THUNDERSTRUCK
The
rain stopped before we got up on Wednesday morning. It was cool and overcast, and more rain was
in the forecast. That fit perfectly with
my plans for the day. My primary goal
was to visit Thunder Canyon Falls. The
waterfall is in a slot canyon, on an unnamed tributary of Cecil Creek. Cloudy weather would be ideal for
photography, and the creek would be running strong from the rain.
We
cooked and ate breakfast before setting off on the day’s first mini
adventure. I wanted to hit Twin Falls,
as it is on a low volume stream. During
periods of high water, it is actually a triple falls, with three waterfalls
side by side, created by separate streams.
The
hike to Twin Falls is short. My only
concern was getting to the trailhead. It
is accessed by a rough dirt road that would be a challenge in the Prius. The directions I found online said “To get here, take Hwy 74 from Ponca to the
Kyle's Landing turn-off on Mount Sherman. About 1 mile down this dirt
road is a spur road to the right with a sign pointing you to Camp Orr.
About 2 miles down the mountain is the boundary to Camp Orr (an official
Boy Scouts of America camp) and a small parking area. The trail is across
the road with the wooden sign pointing the way.”
These
directions are horribly written. First,
it mentions the spur road to Camp Orr, but it doesn’t actually say if you
should turn on it or not. Was that the
route, or was the spur road only mentioned as a landmark? It didn’t help that we didn’t know exactly
where the waterfall was, or even what creek it is on.
We
guessed that we should turn. We had
already traveled a mile, and the directions said that the trailhead was 2 miles
down the mountain. So we went another
mile and pulled into a small parking area (ok, a wide spot on the
shoulder). There was no trail sign, but
signs have a tendency to disappear.
There was an actual trail heading starting on the far side of the road,
so we followed it. The map showed a
creek in that direction, too. The hike
is allegedly only 70 yards. We went much
farther than that, and when we finally saw the tiny creek we knew that couldn’t
be it. We doubled-back to the road and
followed a spur road in the opposite direction towards a different creek. We quickly realized that this wasn’t it,
either.
At
that point we figured that we went wrong when we turned onto the spur
road. So we drove back a mile to the
main road and went down it another mile, toward Kyle’s Landing. After another mile (2 miles down the
mountain!) we found a small parking area.
The Buffalo River Trail crosses the road here. There was still no sign, but the map showed
that the trail crossed a creek after a short distance. We walked it in that direction, reached the
creek, and realized that wasn’t it, either.
Due
to time constraints we had to give up on Twin Falls. Unfortunately I needed to spend some time
online that morning. Permits for
backpacking trips in Zion National Park in June become available on April 5th
at 11am Central Time. We wanted a permit
for the Virgin River Narrows. Those
permits sell out quickly. I did more
research later, and found out that taking the spur road is correct, but that
the total drive “down the mountain” is 3 miles, not 2. Also, the hike is ¼ mile each way, not 70
yards. I thought I might get a chance at
another attempt later in the trip, but I never had time.
We
drove back into Jasper and found a café with WIFI. We ordered coffee, which was pleasant after
spending the morning out in cool, damp weather.
I was able to pull up Zion’s website on my phone and claimed a permit
for our chosen campsite on the ideal day.
Or so I thought. It wasn’t until
a week or so later when I found out that their website crashed, and our permit
didn’t go through. So we were actually
zero for two on Wednesday morning.
I
still had high hopes for Wednesday afternoon.
Thunder Canyon Falls was my #1 priority for the whole trip. My friends Spencer and Stephanie had hiked
there back in September. At the time
there had been no water, but the slot canyon looked fascinating.
There
are three ways to get to the trailhead near the former community of Erbie on the Buffalo River.
One is a horrible dirt road that is only passable to high clearance 4WD
vehicles. Another fords the Buffalo
River. Both of those routes were
completely out of the question. The
third route is a moderately rough dirt road that is 7 miles long. The Park Service recommends 4WD for that
road, too. Based on my pre-trip
research, I thought we could get there in the Prius, but I wasn’t certain. My fear was that we would drive 3 or 4 miles
and get stuck. At that point it would
still be too far to walk, and the day would be completely ruined.
Fortunately,
my pre-trip research had revealed another approach, from a different
trailhead. It would require a slightly
longer hike, but a much shorter drive.
That would be on another rough dirt road, but it was only 2 miles. I could walk that if necessary. Plus, the other approach would take me past 2
bonus waterfalls and a couple of cave entrances. That made the decision easy.
Christy
had decided to skip this hike because I was expecting it to be a hardcore
adventure with lots of scrambling and wading.
It turns out that she could’ve handled it easily.
We
drove a ½ mile down the dirt road. There
were several rough spots in succession, and we were afraid that it would
continue to deteriorate. We were driving
so slow that I figured I might as well just walk. I got out and gathered my gear. Christy headed off to town to do a little
shopping and do some research on mountain biking in the area.
The
road walk took 30 minutes. I reached the
stream in Broadwater Hollow and forded it.
On the far side I picked up a primitive trail. It took me downstream, passing above a neat
sliding cascade. Just beyond were some
cool rock formations. Below that was the
small but pretty Paige Falls. Here the
creek freefalls 10’ into a large pool.
Just downstream is a long run of cascades and small waterfalls. That run ends with Broadwater Hollow
Falls. Neither of these waterfalls would
be the focal point to a hike, but they added some nice scenery to the day’s
adventure.
A
bit below Broadwater Hollow Falls I passed a couple of cave entrances. Getting into them looked like a technical
affair, and I was eager to get to Thunder Canyon. I followed the trail downstream until the I
reached Cecil Creek. The crossing was an
easy wade despite the high water. A bit
farther on were two more fords. The
creek grew significantly before I reached them.
The area is loaded with caves and springs, and all of them add volume to
Cecil Creek. Those last two crossings
were completely flooded. The creek was
waist deep and probably 30-40 yards across.
The water was muddy too, making it impossible to see rocks and other
obstacles. I had to continuously check
the depth ahead of me using my hiking stick.
Luckily, the current was mild. If
it had been stronger my hike would’ve ended there. As it was, the fords were nerve
wracking. I was highly motivated though,
and I was able to get through. I just
had to hope that the water level didn’t continue to rise. If it did, I could get trapped.
I
reached the confluence with the stream coming from Thunder Canyon a few minutes
later. It was raging! The view down Cecil Creek from the confluence
was stunning. The entire valley was
flooded. Hiking through it would’ve been
impossible. In fact, driving to the
trailhead at Erbie would’ve been impossible in
anything less than a tank. The irony
here is that if we had driven Christy’s Honda Element, or probably any other
“regular” car, we probably would’ve taken the 7 mile dirt road to the Erbie Trailhead. So,
I never would’ve successfully completed this hike if I hadn’t been driving a
Prius.
But
I’m getting ahead of myself. Whether I
could successfully complete the hike was still to be determined. There was a tremendous amount of water coming
down Thunder Canyon. My pre-trip
research had indicated that reaching the waterfall required scrambling and
wading up the slot canyon. That looked
dubious in the current flood, but I’d come too far to turn back without trying.
I
waded the stream and picked up a goat path on the far side. I followed it upstream for a while, until it
crossed again. This crossing, like the
first, was reasonably safe even at high water.
The goat path on the far side was dicey in a few spots. Early on I had to scramble across a sloping
wet rock directly above the lower slot canyon.
That lower slot is only a couple of feet wide, and the water was raging
through it! I was afraid that the goat
path would die out on me and I would have to get into the creek to reach the
falls. Luckily, that never
happened. I was elated when the waterfall
came into view!
Thunder
Canyon Falls is tucked deep in a slot canyon.
It starts as a series of narrow drops and ends with one final, dramatic
plunge. The canyon opens up somewhat at
the base of the falls, but sheer cliffs extend downstream a good distance. Because of the heavy volume, the waterfall
was living up to its name. The sound of
the waterfall echoed off the canyon walls as I approached the base. I passed a bonus waterfall on a minor
tributary and found a somewhat dry spot to put my pack.
I
spent over an hour taking it all in and attempting to photograph the waterfall
and canyon. Eventually I had to pull
myself away, since Christy would be picking me up. I was tempted to climb around the cliffs to
get above the slot canyon for an aerial view, but the rocks were wet and I
didn’t see a safe route.
I
returned the same way. Fortunately the
water hadn’t risen further since I’d passed through earlier. I returned to the road and followed it back
to where Christy had dropped me off. She
wasn’t there, so I kept walking. I was
wet from hiking in the creek and the rain.
Although the rain had stopped, the temperature had plummeted and the
wind was picking up. Sitting around
waiting for Christy wasn’t an option!
Unfortunately, when I reached the main road she wasn’t there. The wind was really howling, so I took
shelter behind a small tree. I was
mildly hypothermic when she arrived 10 minutes later. She made up for being late by bringing hot
coffee! The heat was cranked up, too,
and feeling returned to my hands and feet before we reached our next
destination.
EDEN
Despite
the morning follies and the resulting late start, we still had some daylight to
work with. Christy hadn’t done much all
day, and the rain had stopped, so she was up for a short hike. That was good, because one of my main
priorities for the trip was Lost Valley, and this was our only chance. Lost Valley is the most popular hike in the
Buffalo National River. It’s short (2
miles), fairly easy, and packed with cool features including the Clark Creek
Natural Bridge, Cobb Cave, Eden Falls, and Falls Cave, which features its own
subterranean waterfall.
We
passed a herd of elk in a meadow on the way to the trailhead. When we reached the parking lot it was
completely empty. It was late evening on
a cold, damp weekday – the perfect recipe for solitude. Christy and I enjoyed an easy stroll along
Clark Creek. We reached the natural
bridge, which is an impressive sight.
There, Clark Creek emerges from a huge, dark opening and tumbles down a
pretty cascade. From the base it appears
that the creek is coming out of a cave.
However, the trail passes behind the natural bridge, where there is a
view of the creek running under it.
Just
upstream is Cobb Cave, which isn’t a true cave.
It is actually a massive overhang – sometimes called a rock house or
rock shelter. The final drop of Eden
Falls is just upstream. At the bottom of
the falls the creek runs along the base of the sheer cliff that forms Cobb
Cave. The final drop of Eden Falls is a
40’ beauty, but there is a lot more upstream.
Unfortunately, there is no safe way to view it. The only way to see all of it would be to canyoneer the whole thing.
That would require multiple rappels.
If you plan to attempt that, bring a lot of rope.
Christy
decided to head back from Eden Falls. I
continued up to Falls Cave. There, a
major tributary of Clark Creek runs out of a cave in the side of a cliff and
tumbles over a waterfall. At the base it
joins Clark Creek for its final run of waterfalls. I explored up into the cave by following the
creek and then a narrow, twisting passage.
At one point I thought I’d hit a dead end. However, it looked like I could crawl under
the wall in front of me. After a quick
wriggle I found myself back in the creek.
I was able to stand back up and walk upstream. After a short distance I reached the chamber
with the subterranean waterfall. I was
in complete darkness, and my attempts are photographing the falls were
laughable. That was ok though. It was a great experience to sit in the
darkness and listen to the roar of the water and feel the spray on my face.
I
exited the cave quickly, but carefully.
At the mouth you have to cross the brink of the waterfall and scramble
up wet rocks to regain the trail. I
hurried back and met Christy at the car at dusk. We drove straight back to the campground from
there. We enjoyed a roaring campfire and
a late dinner before falling asleep to the peaceful sound of the river rushing
by.
Continue reading about our trip as Christy goes mountain biking and I hike solo to Hemmed in Hollow Falls, the tallest waterfall in the midwestern U.S., and Big Bluff.
Back to Arkansas
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!