Day 180- Burney Falls

Day 180, 10/5/14
1416 to 1433 (Screwdriver Creek)
17 miles

Entering Burney Falls State Park, I didn't know what to expect.  I'd been passing through the hot and dry country of the Hat Creek Rim, so the idea of a falls seemed far fetched.  Would there even be any water flowing?

When I got to the park, I turned off the PCT onto the Headwaters Trail.  At the bridge, the steambed lay completely dry.  Around the bend, there were a few pools, but no flow.

First pool.

Further down, a trickle of water was slowly gurgling over the rocks.  Then further still, the creek slowly but surely gathered strength.  The banks were lined with maples, their leaves changing color.

Yellows of the maples.

The falls itself was like nothing I'd ever seen- incredible beautiful!  Water was falling over the top but also streaming right out of the rock layers. A sign explained how the water of Burney Falls flows in underground stream channels all the way from Burney Mountain (which I could see from the Hat Creek Rim), and then encounters solid rock layers and so the water is forced to the surface.  So some of the water falling over the falls had collected in the headwaters stream, but some of it was streaming right out of the rocks over the falls. Totally cool! And so much water!

Burney Falls.

My parents met me at the visitor's center and it was much more fun to share the beauty of the falls with them.  They also brought my resupply box and second breakfast/ lunch.  It was a short visit, but I was so glad to see them.

Then I was on my way to start Section O, which I decided would be my last section of the PCT that I would do this year.  It was the start of the end.  But I didn't dwell on that.  Better to be in denial.  Better to be in the moment.