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| Hiking | 4.00 Miles |
1,000 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.00 Miles | | | |
| 1,000 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Both Cedar Creek Falls and Three Sisters can be visited in the same day, but with about 25 cars at the TH I elected to car camp by another stock pond, after wandering around after the Cedar Creek hike, and sitting under an oak tree reading till sundown. I was literally five minutes from the TH, off the Cedar Creek road. Sun morning I started pre dawn, I was the only car at the TH, an informal car park off Boulder Creek rd. Coastal fog limited my view and I felt like I was in a cocoon walking along the old ranch road/trail in the blooming chaparral.
It was one of those wonderful moments when I arrived at a saddle to see the fog lifting and sun coming through to light the cliffs high above the falls, three tiered in granite. Wow!!
The fun part of the trail soon began, you loose about 500 slippery steep feet in about a quarter mile on a well traveled hiker made trail. Several ropes had been left at places but it wasn't that bad and I didn't use them but did sit on my butt a couple of times. Once in the creek bottom if you want to get to the falls quickly as I did, because of the coming direct sunlight, there is an upper trail to your left. It does have a few feet of class 4 on a slab at the beginning which is slippery with loose dirt. It you fall here it could result in a broken ankle so be sure of your footing. There are some handholds but it looks like some of the rock could be loose so I wouldn't rely totally on it.
The use trail stays high with a few opportunities to get back down to the creek bed, which has huge boulders and some nice small waterfalls. If you keep with it this high trail will put you right at the sloping granite slab at the foot of the middle sister slide fall, about 50 feet in a channel and a huge pool.
You can scramble up high left to a view at the upper fall but you'll have to climb up and around to get closer. To the right of the middle fall is the best way to the upper fall. This rock is super slippery when wet.
I took a lot of pics of the middle and lower sister. I have an old photo of the upper fall in the days of film-- 
I came down in the creek bed to enjoy the creek and take some pics there also. As I hiked back encountered some friendly hikers coming down. Don't know what these Californians are smoking but everyone I encountered was very friendly and in a good mood; even driving along the dirt backroads everyone waved. But in this lush green, flower filled, sunny warm place how could you not be in a good mood--
A couple of postscripts:
Here is a place for the crazy upstream:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY861UGa1Fo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq43_NmcPXE
And for you ladies--when changing a flat tire in the desert in 102 degrees and your mechanic has overtightened the lug nuts, place the lug wrench almost horizontal and stand on it, hang onto your hood if you need balance, then bounce lightly--that will usually loosen them. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
