Moul Falls

Moul Falls was actually one waterfall that we had to work a little to see. Unlike the other three waterfalls we saw in the Wells Gray Provincial Park (Helmcken Falls, Dawson Falls, Spahats Falls), we had to hike about 5.8km round trip.

This waterfall was probably the smallest of the four waterfalls we saw in the park, but it was perhaps the most serene as Julie and I were pretty much alone except for maybe one or two other couples we saw on the trail. The falls featured a somewhat rectangular shape, and we were also told by the proprietors at the Moul Creek Lodge that it was possible to go behind it. That said, they did qualify their statement by saying it was not for everyone, and after seeing the falls for ourselves, we decided against going behind it.

Even though this waterfall did require a little work to see, it wasn’t without its perks. First and foremost was that it was a very quiet and tranquil hike where we really felt like we were immersed in the peaceful rhythms of Nature. Of course the flip side to that was the possibility of a bear encounter though we were told only black bears (as opposed to grizzlies) roamed in these parts. Still, that didn’t take away from the risks of a bear encounter as they were to be respected and feared regardless of what type they were.

As for the hike itself, the trail began on a very wide path that appeared to be an unsealed road in its former life. Besides the trail being flanked by lovely trees with Autumn colors (as well as some red-needled pine trees stricken with the pine beetle that haven’t died off from the cold thanks to Global Warming), it seemed like there were always private property signs and boundaries flanking us to our right.

At about just under 2km into the hike, there was a sign indicating that the trail continued onto a much narrower path on the left just as we were entering some park boundary. The sign indicated it was only 15 minutes further to the falls from here, but I swore that it took at least twice as long as that.

Basically, this trail descended much more steeply (though still very reasonable) passing by some small cascades along Moul Creek. Eventually, the path reached a fenced overlook of the little gorge in which Moul Falls resided, and we were able to see the very top of the falls from here.

The path continued around the rim of the little gorge on the left. Once we were beyond the fenced overlook area, the trail narrowed even more with some minor dropoff exposure. The trail descended steeply down a combination of inclines and steps before doing one switchback, where there was a bench here as well as a decent view of the falls. After the bench, the trail made one final descent down more flights of steps right to the misty base of the falls.

We were fortunate to have showed up just as the storm clouds had started to clear. Thus, there was just enough sunlight that penetrated the gorge to refract the falls’ mist and make a rainbow.

To give you a sense of the time commitment, Julie and I spent about 2.5 hours to do the hiking and photographing. Considering that Julie was pregnant at the time, we had to take our time. However, the trail was quite easy to navigate and did not have too much elevation change so we felt it wasn’t too risky from a physical standpoint given Julie’s condition at the time.