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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Hiking: Scablands waterfalls roar with runoff

Rock Creek, swollen with runoff, roars over Towell  Falls on the BLM's Escure Ranch area on Feb. 25, 2017 (Mike Miller)
Rock Creek, swollen with runoff, roars over Towell Falls on the BLM's Escure Ranch area on Feb. 25, 2017 (Mike Miller)

HIKING -- Snowmelt pouring off the scablands provided a treat for hikers exploring BLM's Escure Ranch in the Rock Creek Recreation area south of Sprague on Saturday.  (See map.)

Here's a report from Mike Miller:

Towell Falls was in excellent shape Saturday, 25 February 2017.  The highest water I've seen since I started hiking there.  Snapshot is a distant panoramic view from high on the hills above the falls, to show the overall conditions.  Water was too high to hike to the big falls on the main branch of Rock Creek from the east side trail.  It would be necessary to hike down the west-side trails in order to access the main falls.

The east side trail was muddy in places, difficult hiking, especially at about the halfway mark.

I only saw a couple of small, cold-looking buttercups.

This day at Towell Falls was definitely worth the hike.

The falls into Hog Canyon Lake also are worth a hike, although crusty snow will make walking difficult in some spots for some time.

Here's a video made during spring to whet your appetite for hiking BLM's Escure Ranch when conditions are less muddy and easier:

 



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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