RATtreks

Wilderness Falls – 5-25-2017

After nearly a month without any hiking, it was definitely time to get back into the woods ! With water flowing at decent levels, I chose another waterfall off my son Tyler`s list to take him to. This time we would be going to Wilderness Falls (previously called ‘The Triplets’) which is a trifecta of three falls on a nameless creek in a remote area of Clark Creek, discovered and named by my good friend and long time hiking buddy, Tommy ‘Bol’Dar’ Warden. All three falls are completely off trail and getting past the extremely vertical terrain of the middle falls is very difficult and is not advised. Most people who attempt these hike up from the bottom and go past the lower falls to the base of the middle falls and back out and then try their best to find the upper falls from the top down which I can tell you, they are very hard to find ! Only a very few hard core, experienced, off trail hikers have climbed or descended the middle falls. I have personal climbed and descended both sides and on this day I would be going my favorite route which is from the top down. With threats of afternoon rain showers we got an early start and hoped for cloudy but, dry skies.

Starting out on the Longarm Branch Trail we would have several creek crossings to negotiate, all of which at higher than normal flow so we expected to get wet eventually. We did manage some unique crossings that kept us dry but, in the end there would be some minor moisture involved. Going top down also meant getting to see an additional waterfall being the Upper Longarm Branch Falls. Tyler had already been there before back when he went with us on the Waterfall Tour Reunion hike in 2009 but, it is always a nice falls to see especially during high water flow. It did not disappoint us on this day.

Continuing on the Longarm Branch Trail to above those falls and beyond, I was eventually able to show Tyler the various ways to get to the Upper Wilderness Falls. We opted for the easier short cut version and soon we found ourselves descending steeply holding on to the laurels to keep from sliding down the upper part of the upper falls. I do regret not taking the time to get some shots with my larger camera but, I do have some decent ones from previous trips so, we used the time instead to simply enjoy this amazingly wild falls. The top section drops over 60 vertical feet on about a 45 degree angle as it cuts its way through the rock and splashes over a huge log about halfway down the chute before if flows over the top of the lower part of the upper falls which is a more vertical type 60 foot high double drop falls. Overall height is well over 100 feet with both sections combined as per Dave Aldridge’s hypsometer.

Getting down to the base of the falls from the top section can be tricky if you are not aware of the secret ninja trail and even then great care should be taken as it is always wet and slick. I led the way and to Tyler`s surprise we went right down the creek left side of the falls and were soon standing at the base looking up at this wild and untamed marvel. There was a strong breeze blowing off the falls due to the nice amount of flow which made it impossible to get any non blurry pics of the leaves along the side of the falls but, that is a small price to pay for this much beauty. We hung out here for awhile to get some pics and just take it all in.

From there the fun really begins as continuing downstream on the creek left side (easier than going down creek right) soon brings you to the vertical descent of the middle falls. There are rock formations and a few cliff out dead ends so there is only one passable route and it is not easily recognized esp. this time of year when the growth is substantial. I had to draw from some old memories of previous trips to find the actual route. You have to go out and back as anywhere near the falls is sheer vertical rock . The steep bank out from it is always wet and the shale type rock is very loose and hard to get any traction on. If you were to start sliding here you would be in serious trouble as there is not enough woody growth to hold on to and the last drop is vertical and consists of rock so you would get hurt. Luckily by taking our time and me being able to find the safest route we zig zagged around and down to the base of the middle falls. I actually found a metal water bottle that someone had lost either on a climb up or an descent down so someone had a good time there recently !

Coming out right at the base of the 90 foot vertical drop of the Middle Wilderness Falls meant we would have to make our way across to the other side to creek right as it is not possible to continue down creek left. There is also not much level ground and the spray off the falls will soak you in a short time. I snapped a couple of shots as we got across as quickly as we could and then once out of the heavy spray I set up my larger camera to see what pics I could get from there. I would climb up the steep creek right side to get some side profile shots and a few more as we made our way slowly down towards the many other lower drops of the middle falls as well.

Going down from the base of the middle falls is also steep and very slick as the small loose rocks are hidden under all the leaves and small growth so there is little traction here either. It is obvious however, which is the best way to go to get down to the other parts of what I consider to be an extension of the middle falls although, each drop is worthy of being a separate waterfall. This old picture of Dave and Tommy from a previous trip displays the steepness. I did my best to get a decent pic of each drop as we made our way down and as you can see in the images that each drop is just a continuance of the middle falls. The entire series is well over 150 feet feet in height. While we were checking out the lower drops of the middle falls the wind was picking up and the skies were darkening. Although this was good for picture taking, it was not good in the fact that we knew we would be getting rained upon before the trip was over.

After the last drop of the middle falls it had indeed began to rain lightly so we did pick up the pace on our way out. This is possible due to the terrain becoming a bit more forgiving as you get farther away from the middle falls area. We stopped just long enough to get a shot or two of the Lower Wilderness Falls before packing up the camera gear and making our way out the rest of the Wilderness Valley.

By the time we reached the Longarm Branch Trail the rain was a bit more steady but, luckily it never got really hard although we did get a bit wet. The advantage of that meant we could now bust the numerous creek crossings wide open without having to worry about staying dry ! With a now quicker pace it did not take long to get back down to the Lower Longarm Branch falls and then the Jeep.

It had been another exquisite day in Nature and another major set of wild waterfalls to check off Tyler`s long list. We were already looking forward to the next adventure. Until then,,,

To see more pics of these falls, please visit our Photo Gallery.