Hiking the Falls Creek Trail
Sep. 6th, 2022 07:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerPacific Northwest September Travelog #3
Carson, WA - Sat, 3 Sep 2022,12:30pm
Despite arriving late last night and not getting the earliest start on things this morning (we left the hotel at 9:30 then stopped a mile or two away for donuts) we set ourselves a pretty aggressive agenda: no fewer than five waterfalls, all clustered in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington.
Our first hike of the day is at the Falls Creek Trail north of Carson, WA. We chose to hike it first not because it's the closest (it's not) but because it's the longest and most strenuous. We want to make sure we have energy for it. Also, it's a hike we haven't done before. One or two the other 4 hikes on our day's itinerary we've done before.
The trailhead was a bit over 2 miles up a dirt road. Maybe that's why we didn't hike this trail when we were in the area several years ago? Or maybe it was that dratted book again. I don't remember.
Anyway, we found the trail with no drama, and drove up the dirt road with no drama thanks to our Toyota RAV4 AWD rental car. Though there were at about 15 cars at the trailhead, the trail itself was fairly quiet. We enjoyed the peace and near-solitude in the deep forest.
The trail ascends about 700' over the course of 1.5 miles. These aren't huge numbers... but given we're hiking 5 trails today, it'll be a full day. It's nice that this trail never feels steep. It's well graded most of the way. And again, for the first half we enjoyed near solitude for our walk in the woods.
About two-thirds of the way in the trail splits. "FALLS CREEK TR" the official sign reads and points in the wrong direction for the waterfalls. Oh, did I mention there are waterfalls here? Yeah, Falls Creek Falls. (Love how they're so original with these names.) Wouldn't it suck if you hiked Falls Creek Trail and it didn't go to Falls Creek Falls? Other hikers have helpfully corrected this poor guidance. I count no fewer than seven bits of graffiti on there telling hikers they actually want to go the other way. 😅
Speaking of things that aren't Falls Creek Falls, this isn't Falls Creek Falls. It's a dry gully choked with stones covered in rich moss. "Dry Moss Cascade" we dubbed it. I'll bet it looks amazing in the spring, when it's flowing with water from melting snow.
Just 10 minutes past this the real Falls Creek Falls came into view through the trees. And it was huge. Keep reading: Fall Creek Falls!
Carson, WA - Sat, 3 Sep 2022,12:30pm
Despite arriving late last night and not getting the earliest start on things this morning (we left the hotel at 9:30 then stopped a mile or two away for donuts) we set ourselves a pretty aggressive agenda: no fewer than five waterfalls, all clustered in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington.
Our first hike of the day is at the Falls Creek Trail north of Carson, WA. We chose to hike it first not because it's the closest (it's not) but because it's the longest and most strenuous. We want to make sure we have energy for it. Also, it's a hike we haven't done before. One or two the other 4 hikes on our day's itinerary we've done before.
The trailhead was a bit over 2 miles up a dirt road. Maybe that's why we didn't hike this trail when we were in the area several years ago? Or maybe it was that dratted book again. I don't remember.
Anyway, we found the trail with no drama, and drove up the dirt road with no drama thanks to our Toyota RAV4 AWD rental car. Though there were at about 15 cars at the trailhead, the trail itself was fairly quiet. We enjoyed the peace and near-solitude in the deep forest.
The trail ascends about 700' over the course of 1.5 miles. These aren't huge numbers... but given we're hiking 5 trails today, it'll be a full day. It's nice that this trail never feels steep. It's well graded most of the way. And again, for the first half we enjoyed near solitude for our walk in the woods.
About two-thirds of the way in the trail splits. "FALLS CREEK TR" the official sign reads and points in the wrong direction for the waterfalls. Oh, did I mention there are waterfalls here? Yeah, Falls Creek Falls. (Love how they're so original with these names.) Wouldn't it suck if you hiked Falls Creek Trail and it didn't go to Falls Creek Falls? Other hikers have helpfully corrected this poor guidance. I count no fewer than seven bits of graffiti on there telling hikers they actually want to go the other way. 😅
Speaking of things that aren't Falls Creek Falls, this isn't Falls Creek Falls. It's a dry gully choked with stones covered in rich moss. "Dry Moss Cascade" we dubbed it. I'll bet it looks amazing in the spring, when it's flowing with water from melting snow.
Just 10 minutes past this the real Falls Creek Falls came into view through the trees. And it was huge. Keep reading: Fall Creek Falls!
