Willow Creek Falls in the Front

Dazzling scenery in canyon

One of the many cascades of Willow Creek 

These bighorn critters were our companions on the skyline

Katie comes upon a bighorn skeleton on the trail

The forecast Tuesday called for rain and thunderstorms, so we went hunting for a short dayhike in the Front.
Willow Creek Falls at the old Scoutana Girl Scout Camp turnoff on the Beaver-Willow Road west of Augusta filled the bill.
I've done this hike many times and it has satisfied me each time.
The creek cascades through a series of four falls and numerous cascades where Fairview Mountain meets the creek.
Just beyond, the Fairview Plateau provides a rich wildlife haven.
We spotted two small herds of bighorn sheep and numerous deer.
The biggest elk I ever saw was back there.
We saw numerous mountain lion tracks and a recent bighorn or deer kill that had been stripped down to its skeleton.
It takes about an hour to hike to just above the falls.
We were treated to many varieties of wildflowers, like showy daisy, silky phacelia, and wild iris.
I'm starting to feel a rhythm to my hiking now that I can get out several times a week.
But, we also got a pretty good dump of rain on us, as predicted.