Still Snow on Benson Plateau

[chameleon]

I had a very fun hike up the Ruckel Creek trail today. The trail for the most part is snow free until you get toward the top where that pesky snow remains. I turned around once I began to post-hole a bit. I was more into enjoying the sun today than slogging up through melting snow. Here is what it looked like when I turned around - probably @200 vertical feet below Benson Plateau:

There were still some neat ice formations along the trail:

The ice encrusting needles was beautiful - hard to capture with a camera, but spectacular in person:

On the way down, I took a moment to look down the gigantic bluff along the trail. I would guess it at @ 1,000ft? I threw a rock - around 8 seconds to hit the talus below. Quite a view.

Once I got down the switchbacks, I decided to check out the neat slot canyon on Ruckel again, what I call the "Cedar Slot."

This is looking up at the beginning of the slot.

At this point, the slot gets fun - the first small obstacle is a slick 7 foot waterfall, with a tricky wet log that you don't want to bonk your head on. Here's looking down towards it:

Here is a look up at it from below:

Here is another view looking up-stream from just a short ways below:

Just below this is the 6 ft waterfall I've documented in a former thread (so I didn't get another pic of it today). After this is the beautiful spot above the 15ft lower ruckel creek falls. I investigated the ledge above the falls and yep, found a way down that doesn't need a rope. The ledge is actually not that narrow, but if you did slip, you could tumble down 30 feet. It does however, provide you a way to get up or down the canyon at stream level all the way to middle ruckel creek falls (providing you don't mind getting wet and climbing up 6 and 7 foot waterfalls. Once down below, I had to get yet another pic of the 15 ft lower ruckel creek falls:

Once down to the road, the sun had set, but I couldn't pass up a parting shot along the road before I got back. The stars were coming out and it was beautiful!

Overall, what a great day in the gorge!
-Zach

[jaimito]

Great shots again Zach… Man don't you work. Making me Jealous. I love that slot area by the lower falls, you've seen this photo of Andy and I before, but I think it helps add some scale to the slot canyon.

Cheers / Jamie

[chameleon]

Thanks for posting that pic again Jamie! It does help to give the slot perspective. Looking at my pic's one might think 7 ft waterfall?...that looks more like 3. lol It helps to have someone in the pic. I'm hoping if we have solid weather in the next couple weeks to do the whole canyon. I don't know that I'd say it's likely, but I think there is a possibility of yet one more waterfall - @ the 2,000 ft. point....