I ignored a foot injury that was acting up yesterday and made the trek. I may not be able to walk now, but it was totally worth it
Really is a beautiful area and as far as I can tell it's been generally untouched by fire. I believe part of the basin was inside the burn area for Aspen, but there's little actual evidence of burn. Definitely nothing recent. Sadly, it's likely just a matter of time as the forest is very thick and overgrown. It's easy to imagine this as a real tinderbox come June / July.
While this area obviously sees very little traffic it was really depressing to see the amount of garbage left behind (recently). One of the campsites was littered with wet wipes and the previous users also forgot to take their fiberglass axe handle and Frisbee. At another one the previous users took the plastic sheets that they were using as ground cloths and stuffed them into the fire ring, then piled wood on top to weigh them down. I picked up a some of the detritus, but wasn't prepared for that and had limited room to pack any crap out. Next time I'll bring a bigger pack!
Speaking of campsites, I found a few sites in the ponderosa stands near the main creekbed, but didn't see any optimal camping areas farther down near the falls. For those who have been there before do you have any tips on good places to look farther downstream?
Followed the ridge walk route posted by
@GrottoGirl on the way out and the one posted by
@RedwallNHops back to the trailhead. Next time I'll likely stick to the ridge walk in both directions as it's arguably an easier hike and the view is much better.
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