Feather Falls (Butte County, California)

Working in the casino industry for many years, I was familiar with the Feather Falls Casino, but until I browsed through a California hiking guide, gifted to me by a co-worker, I had never considered visiting Feather Falls itself. As I'm trying to find nearby hikes of 10-20 miles as I train for some trips later this summer, this seemed like an ideal destination on a warm March Saturday.

The drive to Feather Falls (at least the route I found) passes through some very rural California farmland and some well-hidden back roads. All in all, it took just shy of three hours to get there from my home in Reno. Arriving at the large trail head parking lot, I slung on my purposely heavy pack (again for training purposes) and started to make my way to the renowned falls. Just after leaving the trail head, the trail splits into the Upper and Lower paths. As I wanted to experience the whole trail, I opted to take the upper to the falls and the shorter (but steeper) lower on the way back.

This deciduous forest reminds me of those near St. Louis in Spring. Here in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the entire palate is green and lush, even at this late winter date. This forest bristles with life. Moss and lichens cover almost every exposed surface, from the giant granite boulders to rotting logs to living trees. With all of the granite, I am reminded of Yosemite, a couple of hundred miles to the south, but Yosemite sits at a higher elevation and doesn't have this amazingly vibrant green carpet on everything.

At about a mile in, I encounter a small, but beautiful water fall. It is only about 30 feet tall
as it cascades over the rocks, but still a great preview of what is to come. The trail in this
area is pretty level and easy to navigate. I'm still impressed by the vibrancy of this forest. As
I get caught up in taking pictures, a small garter snake slithers from warming himself on the
sunny trail to some nearby grass for cover. I snap a couple of pictures and move on.

The point where the upper and lower trails rejoin is a bit difficult to recognize, as the trial
to the falls beyond starts at a switch back hidden behind a large boulder. I eventually figure
out and return to the uphill path toward the falls. This path has had concrete poured at some
point in time. Though cracked and broken now, it still ensure a nice clear walk up the steep last section to Feather Falls, which I can now hear in the distance as the falling water pounds the rocks below.

The trail curls around the top of this giant granite monolith until it begins to descend to an
observation deck. I catch my first site of the falls after making the turn to start going
downhill to the deck. Amazing!!!

Feather Falls was long touted to be the 3rd, 4th, or 5th tallest water fall in the US with a
reported height of 640 feet. Recently however, this has been revised to 410 feet, and while that removes it from contention even for the top 10 list, it does nothing to diminish the grandeur of this might plummet. The cliff over which the water falls is almost sheer and quite magnificent. The water continuously pours over the edge to 'feather' out as it makes its way to the bottom. Most impressive.

http://youtu.be/rITkZ_Ccdg0

Once I reach the observation deck, I take a few minutes to take it all in, take some photos, eat a snack, and then I'm on my way back. However, as I reach the point where I had started down toward the deck, I notice a broken trail leading beyond. A couple a few yards ahead of me welcome me and ask if I know where it goes. I respond that I don't, but that I intend to find out. After a quarter mile or so, I have skirted the edge of this sharp crevasse and made my way to the top of the falls. I scramble down some granite to the very top of the falls. It's always amazing to see the power of the water as it takes its last breath before diving off. It truly is beautiful up here.

 

Making my way back, I start along the lower trail. So far, so good. In this section, the trail is
fairly easy. I come to a spot overlooking Bald Rock Dome, a monstrous piece of granite,
protruding from the forested mountainside on the far side of the valley.

About half way in, the trail begins to get steeper and I am forced to stop for a water break
every so often. As I cross Frey Creek's broken bridge, I look for signs of ladybugs, which I had read winter along this creek. I find a few stragglers, but not the millions I had read about. I'm sure they have moved back into the valley already, given the overly warm winter we have had. Nearing the end of the trail, I come across a mighty oak tree, covered in moss and splitting through a a number of granite boulders. A sign indicates and I find some ancient Native American mortars drilled into the stone. These were used to grind acorns into a sort of bread dough by the local tribes. The bread made from this dough was a staple of their diet. It's always interesting to see little pieces of history like this out in the forest.

Returning to jeep, I pack up and prepare to head home. What a great hike and what a great life I have. The falls were everything I had been lead to believe and I'm grateful for the freedom to experience this natural wonder for myself. In total, I hiked just short of 10 miles. My phone app stopped tracking at some point at the top and so didn't calculate my trip around to the top of the falls, but no matter.