Making the Loop

A Mess of Trails

1.  Over a mile.
2.  Three to four hundred foot gain in elevation.
3.  An hour and a half.

..The growing weather report for the last two days leading to this weeks hike was starting to make us doubt if we were going on the trail at all. Dark gray, gloomy and a bit on the cold side.
..We had already made arrangements with our friends, so we were committed to meet at 8 AM at the trailhead.
..The trail system has many loops, cutoffs and it was a nice surprise to find the sun was out, at least at the start of today’s journey.

A little sunlight at the top

..Crossing the bridge over the creek we made the extremely short trip to the falls. Really, it seems to me, further into the summer when it gets hot. That standing under the mist of the falls would be a very relaxing way to cool off from the hike. So, that may be something we do later in a future hike

 

 

..Last week when Kathy and I set off, the trail was steep and a bit hard going. So what did we decide to do this time? Make it harder, because we’re a bit crazy like that.
..Our Friends and us took a much shorter route up an endless amount of steep switchbacks that will get your heart pumping to quickly ascend a good 300 plus feet higher.

The start up a very steep climb

..After several stops to breath and quietly making the decision that was as far as we were going to go today. We got totally suckered into “what’s around the corner?” Well, that sunk it, around the corner suddenly got a lot flatter and the next thing we knew we were totally committed to finishing this smaller loop.
..Descending downwards into the deeper part of the forested canyon below we crossed the creek over a small collection of old rotten logs and started climbing up the next ridge. Next thing we knew, we were long ways down the trail and looking down at the falls that we were once so far below.

 

 

Panoramic View of the Canyon

..All in all, it was a very enjoyable hike, especially the ending as the trail became far nicer. So I think we’re all hooked on the idea of making this a weekly adventure. The only real issue will be the need to acquire a better grade of hiking socks. What I had was starting to rub and defiantly cause discomfort at the midway point. Yes, I could double them up, but at this point, I would like to just try a better grade. So if you have any suggestions please add it to the comments below.

 

 

..So how did we celebrate completing our first loop?

With Ice Cream of course.