Shelburg Falls, Jun 21st

This weekend I wasn’t able to plan an epic hike to somewhere really difficult, exotic or strenuous. Part of it was because I was just returning from a work trip so I was pretty tired. Still, I needed some outdoor time so I chose the Shelburg Falls loop as it wasn’t that long or steep. Furthermore, the book I took the info from mentioned it was a great trail for cloudy weather that matched what the forecast said. This loop is very close to the very well known Silver Falls State Park. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t see a lot of people on the trail. Also, a good portion of this loop is on a private forest road which is not that interesting. The hike starts with a soft climb on the road towards the Lower Shelburg Falls which, if you don’t make a little detour, you don’t get to see. Basically the road goes over the creek with the fall on the right side of the road while the trail starts on the other side. I saw some rocks that gave me access to a lower view which was much better but still limited. On the other side of the creek I could see a possible way to descend a bit further so I tried that just to get a better picture. To make the long story short, it was very loose ground so I slipped and fell and rolled and landed at the base of the fall, fortunately unharmed and unscratched. I did get the pictures though. From there I started on the trail that goes through a dense forested area before getting to the highlight waterfall of the hike, Shelburg Falls. This waterfall, although it doesn’t have a lot of water is set in a spectacular rock formation that surrounds the base. The trail the goes behind the waterfall and comes on the other side just to continue towards the Shelburg Campground. From that point on the trail is just a walk in the forest on a far less visited trail with lots of flowers and Salmon Berries. Eventually you get back to the access road from where you can just walk out but looking at the map I noticed there was a third waterfall that required a small deviation. An almost invisible trail took me to the top of Stasel Falls which I found to be more interesting than Shelburg. Only problem is that I was at the very top of it and it didn’t seem to be a good way to get a descent look. After wondering around a bit, I decided to scramble and bushwhack my way down to the base of the waterfall. I’m glad I did as I was able to get to the very base of it just in time to take some pictures with the only sunshine I got the whole day. Stasel Fall, as you’ll see in the pictures, is a two stage waterfall that first dumps the water in a small pool before jumping out again to the lower section. I’m not sure if it was the angle or what but I was able to stand right in front of it without getting wet so I stayed there for a while enjoying the view and having a light snack before heading back. I guess it was just my luck that rain started a couple of minutes after I got in my car.