Hike to Bells Canyon waterfall

Today after I was done with work I decided to hike up Bells Canyon to see how far I could get before the snow got too deep. It stays light out here now till after 8 PM which worked out well since I had budgeted two hours to ascend as high as I could and then an hour to get back down. Though there was no snow at the bottom of the Canyon I knew it would get deep as I gained elevation. One reason I chose Bells Canyon is because there is a waterfall that Julie and I somehow missed when we hiked it in the Fall and another reason is because the part of the trail I was on doesn't have any avalanche danger.

Julie had gone for a long run earlier in the day so it was just me going on this hike. Here's a quick video I took after slogging through some pretty deep snow and finally finding the waterfall:



If you are wondering just how deep the snow got here is a pic I took of myself while hiking through one of the deeper sections. Fortunately alot of areas were already packed down or there was no way I could have made it as far as I did:


This is the entrance to the main trail and you can see the canyon wrapping around to the right in the distance.


This is the lower bell canyon reservoir which is near the beginning of the trail:

At the low elevations the trail was pretty easy to travel on without too much snow

This sign amuses me because it specifically forbids bringing hang gliders into the wilderness area. Do they really have a big problem with some rogue hang gliding element?


This is the stream that runs through Bells Canyon and forms the waterfall in a steeper section. It has much more water in it later in the spring when all the snow is melting.


This is a view of the "Crows Feet" which are pretty popular destinations for backcountry skiers and boarders.

In this picture you can see the snow is getting deeper as well as the "Bell Towers" in the background for which the canyon is named.


This pool of water looked very refreshing. Even though there is so much snow on the ground the air temp was pretty warm today and I was getting a bit hot hiking in my snowboard pants and a T-shirt.

I noticed this arrow carved in a tree which apparently indicates where to turn off the main trail to find the waterfall. Julie and I somehow missed it on our last hike up this canyon


Here's a picture of the waterfall
And another

And this one is looking back down the canyon toward civilization

In this area I was sinking in almost to my waist so it seemed like a good point to turn around

And finally a self portrait with the waterfall: