An early start for an all day hike to Beaver Falls.
According to the map I traced
out (the GPS did not get enough signal in the canyon), the trip was approximately
2.6 miles 1 way. Instead of my full pack, I went with a small fanny pack.
Given the descent down the cliff that makes up Mooney Falls, this was an
excellent idea. Having Brian and Dave along to carry our walking sticks
and camera's was also a plus. I suspect, now that I know what this was
like, a regular day pack would have been a good idea, and I could have
stowed my gear in that.
According to my notes, we left camp at 9:30 am. At Mooney Falls, we descended to what I call the Margarita Deck. At this point we received a lecture about what was ahead of us to complete the descent of this cliff. The most important point was that your body always needed three points of contact with the rock. At no time should there be two points of contact. Always have two feet and one hand or two hands and one foot in contact.
The first portion of the path traversed the cliff, and indeed, three points of contact were a necessity. Handholds and footholds were the rock itself. Then a descent through two tunnels. After that a descent where ree-bar and chains are available for handholds. Finally on the way down, we dodged the two ladders and went to an area of the rock that we basically but slid back and forth until we were down. On the return trip, we took the ladders, which I thought were easier. If I were to do the hike again, I would take the ladders down for the last portion, because I am more comfortable on them than rock. I suspect a rock climber would do just the opposite.
By 10:15, we were at the bottom of Mooney Falls. But first a small digression. At the Margarita Deck, John initially decided not to attempt the cliff and left us. But after he saw us down, he changed his mind and did the descent on his own without any help from Brian or Dave. He caught up with us just before the first water crossing.
Speaking of which, Dave informed us at the outset that we would have 4 water crossings each way, not counting the potential to dive off the falls. So we all started out in our hiking boots, and switched to our water sandals when needed. So I had my boots, fanny pack and camera hanging around my neck for the crossings. When not in the sandals, they were strapped to my pack. Dave and Brian, having top quality footwear, wore a good pair of socks and did the whole hike in their sandals. (Marina and I had cheap pairs from Wal-Mart and Target - I was not convinced I could hike that long in them without getting blisters, and I wanted to hike out on Friday).
The first two water crossings were close to Mooney Falls. Then a long hike with a stop for lunch, two more water crossings, and arrived at the departure point of the falls. My notes say at about 1:30pm.
At this point, there is a pool in the creek in which you can go in, let the current carry you to the falls where you do your jump / dive. The other choice was to scramble up a cliff with the help of a rope and walk downstream to watch the divers. Lee Ann stayed at the pool and did some swimming. Rachel, Wendy, and Marina joined Brian for the float to the falls, and the rest of us scrambled past the falls to watch and take pictures.
After we were re-united, it looked like another storm was coming in, so we all hurried back to camp, arriving at 4:30, and no storm.
Now the pictures:
A view of Mooney Falls from the Margarita Deck.
One of the tunnels on the descent, courtesy of Brig. |
The ladder at the bottom, courtesy of Diane. |
After the tunnels and before the ladder some of the scaling where there is ree-bar and chains.
Mooney Falls from a distance.
First crossing.
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2nd crossing
Scenic's along the way
The rope to scale the cliff, where the group divided.
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But Jim had the better lens and I think got the better picture:
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The final ledge to go over
Unless otherwise noted, all pictures posted from these
trips were taken by either Don, Marina, or other members of the trip All
rights to these pictures are reserved.
This page maintained by Don Samuels, don at snowedunder.com
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This page last updated 04/29/2004