Today we did a grand total of 4 river miles: 2 in the morning and 2 in the later afternoon after a long hike.
Our hike today took us up Tapeats Creek and then onto Thunder River Falls. We made a few crossing of the clear blue Tapeats Creek, which felt great on such a hot day. There were a lot of huge cottonwood trees along Tapeats that thrive on its constant water flow. Another thriving plant was the prickly pear cactus. There were a ton of them, and they were huge. I couldn’t believe how enormous these thing were. The base of them looked like tree trunks. They were also producing a great amount of fruit. FYI, the fruit of a prickly pear is officially called a tuna.
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| Tapeats Creek | Prickly Pear (and their tuna) |
Once we left Tapeats and started following Thunder River the trail went up rather steeply through a lot of switchbacks. I could see the final waterfall in the distance and I didn’t think we’d ever make it up that high. Eventually we made it to the beautiful waterfall shooting out of the rock.
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| Thunder River Falls | Thunder River Falls |
One of the best parts about this hike was that my dad decided to go the whole way. He wasn’t sure if he could make it, but he at least wanted to make it partway. When Rob took a poll at the junction with Thunder River to see who was continuing, dad said he wanted to give it a try. Not only did he make it to the end, but he led the group up the last mile of the steep terrain and reached the waterfall first. I’m proud of him for deciding to give it a shot, and I’m even more happy that he made it. Out of 14 people on the trip only 5 made it.
Dad and I at Thunder River Falls
After the hike we motored for 2 miles and set up camp right across from Deer Creek Falls. From my campsite I have an awesome view of the huge falls. We’re doing a hike tomorrow over there but I haven’t decided if I’ll do it. I might like some down time, but I’ll have to hear about the hike some more before I make a decision.
The great view from my campsite
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