A few miles down the highway and nine-ish miles along the long winding Fender Ferry Road, another waterfall carries the spring snow-melt to Potem Creek. The road to it though is not for the feint of heart. The narrow gravel road bends around the contours of the valley as it travels the distance to the falls. In most places, the edge leads to a one to two hundred foot plummet to the river below. It's not terrible, but when the washboards steal my traction for me, I admit I feel a little uneasy.
Finally making it to a pull off, I see a couple of other cars parked here. From there a single track trail leads down this side canyon. Much like the road that brought me here, the trail is perched precariously along the side of the valley. A fall would lead to my tumbling down the steep canyon wall to the creek far below.
I manage to make my way to the base of the falls without incident. At the edge of the pool, a few admirers test the water temperature and apparently find it a bit to frigid to dive in. This would make a great swimming hole, but this early in the season, the water is likely only a few degrees warmer than the snow from which it came.
A few pictures, and I make my way back up the three switchbacks to the top of the trail. It's not much of a hike, but the waterfall was well worth the trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment