We were looking for something short and scenic today – coincidentally, earlier in the week Caltrans had finally opened Hwy 2 west of Vincent Gap (it had been closed because of rockfall since November), so we took off westbound to Buckhorn Campground about forty minutes away. Nestled in the drainage just north of Waterman Mountain, the campground straddles a creek that runs northward for a mile or so before entering the east-west trending Cooper Canyon – joining with another creek flowing east, the water eventually enters Little Rock Creek about a half mile further east, changing direction yet again northwestward from there down the desert floor. There are several waterfalls in the area marked on the topo map, and we were hopeful they’d still be flowing. Two weeks ago, we had started southward up the Burkhart Trail at Devil’s Punchbowl – today, we’d head north from the opposite end of the Burkhart Trail, the southern terminus of which leaves a large parking area at the north end of Buckhorn Campground. We found the trailhead easily enough, meandering all the way through the busy but very pretty campground, and headed north. The trail descended very gradually at first, then steepened a bit – as we got lower, we could hear water gurgling in the ravine below to the east. A handful of apparent use trails invited us to explore further, so we left the main trail and wandered downhill until we found the source of the babbling noise we had heard from above: a pristine waterfall about 10′ high that pushed through a narrow gap between some large boulders. There had been a handful of cars in the parking area, but we had yet to see anyone else on the trail – here, we felt even more remote, and it was wonderful. Jane suggested that we pick our way downstream for a while to enjoy the water some more, but it looked like a brushy mess that would be pretty tedious in the end. We scrambled back up the steep slope and regained the Burkhart Trail, again following it northward. We continued to lose elevation as we went, eventually reaching the mouth of the drainage and dropping westward into Cooper Canyon before abruptly switching back east. The scenery through both canyons was captivating, even more so when we reached Buckhorn Creek again and made our first water crossing of the day. We expected the highlight of the day to be Cooper Canyon Falls – having seen some photos and a trip report online, we knew it lay a short distance further east, just past where the Burkhart Trail merges with the PCT. We quickly reached that junction and began looking for another use trail northward down to the falls. The trail, usually routed some distance above the water, suddenly dropped down closer to the creek, and we could see the water racing over some rocky slabs before disappearing from view. Maybe 20 yards down the trail, we found a faint path heading north down the slope, so we turned off, discovering a long rope tied off to a tree and dropping down over a steep pitch to the creek bed below – the rope seemed very solid, so we used it to rappel down (though not really necessary to negotiate the climb down, it does allow one to remain on one’s feet over some muddy patches that would otherwise be slick and messy). The falls remained out of view until we hit the bottom – maybe we were focused on the scramble down, but it was quite the sight to turn and see the falls in full. Flanked on both sides with bright green moss, the falls tumble about 25′ down a series of shallow steps before resting in a large pool – it was truly beautiful. We hung out here quite a while, occasionally hearing voices from the trail above us but having the falls to ourselves the entire time. After about half an hour, we climbed back up the rope and returned to the PCT, choosing to head further east to the next junction, where the PCT continues east up Little Rock Creek and the Burkhart Trail resumes its course northward to Burkhart Saddle. The PCT has been closed at this point for several years now in order to protect the yellow-legged tree frog (we’ve never seen any here or elsewhere, so perhaps they’re in need of protection indeed) – the trail closure was marked only by some tree branches laid across the junction. After poking about for a short time, we headed back, retracing our steps and enjoying the moderate climb out. It’s probably worth noting that there were several people at Cooper Canyon Falls as we passed on our return, and we met another dozen or more on the trail coming down as we were going up – solitude is more likely the earlier you go, before the campground crowd gets out for the day. We’d love to bring kids and grandkids back this year but we’re not sure how long the water will hold out – it was definitely a wonderful hike that exceeded our expectations.