Despite the discomfort in the heavy rains, the falls still managed to really impress. I called it my favorite new waterfall, and at the time I meant it. But I really wanted to go back in less dumpy weather and see how it held up. The verdict?
Yeah, Falls Creek Falls is the best waterfall. Easily my favorite. It's just so good.
The road still sucks getting there. Those final 2 miles of gravel are potholetropolis. It takes 20 minutes to go two miles because you are constantly slowing to 5 mph to weave through and around the holes. There is no clear way, you gotta just pick the least terrible holes and go for it. No low passenger cars should drive this road.
The trail wasn't as pretty as the last time we were here, since we are just out in summer instead of fall when the colors are beautiful. This time it was humid and hot, and the walk was more strenuous than I remembered. But the trail is still pleasing to the eye, following the Falls Creek mini-canyon for roughly 2 miles until you hit the falls and sit there in amazement.
The falls has something for every waterfall lover. The 3 tiers are all different. The top tier is the shortest, and is more of a very steep, wide curtain-esque slide down a 80 degree slope. The middle tier is the masterpiece, plunging out over a rock outcropping in multiple ways, creating a beautiful fairy fantasy of a waterfall, the type of thing you'd see in Lord of the Rings. The bottom tier is the big one, and it's just a big straight funnel plunge into the abyss.
Thanks to the good weather, we got better pictures at more angles. Then the fun part happened.
There is a loop option to the hike from the falls itself, but only for the truly adventurous. There is a way to the top of the falls on normal trails if you backtrack and take the cutoff trail to the top, but if you want to have some fun and play it dangerously, you can take...
...The scramble path.
Not for kids or dogs. Especially the top half.
The scramble trail off to the left is easy to spot from the waterfall viewpoint. The first part is sketchy but not terrible, but it is however complicated by multiple tree falls. The climbs steeply up the side of the hill, over trees and through steep dropoffs until you hit the base of the second tier. That's the easy section.
If you have a little bit of guts I heartily recommend climbing to this point because you get to sit under the second tier in full glory and it is just stunning how beautiful it is.
From here the scramble gets tougher. The first challenge is spotting the next climb, but once you find it the real challenge is the huff and puff. It is very steep, on par with Ruckle Ridge (or what used to be Ruckle Ridge, damn you Eagle Creek Fire), The Rock of Ages trail (or what used to be Rock of Ages, damn you Eagle Creek Fire), or Munra Point (or what used to be Munra Point, damn you Eagle Creek Fire). you spend more time crawling up using your hands than using your trekking poles simply because it's too steep for the poles to be of much use.
The top of the second tier doesn't offer much. You get to sit alongside the upper tier, but the angle isn't great. There are some nice views to the valley below, but you're too busy looking for a quality place to rest. The final challenge begins here, and this is the one that is genuinely scary.
You may have noticed about 20 feet back on the trail, a steep rooted gully going up. This is your final test. You slip here and it's going to end badly. You start climbing and you are committed. There would be no shame turning back at this point, but if you start climbing that's it, you are climbing.
Thankfully the first 20 feet are the worst. There are only a few roots to grab onto. Once you get to the narrower gully, the roots are plentiful and you spend the next 100 feet climbing up roots like you are using ropes and ladder steps. It's genuinely fun as hell on top of the terror. Once I got out of the gully, the immediate danger lessens and from here it's just fun. The top of the falls offers a slight view and a nice reprieve from the adrenaline rush. From here it's another 40 foot scramble up some steep boulders to a campsite overlooking the valley. Rest. Sweet, precious rest.
The views are nice. Sadly we didn't get to take them in for long because a rain cloud decided to show up and then we heard multiple cracks of THUNDER. We snapped some photos and got moving.
The trail from the campsite is easy peasy and travels slowly back downhill. Thanks to the rain we decided not to take the long loop back but take the cutoff trail instead. I wish we could have taken the long loop but wet cranky Dave has no patience for that. Not with thunder around.
Got back to the car, potholed our way to Backwood Brewing, drank booze and ate pizza. Came home and played video games. Good Saturday. Great waterfall.
5 miles, roughly 1k elevation gain. My stats were slightly off due to pausing my Garmin multiple times for picture breaks.
