Hunting Panther Creek Falls
Southern Washington Weekend Getaway Travelog 6
Carson, WA. Sun 23 Mar 2017, 2pm.
The weekend's crummy weather stuck with us as we ascended once again into the mountains of Washington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest. In fact it got worse. The rain poured more steadily beneath a solid layer of clouds that didn't seem very far above our elevation. The Panther Creek Falls we were headed to first sit at lower elevation than the Fall Creek Falls we hoped to do later in the day, so we hoped at least that snow wouldn't block us.
Like yesterday, finding the trailhead took some effort. Our guidebook gave a driving distance measurement, which we tracked carefully, but a side road near the trailhead was unsigned, as was the trail itself. These left us wondering if the distance measurement was accurate. We drove back and forth a few times before deciding to treat it as accurate, park, and search the area around it on foot for signs of a trail.
Once out of the car we could hear the falls, a clue we were in the right area. And Hawk caught a glimpse through a stand of trees. Then we found not one but two trails down the side of the hill. Hawk explored one while I checked out the other. Hers was rough and steep, and she torqued her back just investigating it, so we together down mine.
Two creeks tumble together at Panther Creek Falls. Which one is Panther Creek? Who cares!
For all the remoteness and hard-to-find-ness of the trail, the Forest Service has built a nice wooden viewing deck above the falls. The picture above shows the view. Panther Creek Falls is actually not one but two falls. Two creeks join together as they tumble over the cliffs.
Which one is Panther Creek, and what's the name of the other? With a sight as beautiful as above I don't care to figure out the answer.
After about 20 minutes we hiked back up the hill. Upon reaching the road I spotted that there actually is a trail sign.
This sign for the falls trailhead is somewhat obvious when you're standing on top of it. Literally standing on top of it! Not so much so when you're driving.
It looks huge and obvious from this angle, but I'm standing less than 10' away from it. While I was driving the car I was paying attention to signficantly father distances. At just 25' this light blue paint job becomes pretty much invisible, especially on a wet day like today.
Carson, WA. Sun 23 Mar 2017, 2pm.
The weekend's crummy weather stuck with us as we ascended once again into the mountains of Washington's Gifford Pinchot National Forest. In fact it got worse. The rain poured more steadily beneath a solid layer of clouds that didn't seem very far above our elevation. The Panther Creek Falls we were headed to first sit at lower elevation than the Fall Creek Falls we hoped to do later in the day, so we hoped at least that snow wouldn't block us.
Like yesterday, finding the trailhead took some effort. Our guidebook gave a driving distance measurement, which we tracked carefully, but a side road near the trailhead was unsigned, as was the trail itself. These left us wondering if the distance measurement was accurate. We drove back and forth a few times before deciding to treat it as accurate, park, and search the area around it on foot for signs of a trail.
Once out of the car we could hear the falls, a clue we were in the right area. And Hawk caught a glimpse through a stand of trees. Then we found not one but two trails down the side of the hill. Hawk explored one while I checked out the other. Hers was rough and steep, and she torqued her back just investigating it, so we together down mine.
Two creeks tumble together at Panther Creek Falls. Which one is Panther Creek? Who cares!
For all the remoteness and hard-to-find-ness of the trail, the Forest Service has built a nice wooden viewing deck above the falls. The picture above shows the view. Panther Creek Falls is actually not one but two falls. Two creeks join together as they tumble over the cliffs.
Which one is Panther Creek, and what's the name of the other? With a sight as beautiful as above I don't care to figure out the answer.
After about 20 minutes we hiked back up the hill. Upon reaching the road I spotted that there actually is a trail sign.
This sign for the falls trailhead is somewhat obvious when you're standing on top of it. Literally standing on top of it! Not so much so when you're driving.
It looks huge and obvious from this angle, but I'm standing less than 10' away from it. While I was driving the car I was paying attention to signficantly father distances. At just 25' this light blue paint job becomes pretty much invisible, especially on a wet day like today.