Maybe Kenny Rogers Was Right

Salmon Creek Falls Trail

Attempt # 1

Today’s hike was a lesson knowing sometimes, you just have to call it quits, and that’s okay.

I tried to hike to the lower Salmon Creek Falls. I didn’t get to the trail until 1 pm. Which only gave me maybe two hours each direction to get back to the cat before it got dark. After doing some perusing of reviews of the trail I decided to park at an access road to get to the trail for the Salmon Creek Falls. To get there, I took Mountain Hwy 99 north from Kernville and kept an eye out for the Salmon Creek Falls sign.

There were some notes on my app that mentioned the access road was 4WD and may or may not be washed out (it was not) and looked like something I could do in my 2WD Sedan, but I didn’t mind the extra exercise.

The weather was a bit chilly, which was perfect because there wasn’t much shade heading up. The road has a fork or two, but there are signs that made it easy to stay on track.

The trail itself wasn’t bad, there were a few steep parts, but nothing too crazy, and even though I got a later start than I wanted, I was making pretty good time.

Then it got rocky. The first rocky part wasn’t terrible, but slowed me down a little, but as I continued, there were a few parts where it was a little hard to tell where the trail went as it got pretty rocky. And then I hit a steep incline that was all rock. I got most of the way up, but couldn’t see the trail ahead of me, and I realized, even if it wasn’t two terrible to get up, I wasn’t sure it would be as easy to get down, not safely at least, and being alone and later in the day, I had to make the decision to turn back.

I was pretty bummed. I had already picked this trail because it was a shorter trip and here it was, I was calling it quits an hour in. It probably wasn’t even as hard as it looked. What would I say if someone asked how it went?

But, winter in the canyons and valleys mean the sun sinks behind the mountains early, and I couldn’t see any good paths for coming back down, and I had no idea what the rest of the trail looks like. Even through my disappointment, I knew turning back was the right call. Instead, I tried to use the time I had left to explore the side trails I had passed on the way up, and I am so glad I did.

Turning back early meant I could relax my pace and enjoy the views. I found a small waterfall that I had passed earlier because it was clearly not the main trail. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was still pretty, and I was glad I saw it.

So, I didn’t get the workout or the views I had been hoping for, and it feels somehow incomplete, but I know that I can go back, I have a better idea of what to expect when I do, and next time I will get an earlier start. I still got to go somewhere beautiful and enjoy the fresh air. I didn’t spend the day sitting in front of the T.V. and most importantly, I didn’t get hurt rushing to make it to the end of the trail, and I learned that sometimes calling it quits works out in unexpected ways.