Harper Creek Falls revisited

I went to Harper Creek Falls today with Miranda. I wasn’t super craving a swimming hole excursion this weekend, as I was still somewhat satiated from last week’s Florida spring trip and kind of wanted to relax at home, but I wanted to take advantage of the dry-ish weather while it was here for the taking. The trend for the previous two years was that early June was nice in the mountains, but then it rained pretty much every subsequent weekend until late July. After making the mistake of passing up the first nice weekend of June last year, I decided not to make the same mistake this year. This was my first time back to Harper Creek Falls since my first visit in 2014. It was pretty much the same as last time, except the bench at the top of the switchbacks at the beginning of the trail was gone, and the ropes on the river-left side of the upper waterfall had all been taken down, which meant I couldn't climb up to the footholds on the river-left side of the falls and jump (that didn't stop me from trying, though). There were some people there who had brought slacklines with them. One of the lines was stretched high above the falls, and they were crossing it with harnesses on when we got there (photo by Miranda):

( Click here for the full trip report with pictures and videos )

Based on my first visit, I have regarded Harper Creek Falls as a candidate for the best swimming hole of the Wilson Creek Area, with Upper Creek Falls being its top contender. I suppose that still holds true, although the removal of the ropes at Harper has eliminated any non-sketchy jumping opportunities. There is also a slide, but I think Upper Creek wins in terms of natural water slides. I would say the pools per se at Harper Creek still beat anything else I’ve seen in the Wilson Creek area in terms of size, depth, and water temperature. The lower pool is so big that you could swim laps in it. I’ve had a hike on the back burner for three years that entails starting at North Harper Creek Falls and hiking along the creek all the way down to Harper Creek Falls, although I wouldn’t expect to find any swimming holes that beat this one.