YNP: Morning Falls north/upstream from Scout/Ouzel pool near Union falls

[OregonAndrew]

Yellowstone public permits are opening up in a week, so I'm going to be trying to find a slot to get into Union falls. Most of the reason I want to get in there is to try to find a secret waterfall upstream of Scout pool / Warm Fork. Has anyone ever been up there?

It's about a mile north of Scout pool:




Walking straight up the creek, it's only about 300 feet of elevation gain to the falls and all the surrounding terrain is pretty steep, so it seems like walking up the creek or maybe along the sides of the creek is probably the easiest route.

Here's the secret waterfall from Google Earth satellite imagery:



Looks like its about 90 feet tall and runs all year, so I'll probably try to go in July or August when hopefully it will be the warmest. I'll probably be going solo, but I'm always looking for new trail buddies so if anyone else is interested in going, just let me know. I'll probably be trying to spend about 2 nights at a campsite near Union falls so I have a full day to mess around with trying to find and explore around this waterfall.

 

[TractorDoc]

I have not been to the area, but that looks like it could be Morning Falls.

@Jackson may know more about the surrounding area as I think he makes regular trips to Union Falls.

There are many off trail waterfalls in that region that would be worth seeing. Follow the North Fork of Mountain Ash Creek for another half mile or so from the waterfall you are asking about and you can find another interesting waterfall dropping in from the East.

I wish you luck with your search -- be sure to let us know what you find!

 

[Bob]

There was a book published a while ago on Yellowstone waterfalls that was pretty good, name slips me at the moment. That part of the Park, Its not called cascade corner for no reason. many, many falls....not much is a secret anymore.

Looks like a straight forward hike near the creek... probably brushy. There is another large cascade about 3/4 on up from that one. Probably a all day trip up and back.

 

[scatman]

 

[OregonAndrew]

View attachment 130413

Can I ask -- do you see Morning Falls mentioned in that book? I can't find anyone talking about hiking up to this one, although it is marked as "falls" on the USGS topo maps

EDIT: I do see people talking about walking up to Morning falls but haven't found any specific routes other than "follow the stream"

 

[OregonAndrew]

I have not been to the area, but that looks like it could be Morning Falls.

@Jackson may know more about the surrounding area as I think he makes regular trips to Union Falls.

There are many off trail waterfalls in that region that would be worth seeing. Follow the North Fork of Mountain Ash Creek for another half mile or so from the waterfall you are asking about and you can find another interesting waterfall dropping in from the East.

I wish you luck with your search -- be sure to let us know what you find!

I am going to try to get up to that set of cascades as well if I can. Looks like a nice open area right near there too



Not sure whether I'll be able to climb up the falls directly or bypass it with a more overland route. The falls don't look super steep but seems like it might be easier to go overland anyway from that point

 

[OregonAndrew]

I have not been to the area, but that looks like it could be Morning Falls.

@Jackson may know more about the surrounding area as I think he makes regular trips to Union Falls.

There are many off trail waterfalls in that region that would be worth seeing. Follow the North Fork of Mountain Ash Creek for another half mile or so from the waterfall you are asking about and you can find another interesting waterfall dropping in from the East.

I wish you luck with your search -- be sure to let us know what you find!

It does look like it is Morning Falls now that you mention it.



I found one website that says it "can be reached via a partially maintained trail north of Union Falls." One says "The trip to Morning Falls is on a maintained trail for only about .5 mile. The trail then is an unmaintained manway which follows the creek. It can be marshy and wet." I suppose they're talking about the trail to Scout pool. Seems kind of weird there's no established trail up to Morning Falls but I suppose it's because the best route is just through the creek. I saw a couple pics on Google Earth but I wasn't sure if they were of the same waterfall... now that I'm looking at it again it seems obvious:

 

[Bob]

From what I remember you can get by the right side of Scout Pool. The hill is only about 30 degrees. Seems like their was a use trail up to the top. Wouldnt sweat getting by Scout Pool

 

[TheMountainRabbit]

I had a buddy do this a few years ago - should be straightforward and basically just follow the water. Depending on time of year, some sections will vary from just a little marshy to a slog, but there is a trail beyond Scout Pool to some extent. Easiest route to the upper cascades you noted is to follow north fork on the west of Morning Falls - though you can cross to the other side afterwards if you want. (That was his note, but based on the topo and what I know of the area, you can probably get through on either side w/o getting lost/stuck - just a matter of easier/harder travel.)

It seems like a fun hike - I considered it when I did my Bechler/Pitchstone loop a couple years ago, but I wanted to go all the way up and over so I picked another option. Hoping to give it a look some other time - would love to see a trip report if you go.

 

[Jackson]

From what I remember you can get by the right side of Scout Pool. The hill is only about 30 degrees. Seems like their was a use trail up to the top. Wouldnt sweat getting by Scout Pool

Can confirm this. I went up a few hundred yards past the pool/fall right there last year. That whole area is not too bad for off trail travel. Gets a little bushwhacky here and there but not bad. I haven't been up to those falls in question before.

 

[scatman]

Can I ask -- do you see Morning Falls mentioned in that book? I can't find anyone talking about hiking up to this one, although it is marked as "falls" on the USGS topo maps

EDIT: I do see people talking about walking up to Morning falls but haven't found any specific routes other than "follow the stream"

It is mentioned in the book, along with a short history (if you can call it that) of the falls. While not specific, it does say a couple rangers picked up a well worn trail to it, but that was back in 1969.

 

[TheMountainRabbit]

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Fun website from one of the authors: https://www.yellowstonestereoviews.com/backcountry/home.html

 

[OregonAndrew]

It is mentioned in the book, along with a short history (if you can call it that) of the falls. While not specific, it does say a couple rangers picked up a well worn trail to it, but that was back in 1969.

Thanks for the details! And thanks everyone for your replies. I dunno why, but something about this particular waterfall is calling my name. I got in early enough today to get some permits so I'll make a trip report afterwards!

 

[OregonAndrew]

I probably won't add an entire new trip report post because I didn't take great notes, but we made it in. The first waterfall you have to climb up, just above the Ouzel falls / Scout pool (which you also have to climb over), is shown below. My brother took sort of a direct route up the wall on the right, while I climbed along a small ledge to the right that led up to the top. On the way back, we both took the direct route down.



When we finally got into Morning Falls it was worth it despite the 1.5ish mile offtrail hike through the water and bush. Just a beautiful, untainted part of the park that it seems like almost no one ever gets to see.



It's massive, and fed by warm and hot springs. We laid in the rapids just below it for a while to relax before we headed back. In the end we escaped mostly uninjured, but my brother got attacked by bees while we were bushwacking at one point, and his sandal broke pretty much the first step of the next day, so I guess his guardian angel had their thumb on it until we got back to camp after going up to Morning and Union.


Obligatory pic of union:


Bonus pic of what I think is a scaup duck with ducklings that we saw on the Lewis Channel (after we did Morning/Union we canoed into Shoshone):



Overall I wouldn't recommend Morning Falls to anyone unless you're very experienced with river walking and bushwacking. Although there are some obvious community trails around some of the obstacles, they start and end seemingly randomly and there's a high possibility of getting hurt due to having to walk through the water a good amount and having to climb over some obstacles. There is probably a relatively easy route if you know all the side trails by heart, but if you're going in blind, I would recommend you have at least 2-3 people in your party, a satellite emergency messager, some sort of GPS enabled device, and hiking poles for everyone. It's not the hardest trail in the world by any means, but the fact that we escaped with only bee stings and some minor scrapes seemed pretty miraculous the night we got back to camp. Given the relative difficulty of reaching these falls and their lack of representation on most maps, I think Morning Falls can be fairly called a secret waterfall after all.

 

[Bob]

Nice pics.