Hinter Falls

Hinter Falls is one of several lofty waterfalls which stream down the sides of the Miller River Valley in the heart of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The falls are found along Hinter Creek, a small tributary stream to the East Fork of the Miller River just northeast of the Lake Dorothy Trailhead. In a strikingly similar fashion to neighboring Purvis Creek, Hinter Creek descends into the Miller River Valley via a narrow gorge carved into the granite mountainside. At the falls the creek slides down in smooth zigzagging sheets of water in several channels, getting progressively steeper towards the bottom, and then tumbles down in a narrow crevice for the final quarter of its total descent of 291 feet. Unfortunately because of the way the falls drop into the gorge at a nearly perpendicular angle to its outflow, the falls are exceptionally difficult to see due to the depth of the gorge, the steep terrain surrounding the falls, and several inconveniently located trees. We plan to revisit the falls in the future with a drone in order to gain a better idea of the scale and stature of the falls. The basin which produces Hinter Creek drains from an area of about 2/3 of a square mile upstream of the falls, with about half of that occurring at or above the 4000 foot mark. Hinter Lake is small, but the north-facing basin is partially shielded from direct sunlight which allows the winter snow pack to melt off considerably slower than the opposite side of the valley. The falls will flow well through mid June, but the end of July the creek will be considerably reduced in volume and may potentially dry out completely by September.