4/19/2015

Devil’s Staircase: A bushwhack from Hell.

A year or two ago, I saw a brochure from the conservation group Oregon Wild with a photo of a terraced waterfall I did not recognize. So I turned to Google read up on this Devil’s Staircase. There was very limited information, but all sources seemed to agree: it’s in really remote dense old growth forest with no trail and steep terrain, navigation is difficult, and a disclaimer along the lines of “we won’t tell you where it is because we don’t want to be responsible for you going out and getting into trouble trying to find it.” Obviously, this was immediately added to my list.

So this past weekend Speedbump (PCT 2011) decided to go try to find the falls, and through the magic off social media, I ended up joining in at the last minute along with Condor (Kolby Kirk), and two of Speedbump’s Bend friends.  Thankfully, we were armed with promising information – a trip report and maps from Ancil Nance.  His info turned out to be spot on.

We camped at the end of the road, about 2 miles from the falls as the crow flies. I got to play around with my new camera and eat s’mores. Off to a good start!

 

In the morning we started walking considerably later than we’d discussed the night before, about 8:30am.  The first 3/4 of the route follows a ridgeline.  The forest is still quite thick though, so it takes good navigational awareness and vigilance to stay on course. While it’s not a “trail” in the conventional sense, there is certainly a path of less resistance from use and even some flagging.  For those experienced in off-trail travel, it’s pretty obvious.  However, this path is still easy to lose and certainly difficult travel – constant pushing through shrubs, hopping logs, duck walking and even bear crawling at times.

 

Here is a little video of some typical ridge “trail”:

We actually continued on the ridge to a saddle past where Ancil’s directions told us to head northwest down to the falls, simply because that path of less resistance continued and we wanted to stay on it as long as we could.  In retrospect, we should’ve followed Ancil’s advice.  No matter which way you go down from the ridge, it is steep and there is no discernible use path like on the ridge (at least not that we could find), but the way we went put us in a ravine, where the wet soil easily slid out from underfoot.  We got back on track and took the northwest ridge down to Wassen creek, popping out of the woods at the top of the falls.

 

The rock in this area is full of potholes, and in the still pools of water by the sides of the creek tons of western newts were very busy mating.  It was disgusting.

 

We downclimbed the falls to get a view from the bottom – it is very steep on both sides of the falls and we didn’t want to fight back through the forest to try to find a way down. After a bunch  of photos and slopping around in the water we needed to get on our way back.  It was already after 2:00pm.

One of our group members was already feeling pretty tired at this point, and really struggled on the way back with leg cramps and dizziness – this hike is serious!!  We made it out just before sunset.

 

Overall, I thought the hike was fun from an adventure standpoint.  The waterfall is a wonderful site to behold, but mostly because you’ve earned it. It was a lot of work, and quite frankly, I don’t think a lot of people would find it fun.

Drop-N-Roll’s tips for hiking to Devil’s Staircase waterfall:

1. The drive to the trailhead (at least to the P on the map below) is easily accessible by passenger cars, and Google will direct you there just fine.
2. Wear long sleeves and long pants, preferably a woven fabric that won’t snag on thorny things. Gaiters are also a good idea.
3. Leather or sturdy work gloves would be very helpful for pushing thorny things out of the way.  Also, don’t bother with trekking poles as you’ll need your hands constantly.
5. Despite all the dire warnings on the interwebz to the contrary, my iPhone GPS worked just fine the entire time, as did Condor’s Garmin GPS. But definitely also bring a map and compass (and know how to use them), and keep aware of where you are at all times.
6. Get an early start and bring a headlamp.
7. Be realistic about your abilities and pace.  If you are struggling and making poor time  on the ridgeline, think twice about descending.

 

Print this map or export the waypoints at Caltopo.com