Horsetail Falls (El Dorado County, California)

A few weeks ago, I drove down to El Dorado County for the annual Passport Event, which is essentially a tour of many of the area's wineries. Just south of South Lake Tahoe on US-50, the road curves around a big bend and offers a view of a tall waterfall coming over the ridge. This is Horsetail Falls, which forms as Pyramid Creek runs out of Lake Aloha and a couple of smaller lakes before coming over the tall ridge. With the massive amounts of snowfall this winter, the water was raging and I felt like I needed to visit this mighty waterfall this year more so than any before.

Driving down to the area early, I arrived at the trailhead parking lot, which was still closed for the winter when I was here a few weeks ago, but luckily was now opened. There were a few other cars in the area, but not many. I threw my small day pack on my back and started up the trail, which initially follows along Pyramid Creek. Large sections of the trail at this southern terminus have large puddles of melted snow that must be detoured. 

Passing through the forest and up the steep grade, the trail leads into a wide valley cut by the creek. All along the way, huge amounts of loose wood and other natural debris have pooled along the creek acting like leaky damns and pooling the crystal clear snow melt into large pools.

As I enter an large open area covered with a massive granite floor, the view of the top of the valley opens up and offers my first view of Horsetail Falls in the distance. It is mighty. Trails on granite always become a little difficult navigate and I quickly loose the route. Not that it is a terrible issue, as the creek and waterfall in the distance offer obvious markers. Nearby, the creek bounces over some overlapping sheets of granite to form small cascading waterfall, much like a rippling sheet.

As I see a couple of other hikers in the distance, I decide to try and re-find the trail in the area I spot them. To find any semblance of a trail, I'm forced to do some scrambling up steep granite boulders and sheets. I always enjoy this type of scrambling, which is so common in the Sierra Nevadas. I'm thankful for my Merrell hiking shoes during this activity, as I've found the tread of this particular model does extremely well on granite. Not finding the trail here, I eventually give up and return to the creek.

I'm soon joined by a couple that are having similar difficulties, but eventually, the three of us find a route. As we pass through a lightly forested area, we are forced to do a number crossings of the small streams running off the mountainside and into the creek below. Normally, these are probably no more than a trickle, but with all of the water, most are fast-flowing, broad and deep. Luckily, we are able to find a way to cross in all cases, be it a fallen log, a series of granite rocks, or some combination of the two. That's not to say the crossings are easy, quite the contrary, but we make our way precariously across.

Leaving the forested area, we enter another open granite covered area. A small group resting here indicates that they have searched a bit for another path up to the base, but gave up and have decided to turn back. I'm not so easily turned and while the couple I was traveling with head to the north looking for a path, I decide to head up a snowfield to the south. Unfortunately, my 'route' ends in thick brambles with no clear path. I turn back and just as I arrive back at the resting group, a couple of guys who claim to know the path offer to lead the way. 

Their path goes behind a large boulder and requires navigating some granite steps to avoid getting completely soaked. As we make our way up, I realize that the trail is actually a flowing stream now, which is why it has been so difficult to find all along. Water always the path of least resistance and the trail has made a easy track for it. Just a short distance further, we arrive at the base of the falls. Probably a dozen or so hikers have parked themselves here on a large piece of granite overlooking the falls. I know the path continues on up to the top, but given the flooding conditions and the fact that there is still a fair amount of snow up here, I decide to stop here. I take balance on a rock and take a few photos of the raging waterfall. It is truly magnificent to see such a natural wonder.

The way back turns out to be just about as difficult to follow and I loose the trail a number of times as I make my way down the valley. As I mentioned before though, it's not really possible to get lost here, as the creek and the valley itself funnel everything towards the trail head. I finally arrive back a the jeep. I covered nearly 4.4 miles, but with all of the rock scrambling, stream crossings, and path finding, it was quite an adventure.