Gratitude Falls and Gorge-SGL 57

Gratitude Gorge, SGL 57

This journey is for the intrepid hiker.  It features deep, rugged gorges, waterfalls, and big rocks.  It is virtually all off trail.  I’m sure few will ever attempt it, but at least you will have an idea what is there.

We began from Windy Valley Road entering the gamelands and hiked east.  We then hiked on the north side of Scouten Brook until reaching a sidestream.  Here, two sidestreams joined before entering Scouten Brook.  We hiked up the west stream and soon entered a rugged gorge with countless cascades and large rocks.  The going was tough as we picked our way up the rocky, steep gorge.  Ahead was a narrow grotto with a 20-30 foot falls, called Gratitude Falls.  It was a beautiful spot due to its sheer isolation.  Hemlocks towered over the rock ledges of the grotto as the water danced down the falls.

We were able to climb the falls and were treated to an assortment of cascades over ledges and boulders along a cliff of reddish bedrock.  The cascades and falls continued until the top of the plateau.  In higher water, this stream would be incredible.  In summer it is likely dry.  We then hiked the plateau west to the other stream which also had cascades, but none of the falls were as large as Gratitude Falls.

We then ascended the plateau to hike the east rim and we were treated to incredible habitats and lots of bear activity, including fresh bear tracks.  This rim had many boulders and ledges under hemlocks.  It was beautiful, but tedious due to the deep snow.  I wanted to explore closer to the cliffs to see if there were any views, but the deep snow prevented that from happening.  We explored many large boulders and outcrops which offered partial views of the gorge below.

A long descent followed, made more complicated by the snow and tiers of ledges over which we had to find a way down.  By the time we reached the bottom, my legs were aching from exhaustion.  We then retraced our steps back to Windy Valley Road.

Another beautiful spot in SGL 57.

More photos.