McCloud Middle Falls

Have you ever seen a picture online that was so beautiful that you wondered if it was real? Well, my friends, this is one of those places and you can visit for real.

McCloud Falls are in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It's a bit of a drive but easy to get to with lots of signs directing you where to go. There is ample parking in a paved lot with a small restroom. The park opens at 8:00 am and I was the first one there with a warm greeting from the squirrels looking for their breakfast and the sun breaking through the clouds.

The trail is clearly marked and very flat at the beginning; definitely wheelchair accessible. I followed the paved path to the first viewpoint and was awestruck. Sunglasses off, tears in my eyes, it was all I could do to breathe. I was not prepared for the view in any way. This was a full stop moment as I looked down at the creek and the massive waterfall and then scanned up to the tops of the pines that were at eye level. No photos could do it justice. The second viewpoint was slightly lower and offered a better view of the falls and a peek at the mountains to the right.

From the second viewpoint I followed the path to the left. It was right along the edge of the cliff and had what seemed to be a pretty sturdy railing. No, I didn't check it, just in case it wasn't. After a minute I realized that I was going uphill, when my destination was down. I checked my map and it turns out I had gone the wrong way. Of course I did, because...directions.

Following the correct path downhill, I passed by an interpretive sign describing the area. It turns out that the terrain I was walking through was created by basalt lava flows from Mt. Shasta layered with mudflows. The opposite side was created by the ocean floor sliding beneath the continent. These two events formed the river's path and the canyon that the McCloud River flows through.

As I continued toward the falls, it was very apparent which rocks were from lava. The black, porous boulders were stacked precariously in some areas like round Jenga pieces. It baffles me how these massive rocks can look like they are ready to topple over but are actually quite immovable.

Pondering the fact that I was walking in a space where lava once flowed freely, and also trying to look up at the trees that were once eye-level while simultaneously trying not to trip over the rocks jutting out of the path (this is why we pause, friends), I came upon my first good sighting of the waterfall through the trees. As much as I like to stop and take in the view, I was determined to get to the bottom. So I increased the pace, paid attention to the ground, and whispered "thank you" to the trees providing me shade as I passed them by.

Worth it. Every step. This place is magic, and I had it all to myself. So I sat down on a rock and tried to take it all in; the history, the strength, the life, the energy.

An impossible feat.

My soul was full as I started back up the hill with a smile on my face. It's much easier to look up when you are walking uphill rather than down, and I was in such a rush to get to the waterfall earlier, I made sure to stop a few times when the Mother Nature spoke to me. She even sent one of her little critters to pose for a picture.

Arriving back at the top, I was really looking forward to making use of the bench and following the advice from the interpretive sign I had seen earlier:

"Allow yourself to linger here in this place where time stands still and beauty reigns."

As I stood to leave, I knew I would be back, in the near future, and probably many, many times after that.