I was all packed up and underway shortly before eleven. The first quarter/half mile was pure bushwhacking as there is no trail to the bluffs. It’ll come as no surprise to hear that I crossed the trail without seeing it. I bumped into the very rough hunting camp, which immediately made me think I must have overshot the trail. A quick check on the GPS showed that to be the case. I know that’s cheating, but I wasn’t about to start faffing about looking for it. It was hot — mid-eighties — and I wanted to get on.
I decided I’d take the Devil’s Den East (Middle) Trail, down to Rock Spring (Long Creek) Trail, rather than the first trail junction I’d meet. Doing so would save me the 300 ft. climb out of Devil’s Den. By the time I was on the Devil’s Den East Trail, I was down to my last few sips of water, so I decided I’d get some more with a short diversion to Rock Spring. Which I did. I drank my fill and filled my water bottle at the spring box. From there it was mainly downhill — but a couple of miles — to The Falls on Long Creek. When I got there, I was surprised to find water running in Long Creek. When I got to The Falls, I could hear some water running, but I didn’t stop. My plan was to go exploring.
Copyright © 2019 Gary Allman, all rights reserved.