Evolving Sweetie

Hiking 09 - Wallace Falls - part 1

Quick post - write more about the hike as soon as I have more time. Fun outing...

POSTCARDS from Wallace Falls

UPPER FALLS - zoomed in

LOWER FALLS - our destination

Hiking 09 - Twin Falls, part 2

POSTCARDS of Twin Falls in macro focus:

Hiking 09 - Twin Falls, part 1

Kicked off the hiking season this past Saturday with a trek to Twin Falls just past North Bend. It's a relatively easy, beginner hike. Extremely kid friendly with a big payoff of seeing waterfalls at the end. 3 miles round trip - elevation gain of about 1700ft.  The goal this year is to hike at least 1/2 a dozen times.

Things I learned from the first outing of the year:

• Man - I'm out of shape!
• Anymore I really NEED to wear my heavy duty hikers on the trails not matter the difficulty. Could have so used the extra ankle support. Carrying around too much weight with very flexible ankles doesn't help. 
• How necessary it is for me to be deep breathing and outdoors. My whole being has been singing all weekend. 
• Melts stress away for me like nothing else does. 
• Need to work on quad strength. Knees were crying out for more support. 
• Nothing is more peaceful to my soul than hearing running rivers and waterfalls thundering.  
• How lucky we are to be living in this beautiful part of the country. 
• Wore a Steelers shirt on the trail. Yes, I risk getting some scowls from Seahawks fans. Ran into a girl from Cleveland at the waterfall base. We speak the same language of lifelong rivals.
• Leaving a wit bit early in the AM means parking at the trailhead and not 1/2 mile away. And bonus - met up with the boy scout troop on our way down instead of sharing the whole trail with them. They were lovely and well behaved. Just wouldn't have enjoyed being along for their entire journey.
• Thank you Micaela for hitting the trails with me. Let's hope we get out there multiple times this summer.   

POSTCARDS from Twin Falls:

Hooray for moss covered trees.

  Upper Falls - man sitting on the rock gives you perspective.

Me on bridge between falls.

 Loved the light on the fallen log.

Micaela @ lower falls.

Lower falls - top.

Lower falls - bottom.

Tomorrow will be the miniature world of the hike. Posting some macro-photos I took of the foliage.