I drove to Mammoth Lakes, car-camped at Devils Postpile, then took an easy day hike on the Rainbow Falls Trail, which was flowing strong in the Summer of 2023, and, as a treat, I got to see it with a Rainbow that afternoon!
Even though Mammoth Lakes is a six hour drive from San Diego, leaving early to beat the LA traffic also meant that I arrived at Devil’s Postpile National Monument just after noon. This gave me plenty of time to get a campsite down in the valley, as well as take a fun dayhike to Rainbow Falls. Tomorrow would be devoted to starting a backpacking trek, but not now. Of course, the very first thing I did was stop at the Minaret Vista viewpoint. Across the valley were the Minarets and the peaks of the Ritter Ridge. I would be hiking up there soon. Down below was the valley of the Middle Fork San Joaquin River, which ran directly past the Postpile itself, and also poured over Rainbow Falls. Even this late in the Summer of 2023, a very wet year, I expected to see plenty of action on the waterfall.
It didn’t take long to select a campsite, pay the camp host, and drive down the road to the Rainbow Falls Trailhead parking lot. There were very few cars there, and even the shuttle buses were running empty. Everyone was staying away from the Sierra Nevada this season, after all the damage from the record snows of Winter. The lack of crowds suited me fine. I threw some water, snack, and my Tenkara fly rod into my daypack and headed down the trail. It was an easy mile to the waterfall, which Vicki and I visited back in 2021. But there wasn’t much flow that year, and there were also no rainbows because we arrived in the morning. I expected better today. As I neared the falls, I discovered that the river was flowing fast. I paused for a few photos and videos before reaching the main tourist photo-op spot.
The trail led to two main spots for taking photos of the waterfall, high on the surrounding cliffs. I took photos from each position, and was delighted when the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, providing me with actual Rainbows at Rainbow Falls! I was stoked, to say the least. I also noticed that I could see the summit of Mammoth Mountain from there, and I knew that Verizon had a cell tower up top. That meant that I could text out a selfie. Just because I was all alone didn’t mean that my family and friends shouldn’t get jealous of me. Heh.
With such a glorious flow rate, I really didn’t have much choice but to descend on the steep trail down to the river below the falls. This is a very busy trail in normal times, so it was well made, with handrails and stone steps.
The view from the bottom was even better than up top, and the rainbow was better positioned. Let’s face it: Waterfalls look better from below. I took many photos and videos, and even headed toward the falls to get another perspective, but the excessive mist made the big rocks too slippery, so I retreated. No injuries allowed when you are hiking solo. Not that they are allowed at any other time, of course. As I stared, a cloud thinned out and the sun got even brighter. A Double Rainbow! Excellent.
After that, I got out my fly rod and attempted to do a bit of fishing. The flow was very strong, and I wasn’t sure where to cast, as everywhere looked like a maelstrom of swirling water. But I repeatedly cast my line and let it drift down the current, not willing to give up. This river was known to contain Brown Trout, unlike many of the High Sierra lakes I typically fish. And I have to say that I caught one trout, a tiny six-incher, but there will be no photos of such small-fry here. Luckily for the fish, I only use barbless hooks, so after a brief struggle, I let it go relatively unharmed. Maybe it would grow up to be a wiser trout one day.
I put away my rod, climbed up the steep trail, and began heading back toward the car. On the way, I thought about the river above the falls, and headed cross-country to see if I could find a good eddy with bigger trout. But the channel was straight and the water flowed solidly downstream. I climbed down to the river’s edge and cast a fly a few times, but no luck. Oh well. It’s called Fishing, not Catching, as the wise guys always say.
A short while later and I was back at the car. I drove up to the Reds Meadow Resort, and went inside the store. Things were very slow this season. They told me that the park had opened just a few days ago, thanks to having to remove so many fallen trees on the main road, and also in the campgrounds. One of the footbridges over the river was destroyed. Yes, 2023 had been a tough year for the Sierra. But at least it was good for seeing a proper rainbow at Rainbow Falls, and for that I was grateful.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
Up to “Mammoth Lakes August 2023”
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