Deuel Creek – South

 

I chose today's hike because after our grueling adventure up Davis Creek last week, we wanted to do something short and easy. Last time we hiked here we took the Deuel Creek North Trailhead and it was miserable, but we came down the south end and I thought that route would be easier.

To get here, take exit 319 in Centerville east towards the mountains. Turn right on 400 east, then left on 100 S take that all the way to the end and park. Or, if your vehicle can make it up a steep dirt road, turn right, go up the hill, and turn left the trail head is here. If your vehicle can’t handle the dirt road, not a big deal but will add about .2 miles to the hike. (if you notice the thin trail, otherwise a bit more to follow the road) I didn’t see this on the way up, but took it down. Start climbing the dirt rd, a little ways up you will see a small fenced turnout for some utility. Climb up into the foothills and you should eventually see a trail that will take you directly to the trail head. Again, if you miss it, following the dirt road isn’t a big deal.

Now, on to the hike!

Climbing the dirt road already offers a pretty nice view.

Rocky hillside.

Marked trail head. Now according to the map it is only about .65 miles. Not that bad.

Loads of wildflowers.

The beginning of the trail is fairly flat, but pretty high up a steep canyon slope, so no pictures, but here is where it starts to get a little easier to handle. (have I mentioned I’m not good with heights?) Also you can see the cool old pipe line the trail follows for little while.

And pretty quickly you enter the forest where the canyon bottom has risen to the level you are at, so its not as steep.

And here we met the creek. I think my favorite part of the trail is from here on out, you never stray far from the creek and the wonderful sound of it accompanies you throughout the hike.

Strange dam. Probably has something to do with the pipe. I am pretty sure you don’t see it after this point.

Random, totally out of place flowering tree.

And the first of many bridges. I stumbled upon the blog of a passionate volunteer citizen who claims responsibility for building them. If it is true, thank you kind sir!

View from the bridge.

I noticed quite a few side springs feeding the creek. Not sure if they are year round, or just during run-off season.

It was about this cool rock cropping that we took the small side trail down from the north trail to the south trail last time.

The creek is pretty here. Towards the top you will see bridge number 2.

I really like the rock, it reminds me a little of El Capitan. It should have a name.

View from the bridge.

Tree growing out of rock, and a first glimpse of the small waterfall. This is probably the most difficult part of the entire trail, you have to climb up these rocks for a short while above the waterfall. It’s not that bad though.

It is a little tough to see the waterfall. Last time we were here the water flow was quite a bit less so we waded in the stream to get a better view. Today we didn’t feel like getting in it.

Nice little pool.

Here it is from the top. Looks like a fun waterslide!

View upstream.

Thin canyon through this rocky part.

Bridge number 3. Last time we hiked this trail there was a swarm of hornets at the other end and rather than piss them off, and not thinking there was much more to the trail we turned around.  Today we ventured on!

View upstream.

Like I said, the trail stays near the stream.

Log waterfall.

Fun cascades.

View up the canyon.

Twin springs.

Getting really foresty and pretty now.

Not a great shot, but I believe this is the 1st campsite and would also be my number 1 choice to camp in. It is the only one slightly off of the trail (you’d have to cross the creek to get to it). So the other hikers passing through would not be so much of an issue.

Bridge number 4.

The 2nd campsite. There are probably a good 5 or 6 up this trail.

Bridge number 5. I’m glad I decided to take pictures of the bridges because I totally lost count on both the way up, and down.

Another view up the canyon.

Pretty black butterfly.

Someone has added stepping stones to most of the muddy sections. Again, whoever you are, thanks!

Random dam.

Bridge number 6. This one is cool because…

Just above it is a spring, which someone has fitted with a pipe to make it easy to refill your canteen. Personally, I would still run it through a filtration system before drinking it.

I am really digging this hike! It it just gorgeous!

A cave?

Nope, just an alcove. Nice place to have a fire though.

Just in front of it lies bridge number 7. It was about here that I began suspecting that we have hiked more than .65 miles, so I made a mental note to turn on my pedometer app on the return trip.

Another shot of the canyon above.

Really pretty trail.

Bridge number 8.

Little side stream.

Water and moss.

Another nice campsite.

I love the red plants. I don’t know what they are, but they are pretty.

A couple more shots of the creek.

Mossy rock.

Bridge number 9. This one is a little thinner and shifty. Watch your step.

View up.

Another couple shot of the canyon side.

Bridge number 10. They are definitely getting thinner and thinner.

And we are starting to hit some snow.

Itty bitty little cascade. About here I started to think/hope that there had to be a waterfall somewhere along this trail, even though none of the trail guides I read had not mentioned one.

I really love this trail. I can’t think of another long hike that followed a stream the entire way up locally. It reminds me of some of the gorge hikes we have done in Oregon, but not quite as pretty.

I knew it! Hooray!

A little side trail takes you down to the base of the waterfall, where we find bridge number 11. Of course, this bridge isn’t on the main trail, so should I include it in my bridge count? Nah, we’ll call it waterfall view bridge. This one in particular really shifted on me while I crossed it, so watch your step here.

It is not particularly huge, I would guess maybe 20 feet for the main fall, and another 15 for the cascades below.

There is an additional split in the trail that will take you right up to it.

Small cave behind it, and the cool little terraces.

View down the canyon.

Landis risked the slippery rocks to get in close.

I like how it kind of bursts over the edge, instead of simply falling over it.

View from below again.

There is a campsite right at the top of the falls. I might picnic here, but I couldn’t camp here. I’d be too worried about getting up in the middle of the night to pee and falling off a cliff. o.O

View from the top.

A little upstream looking at where the stream just disappears. According to my pedometer app, the waterfall is a little under 2 miles from the trail head. But the trail continued, and I was enjoying it so much that we decided to continue up a little further.

Mossy rock, and some snow.

Another twin set of streams, this was the prettier of the 2.

The other one.

Shot up the canyon. It was getting late and I decided that we would do another 15 minutes, or until the trail got too difficult.

Just a couple steps further and there was a steep section covered in snow. Okay, we will turn back now. We hiked just under another .2 miles past the waterfall.

Another shot of the trail

Back to the waterfall.

I should have taken a shot on the way up, but on the way down I thought to grab one of the helpful dug in steps for this short steep section.

Hillsides above.

Someone also cut the log out of the way.

More creek shots.

It’s easy enough to duck under this log.

Nice and green.

Another campsite. I like that there are campsites, but all but one are right on the trail. So, other hikers tromp right through it, which I would not be okay with. This one is a little better than most as the main trail is above it, rather than through it. Probably my 2nd choice as it is slightly off trail.

Rock dam.

On the way up a group was here, they seem to have left but the campfire is still smoldering. Debated whether or not to snuff it out, because what if they just went to explore? Ultimately it was barely smoldering and it is very well contained so I left it on the off chance that they were still around.

Back to the little alcove.

Back to the random dam.

There is another campsite just below it. I didn’t get a picture on the way up due to a couple resting here. This is what I am talking about with the trail going right through most of the campsites. I think this is where the north trail joins the south trail. You can also see a random rope swing here.

Awfully high up. I don’t trust if it was set up properly and was not willing to give it a go.

Small cascade.

More hillside.

Pretty shots of the trail.

Steep section.

View down the canyon.

Tree island.

Small cascades below bridge number 2

More wildflowers.

Random flag on a peak above.

Another couple shots of the trail.

Approaching the lower waterfall.

Shot from below.

More shots of the pipeline.

A storm approaching.

A look back at the worst part of the trail. Rather steep, and had a landslide. It was traversable but a little on the scary side.

More wildflowers.

Yea, so I am not sure where this map ends, but we definitely hiked more than .65 miles. I think they need to update the sign.

So from the .18 miles I did past the waterfall, down to where we parked the truck near the bottom of the dirt road it is 2.097 miles.

View up from the parking lot.

And the thin trail we found down to where we parked offered this nice shot of the flowers growing around this stand of trees.

Last time I was here, after much back and forth I gave it an 8. Today I am going to give it a perfect 10. It was a beautiful hike that followed the stream the whole way up and ended with a gorgeous waterfall. Loads of wildflowers and plenty of spots to stop and have a picnic, or camp if desired. Plus we only passed a few scarce groups of people. I think this is definitely my new favorite local hike and will probably get a return trip or two.

As for difficulty, I am going to go with a DR3. It was mostly flat, with slight elevation gains. As I mentioned the beginning is pretty high up and sketchy, and there are a few boulder scrambling spots, but overall it was fairly easy going, lovely walk in the woods. The multiple bridges really help to make it a pleasant experience as well.