Bushwhack
Member
The route to Hawthorne Falls going uphill is, as far as I can tell, now completely free of snow. I went up there saturday afternoon (5/23/15) after sitting through a long graduation ceremony, and had a grand ol' time. A little wet and squishy, but that is too be expected for such a hike. The river levels are low enough that rock-hopping your way up to the falls is a possibility right now, but as a consequence of this, the flow is not that great over the falls. As of right now, it is relatively easy to get to the falls!
The approach from the ridge is a snapped ankle waiting to happen right now, with moss and chunks of humus sliding all over the place on top of tricky, angled boulders. I went up it, and it took more time to get from the falls to the ridge than from the trail to the falls in the first place, despite the close proximity of the falls to the ridge. I would not recommend hiking the ridge-falls route without a partner until it dries out more, as a search/rescue up there would be mighty tricky business.
I highly recommend lunch and a nap on the big slide/waterfall about halfway up the bushwhack portion of the trail.
The approach from the ridge is a snapped ankle waiting to happen right now, with moss and chunks of humus sliding all over the place on top of tricky, angled boulders. I went up it, and it took more time to get from the falls to the ridge than from the trail to the falls in the first place, despite the close proximity of the falls to the ridge. I would not recommend hiking the ridge-falls route without a partner until it dries out more, as a search/rescue up there would be mighty tricky business.
I highly recommend lunch and a nap on the big slide/waterfall about halfway up the bushwhack portion of the trail.
