I guess my theme this weekend was bushwhacking to waterfalls and open rock with views. Saturday was in the Dix Wilderness and today was in the Giant Wilderness.
I parked near Chapel Pond at the Zander Scott Ridge Trail for Giant, only instead of taking the trail, I began bushwhacking the right side of the drainage just east of the ridge trail. The topo map has a falls labeled that I had not yet taken the time to explore.
I encountered a faint herd path on and off. No doubt others had done this same trek. The grade was relatively steep, but the bushwhacking was not a problem.
It was a .6 mile hike to the falls, with an elevation gain of about 500 feet. The falls lies in a deep ravine so some care is needed getting down in there. It is worth it. The falls is spectacular and there is a great swimming hole at the base for those that like cold water! It's amazing how remote this spot felt even though it is so close to the road. I posted a video of the falls on
You Tube.
My dog Rev and I spent about 30 minutes here poking around and watching the falls.
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| Look at that grotto to the left of the falls! |
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| Just awesome |
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| This swimming hole looks about 6-7 feet deep |
From the falls, I continued to climb and headed over to some promising open rock which is essentially the southern terminus of the slope to Rocky Peak Ridge. I passed an old abandoned hunter shanty on the way. The southern promontory is comparable to Giant's Nubble and offers excellent views of the Dix Range, Round Mountain and the Great Range. I got lots of great pictures from this location.
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| The Great Range |
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| a closer look |
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| Dix Range |
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| Round Mountain |
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| Dix Range and Round Pond |
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| My viewpoint and the Ridge to Giant in the background |
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| The Great Range |
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| The southern slope of Rocky Peak Ridge |
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| My kind of view |
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| The Great Range |
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| Round Mountain |
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| a mountain goat, or my dog Rev? |
Rather than bushwhack back the way I came, I decided to go past the Dipper and connect with the Ridge Trail to Descend. I ran into some horrid blowdown south and west of the Dipper, but it didn't last for long. Once on the trail it was an easy cruise back down. Rev and I passed a dozen or so people on the way out.
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| The Dipper |
Hike Stats:
Hike Distance: 4 miles
Hike Time: 4 hours (including stops)
Total Vertical Gain: ~ 1200'
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| The route (click image to enlarge) |
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