muir woods national monument

feather falls scenic trails

feather falls trail is an 8-10 mile (depending on route) loop trail near oroville in northern california.  at the end of the trail is one of california's beautiful waterfall. many say it is one of the best outside of yosemite. it's a pretty well known trail and does get a fair number of visitors each year. 

there are two routes you can take, the upper trail (4.5 miles) or lower trail (3.5 miles) to the lookout for a great view of the falls. many people recommend taking the lower trail in and returning on the upper trail (which is what i did). you can also take fork out to go straight to the falls, although this trail is not maintained, but if you make it there, it's a great view from the top of the falls. 

i do have to confess, i did feel a bit defeated by this hike ... getting to the falls was fine (did get a bit winded near the end) but i didn't think i was going to make it back to the trail head. i ended up cramping (really badly) and didn't have enough fuel/water (i had >2 liters and drank it all). that plus being out of shape and unconditioned was a huge problem. better start getting in better shape!