Passage Creek Falls Hike

Moose crosses the river on his own, he is a big boy now

On our last day in the area, Moose and I got out for a much needed hike. Just up the road (about 16 miles) into the National Forest is the Passage Creek trailhead, which leads out to Passage Creek Falls. Moose and I started the hike about noon. Knowing of the afternoon rain risks did not stop us, we are tough!

The trail wound through what was once a dense forest. In 2006 a fire blew through the area destroying literally everything in sight. I was walking through the graveyard of thousands upon thousands of trees. Some still standing and some fallen, all were barely recognizable as it’s once tall and stout self.

The plus side of the fire is the rebirth of the land over time. With more than 8 years of sunlight hitting the valley floor, it is the smaller plants turn to thrive, and Moose and I were just in time for some of the wild flower bloom.

At the end of the trail, roughly 3 miles out, stands Passage Creek Falls. I was not expecting such a large and massive falls here. Normally you hear them from a good distance away, but this one was very stealth, hiding behind a large boulder in the trail until you round that bend – BAM – it jumps out. It is not very often I have those “oh wow” moments on the trail anymore, but this was one of them.

Moose and I sat to eat lunch, take a few pictures, then turned to head back to the truck. The rain came about half way back down the trail. We both returned to camp in a soggy state, but it was worth it.