Past Activity

Spirit/Pinard/Moon Falls trifecta

Start date: 04/15/2018
Start time: 12:00 AM
End date: 04/15/2018
End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

Fun hike to three separate falls in close proximity to each other east of Cottage Grove. Trails may be muddy, slippery, and steep in several places. Good hiking boots and trekking poles recommended. The last few miles of driving are on back roads (gravel with potential for potholes & mud).

Event Leader: Kathy Randall
Event Leader Phone: 541-844-5916
Event Leader Email: katran23@comcast.net
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Trips
Area Type: Mountain
Departure Location: Lane Community College, parking lot nearest stoplight
Rating: Easy
Roundtrip total drive miles: 100
Season: 2018
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: Good boots for traction on slippery trails; trekking poles; rain gear depending on forecast; water; 'sack lunch'.
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance: 3.2
Member Fees: 1
Elevation Gain: 523
Non-Member Fees: 5
Committee: Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Waiting in the parking lot for everyone to arrive, serious thought was given to canceling this hike due to the very soggy, wet conditions. However, once everyone arrived we decided to head to our destination. First up was Spirit Falls. This trail turned out to be a wet, muddy, slippery mess! We chose to hike slowly rather than slip and fall on our backsides and eventually reached the falls, which was lovely. After returning to our cars, we next drove up the road another 3.4 miles to the Pinard Falls TH. The first part of this hike is on an old logging roadbed, so it wasn't as muddy as the first and was easier to circumnavigate the mud puddles. Pinard is a tall, thin waterfall that was dropping a lot of water over the cliff--impressive! There were places where water was running down the trail, so on the hike out we did a little trail enhancement by placing diversion rocks and trenching the water rivulets across the trail instead of down the trail. Lastly, we drove to the Moon Falls trailhead. This trail is mostly level, so wasn't nearly as muddy or wet as the first two. Moon Falls was absolutely spectacular!! It was dropping about twice the amount of water I've normally seen over it. Our group returned to the cars wet, but satisfied & looking forward to hot showers on our return. The weather & trail conditions made this hike considerably more strenuous than it would be normally. Despite that, our group managed to have a good time and enjoyed the waterfall trifecta.