*Note: I am going to go into some serious detail with this report, so if you just want the highlights look to the summary at the bottom.
I arrived at about 9:30 on a Thursday morning to a few other cars parked at the Oxbow Loop Trail, which is the closest "official" parking place to this trail. I made the quick jaunt along the main road to the closed forest road that begins the trail. This section was wide and easy to navigate, if a little lacking in scenery and a bit of a workout. I arrived at the CCC Trailhead and was a bit concerned that it immediately crossed a creek, but had read previous trip reports that said this was the case. The rocks were pretty slippery, but there was a flat-ish log you could cross instead. The trail very soon becomes quite narrow (not sure why the WTA description says wide track...) and is entirely overgrown. Long pants and sleeves are a must if you want to leave with all your skin intact. About 1/4 mile in, there is a downed tree that is rather difficult to climb over, at least for someone as short as me. Clearly a pretty recent break. There are numerous more creek crossings before you reach the waterfall, which was basically just another creek trickle this time of year. I honestly was not sure I had reached the falls because my step counter said I had only gone 2.5 miles in, but I continued on the trail past the falls and it got narrower, more overgrown, and eventually came to a place where it was completely washed out. I turned around here, disappointed in the lack of scenery (you couldn't really see the valley either because of the overgrowth), and rather quickly booted it out of there because I had seen multiple signs of bear (scat, tracks in the mud) and was hiking alone. I continued up the closed forest road about another 2/3 mile because I was so disappointed and confused by the hike I had just taken, but you soon come to an area with clear landslide damage that DNR or NFS appears to be working on (heavy equipment present, but no workers). The road was both pretty steep and pretty washed out, so I turned around and hiked out. I don't usually hike alone, and let me tell you, this was not the hike to do it! I was so hyper-aware on the tiny, narrow trail with bear scat that I hardly enjoyed myself. I would not hike here again.
Summary: Distance seems to be off - I only hiked 5 miles in and out. Trail is narrow and overgrown with a downed tree that creates a difficult obstacle. Falls are pretty dry this time of year, and no good views because of the overgrowth. Definitely bears in the area, don't hike it alone.
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