Initial Falls

Starting out in the town of Randle, follow SR 131 south and left at the junction (towards Trout Lake). Turn left onto North Fork Cispus Road # 22 after traveling for 11 1/2 miles from Randle. Follow FR 22 to the end of the pavement (6 miles) and turn right onto FR 78. About 2 1/2 miles from FR 22 the road encounters a prominent slide area where the falls can be seen to the right.Initial Falls is a small waterfall, or it could be argued a small pair of waterfalls, along Timonium Road in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The primary fall is a 20 foot horsetail that might be springfed, flowing from the edge of a cliff immediately adjacent to the road. A hundred feet to the west there is a more established though at times lower volume stream that also possesses a small waterfall which could have been the basis for this entry in the first place. Neither fall is terribly impressive and only the roadside fall is easily photographed. There are 4 other waterfalls along this road that are better, so I would suggest skipping this one.The name for this waterfall comes at the suggestion of Greg Plumb in the 2nd edition of A Waterfall Lovers Guide to the Pacific Northwest. Oddly he didn't see it notable enough to include it in the first edition (Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest) even though two of the falls further along the road were included. The idea behind the name is it was the first waterfall seen along the road, but in reality it isn't.