Cora Creek

A pleasant, mostly mellow shortie creek draining Cora Lake north of the Sawtooth Ridge in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It's actual name is "Big Creek", but I'm labeling it Cora Creek here to avoid confusion with the more famous Big Creek further south. Cora Creek is short & sweet (can be run in a few hours); it's probably not a great destination unto itself, but could be combined with other canyon adventures in the neighborhood, or if you want something short on a rest day. Would rate it as entirely beginner-friendly (with the exception of R2, which could be skipped).

From the Cora Lake trailhead, follow the trail upward about 0.45mi. The trail crosses below R2, then switchbacks up and crosses again just before R1. Just before the second creek crossing, bushwhack upwards (easy) to the top of R1. There's a nice bench above the creek for suiting up. You might take a quick detour over to the lake for great views of High Rock towering above.

DCL = Down Canyon Left; DCR = Down Canyon Right. This is a high tourist area. Please do not leave fixed anchors in places visible from the trail. Climb over a large logjam at the bottom (slight user trail DCL) to reach the trail crossing. There's another 20ft two-stage drop below the trail, but it may not be worth your time due to a lack of good anchors. Bypass DCR. There's a short walk to the next falls; can by pass some of the brush by jumping out of the creek briefly DCL.