How I Spent My Summer, 2012 Part III--Travelogue: Lower Mesa Falls

Brink of the falls, Lower Mesa Falls

On June 16th, 2012, Chimene and I went to a retirement party for one of my colleagues up in West Yellowstone, Montana.  We decided to leave early and take the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.  We had been to Mesa Falls many times, but this time we noticed a trail to the brink of Lower Mesa Falls.  In some of the travel literature we have, I saw a close up picture of the Lower Falls and we decided we had to hike it.  I couldn't find much literature on hiking trails in the area, but I did find a link that talked about scrambling down the talus slope to the river and a great view of the falls.  That's the route I decided to take.

Talus Slope at Lower Mesa Falls

Our party included Chimene (my wife), my sons Haydn and Garrett and me.  On the way, we stopped at one of the scenic overlooks to view the Teton range.  At many places in the snake river plain the Teton mountains are visible.  This is a beautiful spot to see them from.  While we were there, we came across several different species of wildflowers, some of which we had never seen before.

The Teton Range from the scenic overlook

Wild Sweet Pea

Fireweed

Possibly Payette Beardtongue

When we got to the Lower Falls, Chimene discovered that she had not brought along her hiking shoes and only had sandals.  So the overlook for Lower Mesa Falls was as far as she went.  The rest of the time she spent reading in the car while Haydn, Garrett and I scrambled down the scree slope.

Chimene's only pic of the day

The hike consisted of a scramble down about 500 feet of boulders with a few stands of trees in the middle.  It was tough going.  Some of the boulders weighed in excess of a ton.  The pitch was up to 60 degrees in some places but settled to around 45 degrees in others.  By the time we got to the bottom, I decided I was going to find a different way up.  All the way down and back up, Garrett and I feasted upon wild raspberries that we found in the canyon.  They tasted like raspberries, but were slightly more tart than the domesticated ones.

Haydn and Garrett on the scree to show scale.  Note the pitch at around 40 degrees

Looking up the scree pile.  Daunting

Life will always find a way

A grove of trees in the middle of the scree pile

Wild raspberries

After we exited from the small grove, we came upon our first view of the Lower Mesa Falls.  It was magnificent.  There is a basalt tower that is a remnant of an earlier falls at the location.  The falls are steadily moving upstream.  We saw evidence of at least two other falls systems while we were on the trail. 

Haydn and Garrett wanted to go all the way to the river's edge and I felt it would be more practical to skirt alongside the talus at the level of the falls until we got to the brink.  They visited the river and I cut a trail to the falls through the boulders.  We met up about a hundred yards from the falls where we picked up a real trail.  When we got to the falls, they did not disappoint.  The Upper Falls is wide and a single sheer drop and is impressive in it's own way.  The lower falls, however is a tiered waterfall that shoots through a narrow canyon over three distinct levels.  The Lower Falls drops about 65 feet in total.  The trail went right to the brink of the falls.  It was magnificent and the sheer power of it was incredible.

Our first view of the falls after exiting the grove.  Note the sun shining through the mist from the falls

Haydn and Garrett at the river

Another view of the falls with the basalt tower visible

The basalt tower from the trail

The falls from the trail

The first tier of the falls

A deep hole I would not want to kayak through

Pretty little grotto on the side of the falls

Possibly my favorite picture of the day.  Complimentary colors of yellow and purple with Goldenrod and Fireweed at the edge of the waterfall

None of us wanted to climb out the way we had come down the canyon so I opted for another trail.  We skirted along the columnar jointed basalt until we found a notch we could climb up the cliff.  There was a plateau there that gave another view of the falls but more interestingly it showed at least two previos extint channels the falls used to follow.  I found a jeep/horse trail that gave access to a few backcountry camping spots and we followed it for awhile.  It became clear to me that it exited at the Upper Falls campground which was a mile away from where we wanted to be.  What I learned though was it is an easier trail than the one we went down and the one we went up.

We backtracked and cut across the plateau to a much gentler incline up the scree pile than the one we came down and made our way up to the top.  We emerged right in front of our car in the parking area.  This was a rigorous hike across the boulder field, and one that I'd like to do again, but when I'm in a little better shape.  The boys liked it and we had a fun time together.  This was well worth it.  I recommend this hike.

The boys climbing out

The falls from the plateau, also showing the ancient course of the river and waterfall

The river valley from the plateau on the way out of the canyon

How I Spent My Spring--Travelogue: Part V Mesa Falls

Me and the Hot Chick overlooking Lower Mesa Falls

On June 16th, the theatre department held a retirement party for Susan Whitfield up in West Yellowstone, Montana.  Susan has been the costume designer and a faculty member at Ricks College and Brigham Young University-Idaho for forty-one years.  She has been a mentor, a friend, a colleague and an inspiration to me.  We honored her with an exhibit in the Spori Gallery this semester.  I blogged about it and you can read about it Here.

Chimene and I decided to leave a little early and take the scenic route up to West Yellowstone, via the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway.  Mesa Falls is a two waterfall system on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River.  They are both very beautiful and well worth the visit.  The byway begins in the town of Ashton, Idaho and winds it's way down past Warm River and up the side of the Island Park Caldera.  Along the way there are a few stops that offer beautiful vistas over deep canyons and views of the distant Teton Range.

The Teton Range in the background

Bear Gulch scenic overlook

Along the way, there are several trails that we didn't have time to take, but made note of them for a future excursion.  The next major stop was Lower Mesa Falls.  Lower Mesa Falls drops 65 feet over several tiers through a narrow gorge.  Even from the rim of the canyon, you can hear the thunder of the falls.  Along the canyon wall, there is an area of talus that should be navigable if one wished to climb down.  I may some day to reach the base of the falls trail.

Lower Mesa Falls from the observation area

Talus slope

About a mile upstream from the lower falls is Upper Mesa Falls.  At this parking lot, there is a five dollar day use fee.  Cheap at twice the price.  Five dollars is well worth the price of admission here.  From the parking area there is a paved trail that descends to the brink of the falls and at some point becomes boardwalk.  There are several flights of stairs along this path.  Thick green vegetation is abundant on both sides of the trail and it almost has the feel of a rainforest.

Vegetation along the canyon trail

More vegetation

As you descend into the canyon, every now and then you can see glimpses of the falls.  Upper Mesa Falls drops 114 feet and is 200 feet wide.  This is an impressive falls and not an insignificant amount of water flows over it.  Upper Mesa Falls is also the only major falls on the Snake River that hasn't been co-opted for hydroelectric power or irrigation.  It is pristine and beautiful.

The boardwalk takes you to the brink of the falls, then continues downstream along the canyon wall with frequent overlooks to give entirely different views of the magnificent falls.  The spray from this falls has created a micro climate on the far wall of the canyon, which is very much like a rainforest.

Brink of the falls from the canyon trail

The brink of the falls from the first overlook

Mesa Falls from the second overlook

The Hot Chick at the second overlook

Eroded rock pillar in the canyon, downstream of the falls

Micro climate on the far side of the canyon

Layers of columnar jointed basalt on the canyon wall

There is an historic lodge near the parking lot that is over a hundred years old and has been restored.  It is now a museum and visitor's center.  One of the exhibits is a very unique petting zoo.  They have pelts of many of the animals from the area that were trapped and hunted during the fur trade and they encourage patrons to touch.  It's quite interesting.

The historic lodge

A very odd petting zoo

What could be better than a wall of skulls?

"Y'all come back now, y'hear?"

We ate at an ethnic Spanish restaurant in West Yellowstone.  I can't remember the name, but it is now my favorite restaurant there.  The food was very flavorful and many of the menu items were naturally gluten free.  Not only that, but the price was right.  Very reasonable, affordable in a town that is neither reasonable nor affordable in most cases.  After dinner, we caught a show at The Playmill Theatre, my Dad's old business.  We saw  "The Drowsy Chaperone."  It was a good show and very enjoyable. 

The Playmill Theatre

My Dad often said, "The secret to a happy life is to create beautiful memories."  This was one of those.