The letters of Escure can be anagrammed to state you are secure or you may need a rescue. On May 6, seven of us made the trip to this former sheep ranch to hike the 6.4 mile round trip on the trail to Towell Falls. It is mostly level with fairly short and fairly gentle slopes—rated as easy.

What isn’t easy is the 24 mile from Sprague on increasingly insecure roads (the final 3 miles include some serious potholes) that lack signage directing you to the BLM parcel.

Upon arrival it is easy to be amazed and impressed with the Palouse-type geology/geography of rock cliffs, bluffs and outcroppings The trail generally follows Rock Creek and, for us, the weather was cool and overcast with rare sun breaks. Balsam Root was sprinkled loosely around in small clusters.

Given the temperature, we weren’t concerned about the rattlesnakes and badgers that are common in warmer weather. If bitten, don’t expect an immediate rescue as there is no cell phone coverage for quite some distance.

Towell Falls, like the views from the trail, is not big and splashy like a Hollywood version of a waterfall; instead, it is more subtle and one needs to be open to the simple beauty of the region.

A.C