Eats, Writes, and Leaves

…a dustball. And I transformed Eric into a whimpering heap of fatigue.

The 2ish-mile scenic plod out to Mossbrae Falls is not an easy stroll down a paved State Park path. Instead, sentenced to the fate every travel writer fears most, I used the directions in Moon California to find an unmarked patch of dirt beside the railroad tracks running beside the Sacramento River. This is the “trail head.” I probably should have photographed it. Live and learn.

That’s Mt. Shasta in the distance

The path to Mossbrae Falls runs on the active Union Pacific rail line. For real. Do not, not, not, bring small (hike’s too long) or ill-behaved large children of any age on this trek. Keep your ears and eyes open at all times. Trains travel this line every day. More on that later.

At least the “trail” is flat. It has to be–freight trains don’t react well to bumps.

We plodded across the bedrock in the hot sun, marveling at the tenacity of blackberry brambles and Douglas fir trees.

Doesn’t this look like fun?

Two miles hence, we find what we think is the “path” down to the river and the waterfalls. We basically slide down the side of the railroad trestle on our butts. Mercifully, we found the real (much gentler) trail for the climb back up later.

Was all this work worth our while? Yes.

I climbed a rock! Maybe I’ve got a future as a travel writer after all.

I couldn’t get over Mossbrae Falls. So gorgeous! I didn’t want to leave.

But I had to go eventually. Remember those trains I mentioned earlier? Here’s one of them.

No, I did not tighten the angle on the lens of my camera.

Having survived the freight train, on the way back to Redding I convinced Eric to stop at my all-time er…favorite…restroom ever.

It’s in Pollard Flat. Which is the working title of the horror movie I’m co-writing with Daymon.

To conclude: my directions to Mossbrae Falls, and my description of those falls in my guidebook, are accurate. Take that, you stinkin’ petard!