Upper Sols Creek Falls

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After seeing a photo by Steve Warren of Upper Sols Creek Falls, I knew I wanted to see it at some point. Today was the day given the great conditions, i.e., cloudy skies, great autumn colors, and no wind. After reading the hike description in Kevin Adam's waterfall book and listening to Steve, it really didn't sound too bad.

There are four creek crossings. Today the water was anywhere from ankle to over the knee deep. Plus you have to manage the slippery rocks in the stream as well. I managed to find my way to the last creek crossings. Since there were two trail marking tapes on the opposite side, I diverted from Kevin's instructions (big mistake) and followed the clear trail along the river.



Eventually, the trail terminated so I thought this was the section where Kevin said to walk the creek. In this area of the creek, there were downed trees that were difficult to get over. I could tell the waterfall was right around the turn so I tried to continue. But more debris and deep water made me think I made a mistake (yeah, I know, DUH) and I turned around. But getting over those trees again proved more difficult and I took a dip in the stream when I slipped. I got soaked but more importantly, so did my camera bag. AAGGHH!! I quickly got up, got out of the stream and checked my gear. By some miracle, nothing was damaged (except for my ego) and everything worked. Can you spell RELIEF?



After all that, I decided to pack it in and head home. But after nearly getting back to my car, I knew this may be my only chance to get here in these conditions. So I reread Kevin's instructions and instead of crossing the final creek, I walked the creek upstream a bit and found the "trail" along the edge. Taking that got me to the waterfall in a short time. Whew!



As you can see here, the waterfall is stunning. What a great scene from Mother Nature. It just doesn't get much better. This ranks up there as one of the best I've been to. But the final challenge was getting around on those mossy, wet rocks and wet leaves. It was EXTREMELY slippery. I felt like I was standing on ice the whole time. While I really enjoyed seeing and photographing this beautiful waterfall, I will likely think twice before revisiting it.



Nikon D850, Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8, ISO 64, 0.8 sec, 20mm



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