Tahoe NF
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University Falls Tahoe NF |
April 28, 2013
This year, any snow is long-gone by now at the 4,000-foot level; I just hope that it won't be too hot on today's walk to a place that I inexplicably have avoided for so long.
The drive to Georgetown via Auburn is fifty miles. Twelve miles
beyond that is Quintette, a mere wide-spot in the road.
Just east of Harmony Lane, I park by a yellow gate amidst a dozen other cars.
The trailhead
Before I depart, a foursome approaches from a walk along the highway. One of the women asks whether I know the way to University Falls. I can tell her only that the trail starts down this road behind the gate.
At the first junction, it seems right to bear left on the better road,
because there are no footprints going the other way. I don't know which
route is referenced by the sign for FR-12N67B, but it hardly matters.
Why I did not come here better-prepared is a mystery.
Presently a strangely located sign appears on a tree, admonishing visitors not to play in the water; unfortunately, there is no sort of water in sight. When nature calls, I detour into the bushes. Being close to the roadway, however, I barely have time to pull up my pants before another foursome ambles by.
At the next junction the four youngsters turn right without missing a step, so I follow them. They seem to know the way.
Where they go, I go
The road descends to a big hairpin turn. The four guys again turn right without hesitation, onto a smooth surface beside a diversion canal.
This group of twenty-somethings is walking too slowly for me, though;
so I pass them by. Within ten minutes I spot a side trail featuring
another one of those "NO SWIMMING OR SLIDING" signs; it seems right
to take that path, so I do.
The route is very steep and somewhat slippery
The sounds of happy voices indicate that I am close now. A first view of the creek generates mixed emotions, because right beside the water is the ugly hulk of an old pickup truck. Welcome to the foothills.
First views of Pilot Creek
Just downstream is the first in a series of small waterfalls. As I stop for a photo, the trailing foursome appears. One of the women immediately slips on a wet surface and falls hard onto the rock. This serves to remind me that I have elected to wear my Keen boots with the inferior soles; extra care is in order here.
First Falls
To that end, I will not try to negotiate the granite slabs at all.
There must be a creekside use trail, so I hunt around and find it.
That gets me below the first falls for a photo-op.
There are 25-30 folk present — all well under half my age
The next section of scrambling proves quite difficult. In one place, a handy rope enables me to cross a slippery space safely when there is no tree branch to grab for security.
Saving the day
Now I am below the second waterfall, but there is more work to do.
Second Falls
Pacific Stonecrop
The third fall is much more interesting than the others. This area
is officially known just as the Pilot Creek waterfalls; the nickname
'University Falls' is derived from the fact that the access route crosses
land owned by U.C. Berkeley.
Yet below me is another waterfall, taller than the rest. I seem
to recall reading an admonition not to proceed farther, because bad things
have happened to some who tried. But being only 70 years old,
I plunge ahead. This does prove to be the steepest and trickiest
section of all, yet no real danger is encountered.
Fourth Falls
Four guys wade the creek above the cascade, eyeing the first slide. Eventually at least three of them take the big plunge. The current is not so strong that the men cannot make their way over to grab the rope that enables them to clamber out of the little pool.
Foolish, but doable today
After munching some gorp, It is time to go. The uphill exit proves
easier and seemingly safer than the way in. I have not seen any obvious
poison oak today; perhaps this elevation is above it. If any bad guys
are around, however, then I am going to be a mess later on; for this scramble
has been an up-close-and-personal encounter with dozens of bushes.
One of the easier sections
Once atop the Fourth Falls, I offer to share my movie files with the four kids; but the spokesperson is disinterested, so that's that. I do manage a photo of the Third Falls that I should be able to crop so as to eliminate evidence of human proximity from the picture. That would be nice.
Third Falls reprise
Finishing off the use trail is just a formality now, and I depart without
further ado. Ten minutes up the trail, though, I run into the original
foursome. Having gone straight when I first turned right off the main
road, they have just now found their way here after a two-hour
wild-goose chase down a dead-end road. Even though I
might have done much the same in absence of my serendipitous nature call,
I cannot generate much sympathy. Lots of on-line instructions
were readily available.
All that remains now is to pick up more litter than usual over the remaining two and a half miles. This road runs along an edge of the Blodgett Experimental Forest. Perhaps something that the researchers are doing in there has prompted the posting of the signs proclaiming that the water is contaminated.
The trail out
Now that's a hairpin turn!
§: The air temperature did remain in the low seventies, so I
am only mildly worn out in retrospect. Although the route itself was
relatively boring, I upgraded the hike's rating partly because I did see an
interesting waterfall, and partly because the creekside scrambling awakened
some lesser-used muscles that surely will be needed again before long.
Do not view this place as a good potential swimming hole, for it is not. Getting around the area is difficult and somewhat dangerous, and the water is cold and purportedly unclean as well.
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ADDENDUM
 |
As of the 2014 season, this area has been closed to visitation indefinitely,
due to its having been persistently trashed by the local |
Here is a good accounting of the problem: [U.C. Berkeley closes access to popular University Falls]
Whatever curricula are being offered in schools these days, they clearly don't include meaningful instruction in environmental awareness, decency, or class. Go figure.
I'm glad that I fortuitously paid a visit here while the opportunity was there.
