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| Hiking | 11.16 Miles |
1,049 AEG |
| | Hiking | 11.16 Miles | 8 Hrs 58 Mns | | 1.50 mph |
| 1,049 ft AEG | 1 Hour 31 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This is another hike that has been on my wish list for several years. I think I shied away from it because of descriptions of the drive in. We started from the Bull Pen side. Most of the road was ok, but I would definitely recommend high clearance. That said, there were several "low clearance" cars at the TH, though I'm pretty sure they are worse for the wear.
We got a little later start from the Valley, but when we arrived at TH, there were still a couple of parking spots in the main area. It is a popular area, but most people stay close by, so after we passed the Bull Pen ranch structure and hit the Wilderness Boundary- (about 1 mi. from the TH), we enjoyed a lot of solitude. (The non-hikers will likely peel off at the ranch structure and head down to the creek, where there is a large/deep swimming hole, with a 25+ ft. cliff jump and a couple of rope swings).
Prior to the wilderness boundary, the trail does not go near the creek until just past the Wilderness Boundary sign. At that point, the creek narrows to create a nice mini slide rock. Another 30 yards up is a small jumping spot on the north side of the creek.
The trail then parallels the creek on the north side until the first crossing, about 0.3 mi. from the wilderness boundary.
Camping is permitted beyond the first creek crossing. From there, we just tromped up the creek to the second crossing, which was close by, and also was banded on the north by a beautiful red rock cliff face. (I recommend this option, as we took the 2nd crossing on the way back and asked ourselves: why?).
After the second crossing, we followed the trail, occasionally biting on side trails that lead down to the creek. I highly recommend this as well, since the highlight of the hike is the creek, after all. Doing so helped us identify some lovely campsites.
After the third crossing (now travelling on the south side of the creek), we again took a side trail to the creek and were rewarded with a couple of lovely swimming holes and an ideal camping area (which was occupied).
After playing around at the swimming hole and eating our lunch, we decided to once again just explore up the creek itself. We enjoyed this, but after a time, found it a bit of a challenge to reconnect with the trail. The trail was not far off the creek, but the south edge was bounded by steep walls with thick vegetation. So, we ended up going a little further than originally planned, until we found a slight drainage that involved minimal bushwhacking.
Back on the trail, we thought we'd make it to the 4th and final crossing, but decided that, given the hour and our energy reserves, we'd turn around instead. Before doing so, I followed one more rabbit trail down to the creek, which led to a nice confluence of three cascading falls, and dipped myself at the base of each for short "creek massage." It felt wonderful and provided a nice "end point."
The hike back was fine. We dipped ourselves in the creek at the crossings to keep cool. And a the ranch structure, I decided to go down to the big/popular swimming hole/cliff jump to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out, the fuss was justified. There were about 25 people in the area, but it didn't seem crowded, and was a lot of fun. There is a rope assist to get to the top of the cliff for jumping.
On the way back, I took one of the alternate trails, and it worked out great. I spooked a white-tailed deer who didn't notice me until we were about 10 yards apart.
Back at the parking area, I wanted to see where the closest creek access was, so I wandered over, and ended up seeing a nice blue heron hanging out on a rock in the middle of the creek. Nice way to end the trip.
I'll definitely be back! |
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