I’ve wanted to see Tim Cup Joe Falls since I learned about it in “Alpine Lakes Wilderness” by the Barnes brothers.
Getting to Dingford Creek TH was no problem. The road had a few shallow washouts but any passenger car can make it. There were half a dozen cars at the trailhead.
The Middle Fork Trail had a few trees down but was in good shape otherwise. Once I made it to Cripple Creek the Falls Trail was fairly easy to find about 10 yards past the bridge. There are a few rocks on the trail past the bridge which point to Tin Cup Joe Falls Trail.
The first quarter mile was on good tread with a few markers here and there to navigate with. There were at least 30 downed trees after the ‘easy’ start. Route finding skills came in handy, but I still turned down a few paths that dead ended at downed trees. At one point about half a mile from the Middle Fork Trail a group of about 6 old growth trees fell across the path. Making my way around these giants took some time. I got off trail but luckily a couple came up behind me and was able to locate the trail up higher on the slope after they went around the downed trees. The trail was easy to follow after that with a few marker flags here and there.
The water at the falls was flowing heavily and made for great pics. I hiked a bit past the lower falls to get a good view of the upper falls. Mosquitos were plentiful once I stopped to take a break.
Route finding was easier on the way back although I found myself on a game trail at one point but with the creek nearby I was able to easily find the main trail again.
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