We started out at the  in Centerville. We sort of came across the trailhead by accident, because there was some type of construction or road work going on at the top of Parrish Lane.

Susan got a new book Tales, Trails and Sites of the Centerville Mountains and Melissa loves waterfalls so we decided to look for Barnard Creek Waterfalls. Somehow we totally missed the Barnard Creek Dam and waterfall on the way up. We were just a little too far South.

This plant was everywhere along the trail.  Anyone know what it is?

We’d been hiking quite awhile when we saw something back inside the short trees. Had there been leaves on them we might not have seen it at all.  Who hauled that all the way up here? N 40° 56.0206′ W 111° 51.7283′

It was around this time that two motorcycles came down a trail just to the North of us. A little farther and the trail we were on became the trail they were on only they had headed down the mountain and we were going up. There were several times we thought. How could you ride a motorcycle down this?

We kept hiking up the trail along Barnard Creek crossing it a few times. 

Eventually we passed the place where the motorcycles had turned onto the trail, but that was heading back down the mountain so we kept going up.

We found some logs that had been lashed together with some purple rope. It looked like maybe some scouts had used it for a shelter but it was in no condition to be used now. N 40° 56.2082′ W 111° 51.3538

The trail was pretty good, a little muddy in some places, and covered in snow in others.  After awhile we noticed tracks going up the trail, they weren’t even like steps, but the ground wasn’t really even either. Any guesses on what made this?  The print or hoof is about as big as my hand.

After about an hour we arrived at a big rock.  N 40° 56.2292′ W 111° 51.2975′ It was a nice place to rest.  After eating a snack and looking around we decided to head back down the mountain. All the while we were wondering if we’d totally missed the waterfalls because they were so small they seemed to be a regular part of the creek we were hiking along. 

When we came to the fork we decided to go North and head down the path the motorcycles had come up, just for something different. It was at the bottom of this trail where we finally saw the Barnard Creek Dam and waterfall. 

When we got home and looked at the book again we found out that the big rock was actually Monorock, a large monolithic rock that is over twelve feet high and twenty-five feet in length.

This was another great hike that we’d like to do again especially knowing that beyond the Monorock was the Upper/Ribbon Falls and Grotto.

(Well, it was the first hike for Melissa. The others went to a cave awhile ago.)

It was a warm day. The breeze from the wind blowing across the snow was nice.

We didn’t make it all the way to the waterfall. We’re a little out of shape at this point in the season and the snow made the hiking a little more difficult in places. Still it was great to spend a few hours out in the sun looking at the beauty of God’s creations.

The switchbacks at the beginning of the trail are always a tough climb. We marveled at those who had the stamina to run up this portion of the trail and felt a little envious of those riding horses.

Ahhh, Nature.

Sometime in the next few weeks we hope to hike the trail again and make it to the waterfall. We’ll see how the weather turns out. It’s seems strange to go from a day near 70′s to a day where it’s cold enough to snow, but that’s what the weather forecasters are saying.

Well, we’ve turned a new leaf. (Whatever that means.) Now we have a pass for the rec center and a little knowledge about how to use the weight machines. The real question is will we stick with it?