be worse than before, much more overgrown and brushy, and a lot more difficult. Where did all those people from the first half of the hike go? I arrived at the beautiful 30 ft. high middle falls and I took a couple photos of it also. My plan was NOT to stop here. My plan was to continue onwards and upwards. There is another waterfall upstream for certain and I hoped to get to it. Really, I did not think it likely I would make it, but I definitely thought I would make it a lot farther than I did. I made it above the middle falls but the further I hiked the more brushy and difficult the route became. Before too long it became much too brushy to continue. I tried the other side of the creek. No good. I tried wading right up the creek but that didn’t work. Soon after, I came to an impassable spot with no way around it. All in all, I thought I would get a lot further than I did. I was certainly not expecting it to be any brushier than the section up to the middle falls but it was far worse. I was feeling disappointed but I did the best I could. I turned around and went back down. Along the way I somehow dropped my GPS without my knowing it. I went back in search for it, thinking it could not be too far. Of course I had to go back across a couple very sketchy parts which I did not want to, but I did finally find it. Whew. If I had not found it, I would not have been lost – always have a backup! But I am still very glad I did not lose it. It was certainly an interesting adventure in Plumas National Forest.

I have been wanting to try this one for quite some time. Then came the massive Bear Fire in 2020 which closed the entire area. The entire forest burned overnight. This spot only just opened up this past summer (many areas in Plumas National Forest are still closed, including Feather Falls). The second problem I had was that it is a 7.5 mile hike one way. I would need a cloudy overcast day to hike in to this waterfall with good lighting conditions. Enter this weekend: Saturday was supposed to be cloudy all day. Supposed to be. It was supposed to rain but not until late in the afternoon. So they said. Those brilliant weather forecasters.  I prayed the forecast would hold. A nice cloudy day. The forecasters might let me down, but God would not let me down. Would He?

The road down to the trailhead is much worse now. It was perfectly clear before, but since the fire happened the growth is now overtaking the road. Not a problem if you have an old beater car that you don’t care gets scratched up. But if you have a nice new car (as I do) … well, I sure don’t want to get any scratches on it! I drove very slowly. Multiple times I would have to get out of the car and bend or break off the branches growing into the road. It was 8AM when I finally got down to the trailhead and started my hike.

It is a long hike but is not difficult until the end. There is about 1500 ft. of elevation gain, but going back afterwards is almost all downhill. I hit the snow line at 3000 ft. and from there on I was hiking with the bears. There were bear tracks in the snow and they followed the road almost all the way to the waterfall. Even when I had to exit off the main road onto another road, so did the bears. It seemed there was a mama and a baby I was following and the tracks were definitely quite fresh. I was almost certain I was going to catch up to them, but I never did. There were also a lot of deer tracks. I did see a few of them.

As I started my final approach to the waterfall the sun came out. Oh you have got to be kidding me. Where are my clouds and my overcast day? The clouds were all gone. I was in serious doubt now that I would be able to get a good photo of the falls. I should not have doubted! God has never let me down and He didn’t this time either. By the time I made it down to the falls, the clouds were all back. The lighting was perfect for photography. Thank you Lord, again!

It was a very steep descent down to the bottom of the waterfall with a couple very sketchy sections. I had to use my rope to make it safely, but I made it down and was treated to a glorious viewpoint of the amazing 124 ft. Clear Creek Falls. I’m sure others have been to this one, but the Waterfall Madman is first to document it. I ate my lunch at the falls then climbed back up the mountain to the road. It was a very long hike back and it started raining (only about 3 or 4 hours before it was supposed to). I had my rain gear so I did not mind and it was only a light rain. Since it was downhill, I jogged a lot of the way. I was back at the car by 2:30PM. A stop at Jakes Burgers in Oroville was an absolute must.  It was a great day and a very awesome hike in Plumas National Forest.

It may not look it but this waterfall is about 30 feet high. It is all about the angle, my friends. And for this shot, the angle was extreme. I have been wanting to return to this waterfall viewpoint for some time now. When I was first here seven years ago, I did not get a very good photo. According to my notes, there was literally no place on the edge of the cliff to set up my tripod so I had to hand hold the camera, and in addition to that the view was obscured by trees/brush. UGLY. Since that time, however, I went down to the top of the waterfall (I could not get down to the bottom), and when I looked up to the top of the cliff it seemed to me there was a very nice ledge to take photos from. Why couldn’t I get a decent photo the first time? I decided to return and try again. Probably I would have the same issue. We would see.

We had our first winter storm this past week and more was on the way this weekend. I was expecting to find 8 inches of snow on the ground which would make the drive in a bit challenging if not impossible, but I figured I would try it. As it turned out, there was only 3-4 inches of snow. It was easy to drive but I took it slow. I did not want to end up in the ditch. Or off the cliff. I got to the trailhead and began my hike up the road through the snow. No one had been up there. Except the deer. Would there be snow down at the waterfall? Would it be too treacherous to get down? I had rope and I had my spikes. I did not need either. Even though it is a big 700 ft. descent it is not difficult to get down to the viewpoint above the waterfall. The snow disappeared along the way down and the route was not slippery. I arrived at the infamous cliff edge, the exact same spot I was at before. This time, I found that I was able to get down onto a ledge overlooking the waterfall and it was a perfect spot to set up my tripod. I must have been too scared to get down onto this crazy ledge the last time. It was a bit hairy no doubt: it is only about a 100 ft. drop off the cliff to the bottom, but this time I got my shot. GOOD.

After taking my photos, I tried looking for a way down to the bottom of the canyon. Again, in my notes from last time, I said there was absolutely no way to get down the cliffs. I don’t know what I was thinking. I found a perfect way to get down all the way to the river. Rope may be needed or not. I did not actually go all the way down. I did not feel like doing it because of a big winter storm that was on its way. Once down I would have had to wade up the very cold river to get to the waterfall. I had time, I suppose, but I just did not feel like it today. I will definitely be back but it will probably have to wait until next summer now.

I climbed back up the mountain and then back to the car. Usually I see quite a few hunters in this area but today I saw absolutely no one … except for a couple people that were driving down the road in their two sports cars. Ummm, can you say stupid? Driving down a snowy and icy road in your sports cars with no winter tires or chains. BAD. They were parked on the side when I passed them. I asked if they needed help as I wasn’t sure if they were stuck or not. They did not need help, thankfully, but I would not be surprised if they didn’t make it back out. Such was my fabulous day in Tahoe National Forest.

I did not sleep well. The wind died down in the night but then picked up with a vengeance in the very early morning hours. The forecast said the wind would be a casual 20 mph, the same as the previous day. That is what I was expecting. Instead it was a gale force. It was cold. It was howling. This was not in the forecast whatsoever. Argh those weather forecasters. I tried to make my breakfast but it was difficult to keep the stove on with no shelter from the wind. It seemed to be blowing in all directions at once. It took quite awhile but I managed to heat up the water enough so I could have my coffee.

I went down to the river to get more drinking water from the toxic algae infested waters for the hike out of the canyon. I was glad I took my photos of the lower falls the previous evening since it was so windy now. I was really pleased about the pretty fall colors above the waterfall. The only fall color I found on this hike was at the bottom of the canyon near the two waterfalls. I was hoping for more but at least there was some.

There was a winter storm coming in the afternoon but I hoped to be back at my car by noon before it started. Climbing out of the canyon was excruciating with the gale force headwind. It was very cold. Once I got off the ridge and into the trees it was a bit better but I don’t like hiking in high wind. At one point I heard a sound like thunder. I did not see it but I am pretty sure it was a tree snapping like tinder in the wind. Surprisingly, I came across two groups of day hikers. I am not sure how smart it was for them to be hiking down to the bottom of the canyon in this wind and with a storm coming. Perhaps they didn’t mind hiking in the windy conditions, but I really don’t think they understood what was coming. When I got back to my car the snow was just starting (two hours earlier than forecast). The wind was even stronger now and the snow was blowing all over the place. It was a full on blizzard. Incredibly, there were a couple hikers just starting up the trail in the blizzard. Are they really planning to go all the way? I should have asked them but I was too cold. I quickly escaped into the comfort of my vehicle and cranked up the heat. Whew. It was a wild and crazy adventure to Rainbow Falls in Ansel Adams Wilderness!