Upper Whitewater Falls (base hike)
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Upper Whitewater Falls Base Hike Route Map
The approximate route of my hike to the base of Upper Whitewater Falls as depicted a la Google Earth...
Foothills Trail Trailhead - Highway 281
The trailhead I'd be using on this hike is located just south of the Whitewater Falls Recreation Area access road.
The path began its descent right away, twisting its way through the forest...
A nice little bridge makes crossing this ravine easier...
Before long I passed the access trail to the Whitewater Falls parking area...
Rhododendron maximum
Things get a bit steeper about a half mile in...
Cutting through the greenery...
Winding along the steep upper slopes of the river gorge...
Foothills-Whitewater Falls Trail Junction
A bit over 3/4 of a mile in I reached the spur path up to the Whitewater Falls Overlook. I decided I'd make the quick trip up to have a look at the falls from above before heading down to the river...
Tunneling beneath the rhododendron...
Stairs...lots of them...
Before too long I reached the overlook...
Whitewater Falls...411-feet of awesomeness...it never disappoints...
Zooming in on the bottom drop. If everything would go as planned I'd soon be standing atop one of those rocks down there...
Well, time to get down to the river...
Back on the Foothills Trail I resumed my descent into the gorge...
Looking into the treetops...
The trail gets quite steep below the spur trail to the observation deck. A series of quick switchbacks helped out a bit...
Cutting along the side of the ridge...
Things began to flatten out a bit and the sound of water was getting louder...
Before long the river appeared just ahead...
Foothills Trail - Whitewater River Crossing
The path pulls alongside the Whitewater River among a tangle of huge boulders...
Foothills Trail - Whitewater River Crossing
Looking down on the footbridge which takes the trail across the river...