Three of us started from the trailhead around 8:20 for a lovely rainy hike to both falls. The short gravel road near the bridge is quite potholed but in the rain, very visible. Fortunately, it's not a very long stretch of road before you're back on pavement. One downed tree near Oxbow Lake was already removed by the time I drove out.
There were a surprising number of cars (8-9) already in the lot when I arrived after my hiking partners, and driving out around 1 p.m. most of the trailheads along the Middle Fork had cars in them. I visited both the Otter Falls trailhead latrine and the one at Oxbow Lake and both were fully stocked and clean.
The last stream before Otter Falls is running quite high, so having trekking poles would be a great idea for anyone wanting additional support with footing. I carried mine in my pack, but I didn't want to mess with my rain cover, so I grabbed a few loose sticks floating in the stream that did just fine.
The trail is quite muddy right now but passable everywhere. Prepare to get wet! The grade is lovely and gradual; we hardly noticed we were going up. Both Falls have plenty of water -- this was my first time hiking to Big Creek Falls, and I'm excited to see how both falls change through the seasons.
This was a scouting trip for a November outing I'll be leading and I learned that my rain shell is no longer waterproof. Fortunately, I have another that will do for winter. I used gaiters over my Keens and my feet remained dry the whole hike despite a steady drizzle. My phone, however, sucked battery power in the cold so I'll have to do something about that. Great opportunity to test my gear for wet, cold winter trips.
Most other hikers on the trail had dogs with them, making me miss my own at home. One person was coming out with an overnight pack. Maybe 15-18 people? Saw two downy woodpeckers and heard some golden-crowned kinglets but with all the stream, rain, and conversation noise we didn't hear a lot of birdsong. Still a lot of mushrooms, and some cool mossy rocks for photo ops including the one attached. All in all a lovely outing.
Comments