Monday, May 30, 2016

Rocky Mouth Falls - Runoff!


Rocky Mouth Falls is a great short trail leading to a fantastic waterfall set in a recessed cliff. It is a bit on the strait UP side in the way of hiking, but at less than a half mile, it is totally doable, and worth it. I would say about 1/3rd of it is hiking through a neighborhood (can’t park at the trailhead) 1/3rd going UP and 1/3rd easy going (approximately). We actually just did this one about a month ago, but I have been wanting to see this waterfall at the full force I remember as a kid, and have not had good luck, probably because I usually do this one early in the year. Not to mention the kind of weak winters we have been having.

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Quick Details:

Length: About a half mile to the waterfall.
Difficulty: DR3 there is definitely some up on this trail but it’s short.
Elevation Gain: about 300 feet.
Restroom: No.
Dogs? Not allowed, posted. This is part of the watershed.
Extra Info: Closes at 9:00 PM. Also, it’s been years since they made this change, but in case you are not aware, you can no longer park on the street below the original trailhead. Now you must park just off of Wasatch, and hike through the neighborhood for a minute.

To get here, head towards 9400 S and Wasatch BLVD. Drive south down Wasatch for about 3 miles. You will see a church on the right side, and just south of that is the small trailhead parking lot on the left (east) side. 11250 S. Wasatch BLVD.

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The trail starts with 80 steps up to the street above. Landis decided to count.

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Once you hit the neighborhood you get a nice view of the canyon.

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Good to know.

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And then the trail goes up these steps for a bit.

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Before long it levels out and isn’t so rough.

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Ok, this is looking more like I remember!

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I am certain I have seen it with a lot more water than this, but this is definitely more than I have seen the last couple years so I am happy.

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Little bit of extended exposure.

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Just the lower section.

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From down the side.

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Looking down canyon, plus ALL the people. I usually tend to avoid the popular trails on Memorial Day Weekend, but I had to work today and after getting off early I thought I’d do this quick short one. Frankly I am surprised I got a few shots of the falls without people. Guess I got lucky.

The crowd was a bit much for us, so after getting a couple pictures we decided to head back down.

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Plants growing out of the cliff walls.

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Above the lower cascades.

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The waterfall and the lower cascades. And the tons of people. Oi.

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Long exposure of the lower cascades. This is why I came back.

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The greenery!

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Amazing little oasis here.

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Absolutely lovely down here.

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Decided to have Landis grab a shot of me down here.

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Wild thimbleberry. Like raspberry, but a lot more delicate so it is not typically cultivated.

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Beautiful down here.

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Mossy rock and smoky stream.

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More cascades.

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Pretty wildflowers.

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Back to the steps down.

This trail is special to me, I have been hiking it since I was a teenager. I was really happy to see the higher water levels today. Even with the extra neighborhood jaunt it is a great trail that is absolutely worth doing. And it is a great trail to do if you only have a little bit of time. Even with the big crowd today I am going with 10 out of 10 squirrels.

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As for difficulty, It definitely has a tough section, but the trail is only about a half mile so it really isn’t too bad.

Dogs are not allowed. This is part of our watershed.

Copy of dogsno

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