I hiked the trail on a pretty rough weather day, but I was out looking for a rather rugged adventure. The snow was falling steadily, but it didn't amount to anything substantial. The biggest weather factor for the day was definitely the wind, as it had the snow blowing sideways at times. The temps were pretty low to begin with, but the wind chill was just frigid.
It was my first trip to the trail, and I was literally the only person in the parking lot both before and after my hike. It was both odd, and inspiring to be the only human on a trail of that scale. I saw a pretty good assortment of wildlife including coyotes, deer, hawks, and some sort of rodent that I couldn't identify. I watched as a coyote slowly walked down a rocky slope, and disappear into the taller grass in the field below.
I eventually made my way back to the falls, and was pretty awestruck with my first view of them. There were 3 separate falls when I visited, and they were pretty mesmerizing in the blowing snow. I stayed for a bit to get some photos and video, but as the temps dropped and wind increased I decided it was time to trek back. I followed some animal trails along the creek for part of the return hike, and the terrain was pretty rough going that way. I had to do some climbing and such to make my way, but made my way back to the main trail regardless. I think it was an absolutely incredible hike, and I would recommend it to anyone, but probably in warmer conditions.
The round trip hike is somewhere right around 6 miles, and I have read up to 6.4 miles. Taking that into consideration, hikers will want to pack some food, drinks, etc for the walk. Stay aware of the wildlife and the weather, and have a great hike!
Comments
How cool to spot a coyote! Great pics!
Posted by:
hikingwithlittledogs on Feb 19, 2018 06:45 PM
Thank you very much, and it was really cool to see the wildlife. Watching the coyote was something pretty special though.
Posted by:
MattOStephens on Feb 20, 2018 04:29 PM