Whiskeytown Falls
Saturday, 30 July, 2022
Whiskeytown Falls.
Whiskeytown Falls--Saturday, 30 July, 2022
We spent Saturday on a 5.5 km/3.4 mile-hike out to Whiskeytown Falls, recommended in the Soares book. Naturally, we left the Super 8 much later than was reasonable, cutting, as usual, into the time we had available for a romantic anniversary celebration that evening. But the falls hike made for a surprisingly great day, definitely exceeding expectations. While the trail had signs warnings of great strenuousness, we knew the elevation gain was only 183 m/600 ft. With all of our recent activities, we should be able to accomplish that before breakfast.
Much of the trail was along an old fire road, and, were it not for some very narrow parts with steep dropoffs, I would have felt comfortable driving Mather up it. We had a fair amount of tree cover as we trudged up the path, which was a blessing in the great heat. I drank 2.5 liters of water, and felt as if I had sweated out an entire liter. But there was no scree to struggle against. Even in midsummer in a drought year, the falls were running nicely, with many cascades.
Eric took a picture of me on a bridge over one of the lower cascades.
Cascades below the bridge.
We hiked up to a place where water pooled at the bottom of a tall cascade, affording an opportunity to cool off from the extreme heat.
Eric had forgotten to bring his swimming trunks, but managed to cool off, anyway.
Admittedly, in seeking the exhilaration of standing under a pounding waterfall, a more palatable choice would be the much warmer Secret Falls at the Wailua River on Kaua'i, someplace where the experience could be tolerated for more than the instant required to pose for a photo. But Whiskeytown Falls is reachable on a day trip from the Bay Area.
We chatted with a family gathered near the bottom of the falls, and found that among them was Marine helicopter pilot. An impressive job!
The trail continued beyond the pooled area, up along the edge of a series of cascades. But about halfway up, the path over the rocks was blocked by a CLOSED gate.
Eric found a lovely butterfly, which I think is a California Sister.
We stopped in Weaverville to grab takeout tacos, and to try to get a signal to download the directions to the cabins. We would be heading beyond the reach of cell towers. We stopped to gawk at an astonishingly dry Trinity Lake.
On to Boulder Lakes.