...or peacocks in the wild.
Trail details
Distance: 6.7 - 7.5 miles
Elevation gain: 846 ft
Type: Out & back
Approx. time: 3h 35min
Dogs allowed: Yes
Permit required: No
For this trail, my friend and I had decided we wanted to hike somewhere else. Instead of driving south, we really wanted to drive up north and explore the area there. As my friend ran a 5K in the morning (yes, she is that badass that she will run a race and then still go for a hike) we got to the trail fairly late in the morning - probably around 10.30am. The parking lot is very long, so getting a spot was not a problem, but we will get to the problem a bit later...
The first 3 miles of the hike are quite relaxing. You are walking along a wide dirt path with the mountains around you. The views are nice, there is not much elevation gain and eventually you might even be lucky to see some cows and... a peacock. Thankfully he was on the other side of a creek and behind a fence. Otherwise there might have been the chance of some dogs chasing him. Emma was certainly confused and so were we.
After about those first 3 miles we got to the turn down towards the creek, which is clearly marked and makes it easy to find. After you scramble down the hill and turn to your left you definitely want to be comfortable with creek crossings, boulder climbing and scrambling.
Ultimately it doesn't quite matter which side of the creek you are on, so you need to find the path that works best for you. You will however cross the water a few times. It is definitely slippery in some spots (I ended up in the water a couple of times - thankfully just with my feet), so take your time.
From here unfortunately I don't have much more positive to say. The closer we got to the waterfall, the busier was the trail. While we didn't mind waiting and slowing down behind other people, not everyone would have agreed. Many people were pushy and didn't care when we had to carry Emma up the big boulders trying to get around us and almost pushing us off. Additionally people left trash everywhere and there was graffiti on many rocks.
That's why I would like to remind everyone of the 7 principles of Leave No Trace:
If you like to read more about it, all principles are linked for their meaning and additional details.
In the end, we decided to turn around before we even got to the waterfall. It ended up being too stressful for us and our goals (which is enjoying nature). We learned (in case we are coming back) to arrive extra early to avoid crowds. I also wouldn't recommend the hike for dogs, even the ones that are comfortable jumping on rocks and boulders as there are certainly some more dangerous spots for dogs.
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