We followed it toward the falls and, after circumnavigating a couple of sketchy washouts, arrived at the base of the falls. At this point the rain had really picked up, and I had to hold my jacket over my camera. The falls is shaped like Linton Falls, bending to the left so that only the bottom few tiers can be seen from the base.
We were so fed up with vine maple that we decided to take the trail a ways and hope it led up to the road. We followed it for nearly a mile, and after crossing lots of downed trees and steep slopes, it led to the Forest Service's Rainbow Falls Viewpoint. It was so foggy that we couldn't see the falls.
We followed the trail for a mile and a half back to the road, and walked it back to the car. By this time we were drenched to the bone, along with our packs, everything in them and my camera, which thankfully still works. For anyone who wants to visit the falls, take the Rainbow Falls Viewpoint Trail to the viewpoint and look for the user trail on the far side of some logs. Follow this for a mile to the base of the falls.
Our GPS track:
