Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

78 BACKPACKER.COM

AS IT TURNS OUT, you needn’t

leave Colorado to find a desert wil-

derness chock-full of redrock cliffs,

cacti, bighorn sheep, and petro-

glyphs. But the splashing pool at the

base of the canyon’s 30-foot water-

fall (unofficially called Dominguez

Falls or The Waterfall) still comes

as the best kind of surprise. To

reach the lacy plume, follow the

Gunnison River to the mouth of Big

Dominguez Canyon, passing a set

of shallow wading pools with their

own waterfall just beyond the old

dam at mile 1.5. At the Y-junction,

head west, continuing deeper into

Big Dominguez to find the cascade

around mile 3. Make it an overnight

by hiking another 2 miles along the

creek (the lower canyon is closed to

ca mping).

Swim season Aug ust a nd

September Trailhead Bridgeport

(38.8494, -108.3705) Regs None

Contact bit.do/dominguez-wild

No. 48

DIVE INTO

SOOKE POTHOLES.

Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, BC

THANK THE LAST ice age for this

idyllic 2-mile stretch along British

Columbia’s Sooke River. Passing

glaciers chiseled a series of verti-

cal escarpments along the water-

way and deposited erratic boulders,

which the river used like a mortar

and pestle to carve out deep under-

water pockets. The result: a chain of

pools perfect for clifftop jumps, plus

plenty of low-key splashing spots,

gushing waterfalls, and sunbaked

mid-river lounging rocks.

Get the most out of your dip by

making it the topper of the 9-mile

(round-trip) overnight to Shields

Lake in nearby Sooke Mountain

Provincial Park. Track through a

coastal rainforest thick with moss

and ferns and home to black bears,

wolves, and elk on the Harrison

Trail. Camp on the lake’s east side,

once you cross the border from Sea

to Sea Reg iona l Pa rk.

Swim season June to September

Trailhead Sooke Potholes

Provincial Park (48.4401,

-1 2 3 .7 170) Regs None Contact

env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks

No. 47

VISIT AN

OASIS IN THE

DESERT.

Dominguez Canyon

Wilderness, CO

Best
Summer
Ever

No. 49

TUBE DEEP CREEK.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC/TN

LET’S GET THIS out of the way: Yes, tubing Deep Creek is tota lly something the Dolly wood

crowd would do. Just this once, join them. Cr uising down the rhododendron-fringed strea m

punctuated with weepy waterfalls is that much fun. Shoulder a tube a nd trace the water a mile to

the fa r thest put-in, where India n a nd Deep Creeks meet. The rapids on the shor ter upper section

get rowdy in high water, but then the creek chills out into a lazy river-style f loat. Ready to ditch

the crowds? Hike 2.5 miles upstream to backcountry site 60 for a lonely night under the trees.

Swim season June to September Trailhead Deep Creek (35.4647, -83.4337) Regs Permit

required for backpacking ($4/person per night; reservation required) Contact nps.gov/grsm

NO. 50

LET

NATURE

DO THE

WORK.

Dominguez Falls

Deep Creek

PHOTOS BY (TOP) MARC BERGREEN ; ADAM MOWERY