In our backyard, behind Coloma over the American River and around Mt. Murphy lay a misty waterfall oasis. The moderate hike through newly ripened poison oak groves takes you over fields of splendid wild flowers, a couple of which I believe to be the Foothill Pretty Face and White Globe Lily (all below). There were two main falls, the more spectacular set of falls are further up the trail.
I can imagine Johntown Creek falls to be a welcome retreat during the awful summer heat -- though my guess is you'll need to visit them early in the season before the waning water flow and the crowds turn the place into spring break Lake Havasu.
Attempting to identify the wild flowers I see this season, I saw a lone flower just barely visible at the edge of the falls. I carefully slid down to get a better look and take a picture. I identified the flower as the Chickweed Monkey Flower, a flower that grows on wet mossy cliffs at low elevations from the western Cascades to northwest California. Another unsung treasure of living in the foothills of the Sierra!
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| Foothill Pretty Face. |
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| White Globe Lily. |
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| First set of falls. |
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| The second set of falls, with Chickweed Monkey Flower popping out over the edge. |
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| Chickweed Monkey Flower. |
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