Rainbow Falls

Rainbow Falls - August 8, 2003

Rainbow Falls are part of the Devils Postpile National Monument, which is located is the Sierra Nevada Mountains west of Mammoth Lakes. Rainbow Falls gets its name from the rainbows which appear in the mist at the base of the Falls.

To get to Rainbow Falls, one must walk. It is not located near a road or other place where transportation will drop you off and you take a few steps to the falls. Oh no. To get to the Falls, you have to take one of the many trails in the area - the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), the John Muir Trail, the trail from the Rainbow Falls trailhead (which is by a road), or the very easy trail from the Devils Postpile. I took the last.

The trail was very easy, considering it was in the mountains at about 7,500 feet. Very level, very scenic. It went along the San Joaquin River (excuse me, the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River - must be specific), so there are lots of trees and birds and flowing water. The trail itself was 2.5 miles in length but, because it was so easy, it didn't seem that long.

As I got closer to the Falls, it became a bit warmer and there was an odor of horse in the air (yes, you can ride your horse if you have one - and there are hitching posts to which you can tie them up). You can stay at the top of the Falls (see the picture, below) or go down to the base (see the picture, above).

I, of course, did both. While I was at the base, I waded into the very cold water. Very cold water feels very good on very warm feet, which is what you get when you hike and climb about. I stayed down at the base for a good 45 minutes to an hour. The spray from the falls felt really good. But all good things must come to an end, what goes down must go up (or something like that). The climb back up to the top of the Falls was not nearly as fun as the climb down to the base.