Mom was out of town for the weekend so I had Journey. A big hike was certainly in the plans (actually, multiple hikes). I wanted to see some Fall Color this weekend but I definitely did not want to drive all the way to the Eastern Sierra. Maybe Lake Tahoe? But where? I read a couple reports that the hike to Galena Creek Falls had Fall Colors. What? I have done this hike before and never noticed any such thing. Well, perhaps I should go and see for myself once and for all.
We arrived at the trailhead Saturday afternoon. It was extremely cold! It was 39 degrees and there was a cold wind blowing. I was not expecting this at all. I did not have my toque or gloves. I did have my jacket and long pants, thankfully. I have a friend that absolutely refuses to wear long pants before November no matter what the weather is like. I am kind of like that but not so strict. If it is very cold I will wear long pants. It was very cold.
The trail is a very busy one. I was indeed expecting this and I figured I would have to have Journey on the leash for most of the hike, at least up to the waterfall. However, when we reached the sign that said dogs can now be off leash, I decided to let her go. She is very good about staying with me. She is also quite skittish of other people on the trail. Normally we do not hike in places where there are many other people (or any other people). At first, as we came up to someone she would say “daddy, you go first”. Later on, she got better about this and would go ahead but if the trail was narrow she would still want me to go first past the horrible people. (ha ha)
We arrived at the waterfall and it was in shade (due to overcast weather) so we stopped and I took my photos. Galena Creek Falls is 60 ft. high and it was still flowing fairly decent in mid October. There was ice around the falls which was also quite interesting. Did I mention it was cold?
There are no Fall Colors on the trail to the waterfall. I was not wrong in what I remembered about this hike. There are Fall Colors, however, if you continue past the waterfall. Initially I thought about going all the way to the Mt Rose summit but then figured I did not really want to do that. We could, however, continue past the waterfall and make a loop to extend our hike from 5 miles to 6.5 miles (total). That is what we did. Along the yellow brick road. There are not any Aspen here so the colors are not exactly super spectacular but nonetheless there was some very nice yellow. As we climbed up the mountain I was breathing with much more difficulty. The elevation was 9350 ft. and it was definitely getting to me. I saw no evidence of any tiredness in Journey as she rambled on ahead of me. Eventually we came back down to the waterfall where we ate our dinner. On the hike back down to the trailhead it started snowing! Just some small, light flakes, but it was snowing. It was also sunny directly overhead so what the heck was this nonsense? Ah, well there were some dark clouds over yonder and with a strong cold wind it was blowing the flakes into our path. We got back to the car at about sunset and drove home. It was a cold and beautiful afternoon in the Mt. Rose Wilderness.
My new tent arrived earlier than I expected. Before the weekend. This would be a perfect opportunity to give it a test run since I was not playing drums on Sunday. I wanted to take Journey along as well. New journeys with a new tent. The Eastern Sierra would be a great idea to see Fall Colors, however it was going to be 23 degrees at night. I could handle that but not Journey. That would be way too cold for her. Well I could go by myself or find a different place. Nearer to Lake Tahoe it was only going to be 37 degrees. Granite Chief Wilderness. This seemed perfect. Let’s go!
It is a very long drive to the trailhead. On a very windy road. Journey loves that. Not! Finally we got there at 11AM and were happy to get on the trail. It was a beautiful day. The first storm of the year just finished with about 2 inches of rain. Would all the creeks be up now? Not really but hopefully the waterfall would still be decent. It seems we are going to have a weak La Nina this winter which is a good sign, however we also have the Big Blob back which was very prevalent in the drought years. Are we going back into another extended drought or will we have a good winter? Pray for rain.
The hike to the waterfall is fairly easy, about 5 miles with minimal elevation gain. The first part is through an old growth forest. Huge trees. Redwood. Spruce. Douglas Fir. Absolutely incredibly beautiful through here. After crossing the Middle Fork American River (which was easily rock hoppable) the terrain changes in Picayune Valley. There are a lot of Aspen trees. Sadly they were all still green. I really wanted to see some Fall Color on this trip but I guess the elevation is too low and they have not changed yet. The trail was also a bit overgrown in places. It was not difficult but I was sad about that as well.
We arrived at the waterfall about 1:30PM and set up camp. It is very rocky and there was just one small spot to put the tent. I bought the Durston X Mid2. It takes some getting used to for setting up and taking down but so far I really like it. The camping area is quite large (and rocky, as I said) so Journey had a lot of room to explore while I was setting up the tent or doing other things.
Since it was an easy hike and still early I thought we would continue up the trail for awhile. I wanted to tire Journey out some more before bed. We hiked about 30 minutes up and 30 minutes back. I am not sure if that really tired her out more or not. Ah well. It was overcast when we got back to camp so we went straight to the waterfall to take photos. It was a bit difficult getting Journey up to the falls. There were some tricky spots including walking along a cliff edge, crossing the creek, and lifting her up over a big rock ledge. She did great though and we made it. Going back I found a much easier way for her.
Picayune Valley Falls is 41 ft. high. I thought it would be flowing a bit better, at least twice as much, but oh well. What can you do. It was still all right.
We got back to camp, made dinner, and went to bed. I had two coats for Journey but even so, she woke up at 4AM and was shivering. This was surprising to me. I took my sleeping bag liner (which was keeping me very cozy) and put it on over her. After this she stopped shivering and I think she was warm enough for the rest of the night.
We woke up, made breakfast, and hiked out, getting back to the car at 10:30AM. Then the very long drive home. It was a marvelous trip with Journey into the Granite Chief Wilderness.
The last adventure for my week long vacation. I had two ideas for a hike with Journey. Both of them I was unsure if she would be able to do, but I thought Lower Battle Creek Falls would be the most likely one she could do out of the two of them.
We arrived at the trailhead. It was still dark. It is an easy hike to the top of the waterfall. From there, it is quite dicey. It is a very steep descent down to the bottom with some treacherous sections. You do not want to fall. Can Journey really do this? I figured that if I could get down myself without a rope then she could probably do it. If I need a rope then that is something she probably could not do. That seems just about right. There actually is an old rope here to help you down but I did not need it or use it. And she did it! I was very proud that she made it. She did so well. She had a snack at the bottom while I took photos. Lower Battle Creek Falls is 32 feet high and still flowing nicely in late September.
As an aside, can you please explain to me how hiking through the forest is a fire hazard? If I walk too fast it will create a spark and start a fire? Utterly ridiculous. I am probably not making sense to you, but if you have been to this waterfall you might know what I am talking about. I can’t really say any more.
We climbed back up the hill and hiked back to the car. It was a very lovely morning in Lassen National Forest.
I usually take a week off work in the Fall and do one big backpacking trip. This year, I took a week because we were planning to go to Canada to see my mom one last time. Unfortunately she passed before we could leave. We will go up there later for the memorial but I did not cancel my vacation. I could still do a big backpacking trip but the weather was not very co-operative this year so I decided to do a couple small trips instead. The first one I did with Journey to Canyon Creek Falls. The second I would do by myself and go back to Mt. Shasta.
I knew there was no water up there so I would carry all the water I would need. I had 5.5 liters. I did not weigh my pack but I think it was around 45 pounds. It was agonizingly heavy. If water was not an issue Journey could have done this hike but if she came with me this time I would have to carry all her stuff and water for her as well and I would be over 60 pounds for certain. Definitely best that she stay home this time. 5.5 liters was not quite enough. I drank more than I thought going up to the waterfall viewpoint because it was quite difficult so I did not have enough for coffee in the morning. Well, I thought I could survive without coffee. It would be a close thing.
I camped at a huge wide open flat area with a view of Mt. Shasta. It was a very nice sandy spot which of course I had all to myself. There were a lot of wasps buzzing around. A huge amount of them. They did not really bother me much but the buzzing was constant all afternoon. Quite a few flies also. I set up camp, ate my dinner, and relaxed. In the evening, I went up to the waterfall viewpoint.
It was easy until the end at which point there was a 450 ft. climb off trail. It was a steep slog. There seemed to be a path and I think this is a climber’s route but one that is not very commonly used. I made it up to my planned viewpoint of Mud Creek Canyon Falls. It was disappointing. Very disappointing. I studied this spot on Google Earth for many hours and determined that from here I would be able to see the entire waterfall. As long as I could get close enough to the cliff edge. That was the only thing I was worried about. The cliff edge was indeed unstable and I was very careful but getting a view from the edge was not an issue. There were trees blocking the view down at the waterfall and also a ridge that was not showing on Google Earth. GE you are a bad liar. I could see probably 3/4 of the waterfall but not the bottom of it. It was not supposed to be like this. I guess my photo is not really all that horrible but in my mind I was expecting (and wanting) a lot more. I retreated back to camp.
I slept quite well but my tent zipper broke. I have already had it fixed once before so I think it is time for a new tent. Too bad I cannot afford one. It is a good thing the wasps went away at night otherwise I would have had them all in my tent which would not have been very fun. I got up for a nice sunrise view of Mt. Shasta, packed up, ate my breakfast (sans coffee) and hiked back down. It was an interesting and quick trip into the Mt. Shasta Wilderness.
This was Journey’s first official backpacking trip and she was awesome! Of course you remember we had a trip at Mt Shasta recently which was supposed to be her first backpacking trip but we ended up sleeping in the car. This time we were sleeping in the tent. Come Hell or high water.
I have known about this waterfall for awhile and had been thinking about going here but it is about 100 miles past Nowhere, California. It is also in the sun most of the day so doing it as a day hike would be very difficult. It would make more sense to camp near the waterfall. I thought (or hoped) Journey would be able to do it as well. I had zero beta on this waterfall hike so I did not know how difficult it would be. There is a trail marked on my old topo map but it is not on the newer one. Does that mean the trail is now completely overgrown and impassable? Would Journey even be able to get down to the falls or would it be too steep for her? I had seen one photo quite a long time ago but I don’t know what happened to it. Well, everything is worth trying once. Right?
The last 10 miles to the trailhead is one of the roughest roads I have ever driven. It was horrendous. Very rocky, very sharp. My poor tires. Even worse than Bowman Lake Rd? The drive stressed Journey out (she doesn’t like car rides to begin with) and it stressed me out as well. On the return I thought I would try a different road thinking it would be much shorter and better but it was worse! I had to turn around and go back the same way. 10 miles of hell. We finally made it to the trailhead 30 minutes late and were relieved to get out of the car and begin our hike.
The hike is 1.5 miles up hill followed by a massive descent of 2 miles with 1700 ft. elevation loss. It was incredibly steep. It was going to be a brutal climb out the next day. Down at the creek is an old mining town from the 1800’s called Poker Flat. All that is left is an old cabin that is literally in shambles. A sign says the town was “a miserable hole”. I can believe it. We continued on to the waterfall. I was very happy to find a good, well defined trail. There was a sign that said “OHV trail” but there is no way you could drive your OHV on this. It is a narrow singletrack with steep dropoffs. Strange. However, it is very easy to hike. We came to the creek near the top of the waterfall and found a place to camp. It was small and not very exciting but I did not want to continue any further in search of a better campsite. This one would do well enough. Journey flopped out on the dirt for a nap while I set up camp and made dinner. She poked up her head when she saw me eating pizza and decided she had better come over to see what was up. Ha ha.
After dinner we went down to the waterfall. It was a very steep descent with brush at the bottom and required crossing the creek as well to get to a viewpoint. Journey did very well with all of that. Canyon Creek Falls is 45 ft. high and had a very decent flow for late September. It was gorgeous. If you look at Google Earth it seems the waterfall is at most 20 ft. high. I was incredibly happy to find such a beautiful waterfall and much bigger than expected.
We went back to camp and went straight into the tent and to bed. Journey slept well for the first half of the night but then was moving about and tossing and turning the rest of the night. I don’t know if she was cold (it wasn’t really cold, though) or she just could not sleep any more. I was the opposite, tossing and turning for the first half of the night. We got up in the morning and I made her a special breakfast and then we hiked out. Her pack was half the weight from the last time at Mt Shasta and she did much better with this. She was only carrying her water and not her food. Nonetheless, I knew she would really struggle going up the big hill so I carried her pack on this section. She did very well on the climb up the mountain and was ahead of me the entire way. It was a killer climb. We made it to the top in 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a 10 or 15 minute break. Not too bad, actually. Then the long drive back home. It was an awesome trip with Journey in Plumas National Forest but I can say with absolute certainty that I will never be back to that “miserable hole”.
