Sat, Mar 13 2021 - Cloudland Canyon Backcountry (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Grant Brown Participants: Grant Brown, Hailley S., Jeff G, Charina, Chris F, Joseph Wang, Jim S, Geoff L, Andy H, Nikita

We had a great trip to Cloudland Canyon.  The group met at the Interpretive Center and hiked the East Rim trail offering many views from the rim.  We then set off down the stairs to view a few of the waterfalls within the canyon proper.  We ate lunch by the fall before heading back up the stair.  We moved our cars to the backcountry parking lot and started the approach to the Bear Creek Trail which would lead us in and out of the canyon on one of the side extensions of the topography.  This involved crossing Bear Creek in a most beautiful spot with an amazing granite overhang.  The trail leads up the steep wall of the canyon and eventually onto a high plateau overlooking the canyon and the town below.  We hike out for sunset and sat on the rim for a magical moment before headlamping it back to camp to cook dinner.  It was a full day and we had a fire and some guitar music before hitting the sack or quilt as it were fairly early.  The night was cool and we could hear the distant sounds of dogs, trains, and coyotes.  The time change brought an early sun.  After breakfast, we struck the camp and were treated to many nice views on the rim-side loop of the trial before making it back to the car.