Just got back from Henry Coe park's annual backcountry weekend. Once a year they open the gates off of HWY 152 by Casa De Fruita and allow vehicle access to the center of the park. This allows you to start from about 12-15 miles farther inside the park than normal making some of the best locations a lot easier to access. Mississippi lake is only 5 miles and Coit and Kelly lakes are about 7-10 miles each way. We chose to head to Pacheco falls since it is a place I have always wanted to go to but had never been. We (group of 2 guys 2 girls) loaded up all of our gear into two standard packs and two smaller packs and headed out. It was blistering hot and as is usual of Coe park, the hills were steep and loose, But the 40lb pack kept my tire glued to the ground. After a few hours and a few moderate hills we ended up at wood duck pond, which would be our campsite for the night. We set up camp and headed the last .5 mile or so down the steep grade to the bottom of the falls. We got there right around sunset and fond the falls to still have a steady trickle of water. The larger pool at he bottom was very lush and had lots of small fish swimming in it. We hiked/scrambled up the steep loose hillside and eventually found a safe way to access the many pools of water located deep within the solid rock ravine that runs the course of the falls. One pool we found was almost 10" deep and perfect for playing around in. It had an overhang about 6-7 above the water to jump in from. We hung out there and splashed off in some of the shallower pools for a while before heading up for the night. The next morning we headed back to the pools and hung out most of the day. We waited untill wthe sun was directly overhead to heat up the pools a bit and our bodies. It was now about 100º or so and time to get wet. One by one we cannonballed into the deepest pool, the water was not more than 60º at most...perfectly refreshing! We ate lunch, soaked up the sun and filtered some water for the ride back to the truck. We did not want to leave this perfect paradise! We hiked back to tha campsite, packed up and began the journey back to Orestimba Corral. We rode back all the while sweating and remember that 60 degree crystal clear water and wishing we were there and not knocking out the gnarly climbs with heavy restrictive packs. The last descent of the ride back was Turkey pond trail which is very narrow and runs a b-line down the hillside, very fun but it's over way too fast! Once back to the truck we reluctantly left the Orestimba Corral behind knowing we wouldn't have an opportunnity to access these parts with such relative ease for another year. And even if we rode all the way out from the main entrance there wouldn't be any water left in the falls in a few weeks anyway. So I guess that's the magic of Henry Coe park and Pacheco falls, the fact that it is never the same twice. I will be back next year for sure!!! I recommend that anybody who loves the backcounrty and solitude of nature visit this wonderful park, it can be treacherous but it is worth every drop of sweat! I hope to have pictures soon but the camera fell in the water and might have damaged the film...
