Sulphur Creek Falls

Devil's Tower

Day 162: Yesterday's adventure was one with multiple goals. First on the agenda was the hilariously unfortunate sally into the Skunk Cabbage bog, but also on the list were an invasive-plant patrol of the South Swofford Trail where I had previously found both English Holly and Yellow Archangel, and a trek off-trail to Sulphur Creek Falls.

Sulphur Creek Falls is only about half a mile from the trail, but the climb is steep and at this time of year, muddy and slick. That said, spring is the best time to go, because the elk tracks will be overgrown with nettles, salmonberry and devil's-club within just a few more weeks. As anyone who has spent any time negotiating cross-country routes should know, attempting to reach your destination by following a creek bed is ill-advised. It's better to attain a ridgeline when possible, or at the very least, to come in high. Following the elk whenever possible, dragging myself up by roots and branches in places, sliding back down when the forest duff collapsed under my feet, I have made this journey dozens of times, originally to find a geocache but later, simply to enjoy the falls and the privacy.

To get to Sulphur Creek Falls, one first climbs to Devil's Tower, a puzzling 60' rock thumb on the side of a steep slope. It seems an unlikely location for a volcanic plug, but I have no other explanation for this geologic anomaly. At its base, a narrow path of shattered rock takes you to the falls, although to see it clearly, you must descend approximately 100' to the creek on a steep, unstable slope. I've never found an "easy" route down, so care and caution are the by-words here, and the hiker should keep in mind that what goes down must come back up, a job which isn't as easy as it sounds. But oh, what a reward awaits you, especially when the falls is in full spate!

Sulphur Creek Falls