Beautiful Skies and cool temps made for a great start to our regular adventure even though we were slightly later then we were expected by the people meeting us at the trail head. Arrived in the parking lot and found a note on the car indicating that they went ahead on the trail and to call them, but to no avail, no cell service.
With 12 happy hikers and 3 mini happy hikers in tow we took the route that I usually take, following the improved trail all the way to the “falling Stairs” as I call them, since they are leaning and in need of repair. 
On the way we found the couple that had went ahead, making our group complete. As soon as we made the turn to the right, we could see an amazing display of the purple and gold clay that was exposed in the creek walls and creek bed. I made use of the colors and painted the not-so-trusting kids faces to resemble some sort of an Indian war paint. From this point we made a left, by choice of 8 year old Ian to see the first waterfall where we rescued a drowning butterfly and watched it fly away. From this point on, unknown to the adults, the kids led the trip and decided which way to go from there on out, at least they felt as though they were. With the late start and moving a little slower, we stopped for lunch at the second waterfall to enjoy Hub City Diner’s turkey and black bean salsa pitas. For desert we had homemade peanut butter cookies, which were especially yummy.
Retracing our steps to move on to the next waterfall, we followed the creek bed downstream to the next major water intersection and made a left, by choice on Lily this time. We ran across the normal trees to balance across or crawl on all four, if you are Chaney Ferguson . With 2 waterfalls down and 3.5 to go, everyone seemed to be enjoying the trip and ready for more. The .5 waterfall is an 8’ drop off in the creek, but everyone likes to stop and take pictures, so it seems worthy of some note.
Continuing through the waterfalls I noticed for the first time in a while that the improved trail is in need of some maintenance. The stairs don’t reach the bottom on one of the waterfalls, making it difficult for some to get back up and as I mentioned earlier the “Falling Stairs” will need some attention very soon. Of course this is nature and no structures should be needed, but it does allow for more people to come and appreciate Clark Creek that may not have been able to without the help.
With the Indians, butterfly rescuers, monkeys, crawlers, and trash men, we were done and again amazed of the beauty that is so close to us and so few know about. Please spread the word about this beautiful area to experience and to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but foot prints.
Also “leave” your signature at the Pond Store to show that you visited Clark Creek and help keep the park open.
MAKE LIFE WILD!
Here is the link to the rest of the photos from this trip: https://packpaddle.com/events-and-trips/recent-trips-photos/?album=WaterfallHikeFeb2012
-Kevin Wallis, Trip Leader