so we arrived at the trailhead kind of late in the day, about 1:30 or so. We looked at the elevation profile for the trail with a bit of trepidation, but up we went, until we reached a bridge across Van Trump creek above Christine Falls. From there the trail got very rough, full of boulders and roots, and very steep. It didn't stop, either, following the creek's rocky bed uphill, without switchbacks, for better than a mile with no downhill sections to speak of. We passed a park ranger who told us not to stop when we see a triple falls off to the right, that just about 30 seconds beyond that was Comet Falls, which should not be missed. He said that a lot of people turn back there, disappointed. We continued on, and after more than two hours of uphill, rugged hiking, we came to a section that, although steeper, was rockier and more difficult. Stairs were formed from big chunks of scree. This continued for another 30 or 40 minutes. We passed several small falls, and were anxious to find the false falls, letting us know that Comet Falls would be close. Finally, we encountered someone coming the other way who told us that, after a "scary bridge" just ahead, we would come to the falls. The scary bridge was essentially a log sawn in half with log railings, and it bowed slightly in the middle as I walked across it, about 15 feet above the creek and bare rocky creek bed.
Finally, we came around the corner just past the bridge and were able to see Comet Falls.
We stopped here for lunch (I had gone too long on empty and needed to sit down for awhile) and watched the glacial water descending 320 feet down to just below our level. Then we had to decide whether to go on or to turn back.
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