Siouxon Creek to Wildcat Falls, Jun 18th

Siouxon is always a pleasant and easy hike with some pretty scenery. A couple of years ago I backpacked there for three days and noticed at the time the creek running extremely low. So, low that we could get on the creek and walk upstream and discover some nice small canyons with no issues at all. The plan for this hike was to go up to the Wildcat waterfall and then come back and ford Siouxon creek to get back on the main trail doing a lollipop loop. That idea changed quickly when we got there and hiked down to the creek. This time, contrary to the last couple of years, the creek was running pretty full. We even made a stop on the point you get out of the creek if you decide to cross and gauged that it might have been at least 3 feet deep and running fast. Right there we were certain we were not crossing; it was just asking for trouble. That didn’t change the plans to go to the waterfall as we had the alternative to retrace our steps to return to the car. Along the way we enjoyed all the waterfalls and scenery and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of water coming down Horseshoe Creek.

The waterfall you see on the left before the bridge or after was just incredible. Further up, just before the bridge over Siouxon, there’s a pass over a seasonal creek that runs over the trail. I do recall in previous years being quite a challenge as the rocks get slippery. Last couple of years this section was bone dry so it was easy to pass. This time it was running hard so we had to use a log and some rocks to get safely to the other side. From there we continued on the side trail until we reached the wildcat trail which we took going uphill. WE just went as far as the lower waterfall viewpoint. I don’t think I have ever seen Wildcat falls running so high and being so beautiful. With Mark, we managed to climb down the side to the base. My idea was to take a long exposure of the bottom but the spray was so strong that I wasn’t even able to setup the camera so no pictures from down there. After a quick bite, we retraced our steps all the way to thrailhead without even considering the possibility of fording the creek.


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