Hidden Waterfall

–submitted by John Robertson

Under cloudless skies, 2 of us set out from Ladysmith at 7 am, to find a waterfall high on Banon Creek.  Our route started on some of the more popular trails above town, allowing us to enjoy views at the lookout, Heart Lake, and Stocking Lake.

From Stocking Lake, we cut through the bush to the Banon logging road, then up a side road. From there, we were into heavy bush and steep terrain. We let our ears guide us to the roar of the creek.  We found that it was cascading down a steep canyon, visible, but not approachable.

We chose what seemed to be the easier path, downstream, and found ourselves in a very pretty patch of forest, with 30-ish year-old growth, with scattered patches of much much older cedar and fir. Game trails and a series of rock outcrops gave us a natural path downstream. We left the creek, as it curved southeast, and veered north, on an easy course back down to the road.

We continued back down past Stocking Lake again, and chose to take the Chicken Ladder trail back down to town. The goal was a waterfall, and we didn’t see it. If there is a “good’ waterfall there, the approach will have to be from above. Despite not finding our waterfall, the weather, the views, and the company made for an outstanding morning.

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