Trestle Creek Falls & Parker Falls
March 4, 2003
This is the first of many waterfalls hikes on the schedule this year. Special thanks go to Kathy and Stewart for leading the group down to Cottage Grove from Eugene, thus saving me many miles of driving.
We started from the Lund Park Campground, proceeding east on the Brice Creek trail. First falls visited was the Upper Trestle Creek falls. It was as I remember it from my first visit about four years ago—not only was there plenty of water going over the falls, but, as the day was a bit drizzly, rivulets were coming down everywhere around the cirque. After taking in our fill of the Upper Falls, we continued our clockwise loop, stopping for lunch at the usual spot where Trestle Creek enters Brice Creek. We then made the short side trip up to drink in the Lower Trestle falls.
After returning to the cars at Lund Park, we drove four miles further up Brice Creek to the Parker Falls trailhead. A short, ½ mile trek brought us to the lower falls, where everyone was duly impressed by the double, parallel falls, and the smaller cascades and pools below the trail. At that point, three decided that the six miles, and 1400 ft. of elevation gain was enough for them, so the ambled on back to the cars. The other seven continued on up to the upper falls, a less impressive cascade over a sloping rock, but on the way catching further views of the lower falls as we circled around them.
The ten fallers were: Max Brown, Rob Castleberry, Sabine Dutoit, Kathy and Stewart Hoeg, Joe Neal, Dorothy and John Stevens, Chuck Wagar and Wayne Deeter, lead faller.
Group at the bridge over Trestle Creek
Upper Trestle Falls (Click on image for larger picture)
Lower Parker Falls
—photos by Joe Neal