Twin Falls - North Bend

This sweet little hike, 3 mi round trip, is close in to North Bend.  Easy to find and easy to walk, it was a really good choice for this Sunday.  The day was cold, yet hovered right at freezing, so even up in the hills the persistant precipitation changed from rain, to snow, to rain.  Under the trees on the trail hikers were protected from it a bit by the trees.  On the downside, the rain was causing the thick white frosting of snow on the trees to melt, and it cascaded down through the woods making miniature avalanche sounds.  It landed in front of us, behind us and on us... by the end of the hike I was wet and a little chilled.

It was beautiful out.  Four of us hiked with three dogs and the canines probably did 6 miles instead of 3, with all their racing back and forth on the trail.

 

The trail went along a river, then up some switchbacks and we came out on a solid little bridge over the top set of falls, stunning in cold icicle-lined beauty. 

Going back down the trail a bit there was a set of stairs leading to an overlook of the lower falls.  I had forgotten my camera at home, so all these were taken with my iPhone.  I wish it could have captured the full scale of this fall.... the water had done strange things with the rock, carving it into waterslides and curving channels leading into deep pools.

What a gorgeous winter.