Continuation of Day 12, Saturday, July 18
Once we got our energy back, we prepared to head to Sulphur Creek. We had planned to start from the Visitor Center (VC) and do an out-and-back hike. But as we left the VC, we met a French woman who had just done Sulphur Creek that morning. She and her friend had started from the Chimney Rock parking lot and followed the Sulphur Creek Route to the VC. Her friend had now left on foot to retrieve their car, hoping someone would pick him up.
The couple had taken 2.5 hours for the hike. That seemed like a better idea than the out-and-back from the VC, and it wasn’t too long. So we decided to do the same and parked our car at Chimney Rock. We set off at 2:00 PM.
First, there was a 30-minute approach hike before reaching the creek.
The sun wasn’t really cooperating—we even had to take shelter from the rain twice along the way. But when we reached the river, the sun came back out, and it was beautiful. It really made us want to continue. If it had kept raining, we probably would’ve given up on the hike… but with the sun back, we got a little reckless. We decided to go for it even though storms were forecast for 5:00 PM.
For now, no rain, the water was pleasant, and we were making good progress. The kids loved it—they were running and jumping in the water.
The first waterfall was a bit technical, but we managed without too much trouble. Then came the second waterfall:
We had to take shelter because it was pouring… and on top of that, the storm was rumbling with lightning… yikes! 😕 The storm arrived well before 5:00 PM, and we really shouldn’t have been in that river doing this hike. But now that we were there, there was no way out. All we could do was get to higher ground relative to the river and wait for the storm to pass.
As soon as the rain let up, we set off again, picking up the pace, and passed the third waterfall.
The sun came back a little, but the kids kept falling into deep pools and ended up soaked up to their armpits.
We made them take off their T-shirts so they wouldn’t get sick.
But unfortunately, the storm started rumbling again, forcing us to take shelter. The kids’ T-shirts were soaked, so they couldn’t put them back on, and this time, the forced stop lasted almost 40 minutes. We warmed up by huddling together.
Once we could move again, there was no more sun, and no more fun. We just wanted to finish the hike as quickly as possible.🏴☠️ We didn’t take any more photos.
Then came a fourth waterfall that seemed impossible to cross (it’s the one closest to the VC). We climbed the wall to the right and found ourselves up high, but on the wrong side of the road. Up there, there were cairns everywhere, which made it take a while to find the ones that actually marked a path. The descent was easy, and we ended up on the other side of the waterfall. Just a few hundred more meters through less pretty landscapes than what we’d seen in the afternoon, and then—finally!—we reached the VC. What a relief…
It was 6:30 PM, so we’d taken 4.5 hours to cover 8.4 km. But at that time, the VC was closed, and there was no one left to take us back to Chimney Rock. I stayed with the kids while Yannick set off on foot along the road, but he had a hard time getting a ride—several cars passed him without stopping.
When we got back to the hotel, it was pouring rain, so no pool time. And our clothes, especially our shoes, were soaked. We would’ve liked to run a wash and dry cycle, but the hotel’s professional machines were out of order, so the hotel was using the guest machines instead—meaning guests had nothing left to use! We had to wash our clothes by hand, and our shoes wouldn’t dry… This isn’t a hotel we’ll remember fondly…
To recover from all that excitement, we treated ourselves to dinner at a restaurant tonight: a meal at El Diablo! A bit pricey, but really good. We don’t regret it.
Hotel: Austin’s Chuckwagon Lodge 95 €
Day’s Summary: Really disappointed we couldn’t go to Cathedral Valley… That gives us an excuse to come back! 😉
As for Sulphur Creek, it was a hike through beautiful landscapes, but it wasn’t smart to start it with a storm risk. We should’ve done it in the morning instead of Cohab Canyon.
The rest is here!
