Wild factor • 8
Trout rating • 5
Fish caught • 1
Fishing season • All year for the part in Butte County (about seven miles)
Directions • From Oroville drive east on Highway 162 4 milesPass Miners Ranch Rd on the right 1.3 miles
Right on Forbestown Road 6.1 miles
Left on Lumpkin Road 3.5 miles
Cross South Fork Feather arm of Lake Oroville 7.2 miles
Left on 21N35Y 1.6 miles
Arrive at trailhead and bathrooms
The 4.5-mile trail leads to Feather Falls, a 650-foot waterfall on the Fall River about a half mile upstream from the Middle Fork of the Feather River. This short stretch is best accessed by boat via Lake Oroville and a little scrambling up the Middle Fork. I climbed down a gully by the waterfall overlook which was - forgive the adverbs - very hard and extremely stupid, or that's what came to mind while I was doing it anyway. 
I left the canyon in a gully across from the overlook. While significantly lower angle than the first, it topped out in a forest of manzanita that entangled me for two hours in the dark. At one point, on my hands and knees between bushes, I lost track of the waterfall and the sound that guided me. When I heard it again, it had swung directions. I stuck to my rabbit trail and the sound soon reemerged in front of me. Scrambling through a mesh of gullies and spurs, I found this was an acoustic trick of where I was and gave up on the waterfall. A few stars between tree tops helped me find my way back to the river, about three-quarters of a mile above the falls. A short trail led from there to the overlook.
I left the canyon in a gully across from the overlook. While significantly lower angle than the first, it topped out in a forest of manzanita that entangled me for two hours in the dark. At one point, on my hands and knees between bushes, I lost track of the waterfall and the sound that guided me. When I heard it again, it had swung directions. I stuck to my rabbit trail and the sound soon reemerged in front of me. Scrambling through a mesh of gullies and spurs, I found this was an acoustic trick of where I was and gave up on the waterfall. A few stars between tree tops helped me find my way back to the river, about three-quarters of a mile above the falls. A short trail led from there to the overlook.
