Barely 24 hours into my road trip, and I'd already seen four wonderful waterfalls! Now it was on Silverton and four more.
First up was Adrenaline Falls. It's reached by first driving two miles on an unimproved road, which after a mile was causing me to have second thoughts. Fortunately, I ran into a fly fisherman and asked if he thought I could make it. He looked at my car and said sure, he'd seen other folks drive the road in RAV4s. And he was right. The second mile actually proved smoother than the first, AllTrails identified the faint route on the side of the road, and a steep but short hike brought me to the falls.
Most of the adrenaline came from the drive. I did wonder if people ever kayaked over these falls, as they reminded me of the Devil's Punchbowl near Aspen.
The shore had several nice patches of Western Red Columbine, which I don't see often.
The next stop was unplanned, but right on the side of the road heading into Silverton were some lovely cascades. There was no sign, but a quick online search turned up the name Deadwood Gulch Cascades. I personally prefer the overcast scene on the left to the one in the bright sun on the right.
I didn't spend any time in Silverton, instead heading to the South Mineral Campground in search of South Mineral Falls. I thought I had see them from a distance on the drive in, but when I hiked around the area I instead found what turned out to be Clear Creek Falls (but a different Clear Creek than the first day).
That logjam is going to make for an interesting day for some campers when it finally gives way.
I don't know my fungus very well, but I liked the pattern these made on the tree trunk. Purplepore Bracket, according to iNaturalist.
The falls I'd seen on the drive in were farther away than I cared to walk. So I drove up my second unimproved road of the day to get close enough for a picture.
In hindsight, I should have bushwhacked up the hillside for a closer view. But after five waterfalls I'm sad to admit I was a little burnt out!
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