Chris N. at High Falls Creek:
“Last Saturday was a reminder that spring weather is changeable. What was initially forecasted to be sunny morphed into 40% chance of showers and was actually drizzle turning to steady rain. Parking at the trailhead is now a small pullout that would accommodate 4-5 vehicles. The trail itself is marked by an indecipherable sign nailed to a tree and starts as what looks like a very overgrown minor road and quickly becomes a trail. I would describe the trail as “scrambling light” as opposed to a hike with a fair number of scramble-y bits with a couple ropes and chains in the first half of the trail. It sticks very close to the precipitous creek gorge – perhaps not ideal for an acrophobe. At one point, we veered off on a minor route to the left which petered out and we bushwhacked 50 m back to the main trail. Higher up, there appears to be a fork at a fallen tree – the main trail goes right. If you follow sporadic flagging left, you will end up in 15 mins at a small recent clearcut. A 20-m bushwhack towards the creek takes you back to the main trail. This used to be the most beautiful part of the forested section of the trail but now the trail borders two clearcuts. We crossed two creeks – one in a mossy grove and another with some logs in it. The snow starts almost immediately after the second crossing and we made this our turn-around point as we were close to the trail end anyways.”
Tag Archives: waterfall
Kennedy Falls, 2 Apr 2016
Bob H. at Kennedy Falls:
“This is a great hike with two points of interest. First, is the big cedar tree, which has been estimated at over 600 years old; the second is Kennedy Falls. Don’t let the length and elevation gain of 170 m fool you for this hike. There are many ups and downs on this trail making the cumulative elevation gain 750 m. The length of the trail is 5 km, so the return total is 10 km. The trail traverses the west slope of Lynn Valley and you will find the big cedar tree 3.3 km from the start; also of note – the big cedar tree is less than 100 m from Lynn Creek. The cedar tree is massive and the only reason I think why it was spared from the saw in the early 1900s, when the whole area was logged, is that there was no saw large enough! The end of the trail marks Kennedy Falls, which is spectacular and fills the air with wind, mist and rainbows. There is a new parking lot at the trailhead on Mountain Highway, which fills up fast, so get there early. This is a very popular mountain biking area.
Blog post here: http://www.buntzenlake.ca/big-cedar-trail-and-kennedy-falls
Full Flickr photo album of hike here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskxGD5Pg“
Columbia River Gorge, 18 May 2013
Chris M. in the Columbia River Gorge:
“One late cancellation and one no-passport problem left us with only 3 people in the car. Which made relaxing in the back seat a prized position! It took Anna, Tu Loan and myself about 7 hours to get down there.
Saturday afternoon we did a 5 mile (8 km) hike that took us past 5 good waterfalls – Wahkeena, Fairy, Ecola, Wiesendanger & Multnomah. The weather was overcast with a little rain – perfect lighting for waterfall photography. We stayed both nights in a reasonable motel at Cascade Locks.
Sunday weather was brighter. So it was a sight-seeing day. We started off trying to walk through Oneonta Gorge but were stymied by one deeper pool just before the waterfall. Six miles of hiking (9.6 km) took us past Horsetail, Ponytail, Middle Oneonta, Elowah & Wahclella Falls. We enjoyed the latter two the most. We had enough time for a visit to Carson, where we had a very relaxing hot springs mineral bath and wrap. Followed by a nice Mexican dinner.
Early Monday morning we hiked 4 miles up Eagle Creek to Punch Bowl & Lower Bunch Bowl Falls. Then we crossed the unimpressive ‘Bridge of the Gods’ over to Washington so we could check out Panther Creek Falls. They were my favourite of my trip. Then it was back on the road and home to Vancouver. We all took turns driving. The conversation and good times never stopped. Border lineups were poor but it does pay to use the Duty Free option.”
High Falls Creek, 15 May 2010
Su-Laine at High Falls Creek:
“Eight of us enjoyed a mostly-sunny day hiking and scrambling up the steep and varied trail to the High Falls Creek viewpoint, and walking along the gentle logging road back down. The trail was in great shape with no snow and no difficulties with creek crossings. Note that the driving directions in ‘103 Hikes’ 5th edition are less than ideal.”
Sigurd Creek 27/06/09
Steve following Sigurd Creek:
“I hiked with Ming, Dennis, Chad, and Jessica to the knoll on the Sigurd Creek trail near Squamish. On 2 attempts in previous years I got no further than Crooked Falls in May due to snow. This time, no problem due to snow or windfall. That being said, the trail was a bit buggy, and quite steep. Despite a more open view from the knoll, and more broad look at the huge cascading falls, the Crooked Falls viewpoint at the mid-point remained the highlight. This has to be one of the best falls viewpoints I’ve been to in the Lower Mainland, partially because you can get right next to them. Note that the logging road forces you to check in at a construction station, and the construction site saw fit to sign a short-cut for the trail: ignore it and follow the usual trail descriptions (we used 103 Hikes)”
