Wallace Falls 2-9-13

I wanted to go for a hike, but on this cold misty day with Justus and his girlfriend Gretchen, I wanted something dramatic, not too long, and not snowed in.  I prefer less popular trails where Cedar can be offleash, but this was perfect for today.  In addition, I wanted to try out my new camera, which is waterproof.  The photos it takes out of water are not super, but it is so fun to capture a new watery dimension to my hikes! 

The Wallace River is a constant song as you hike along this woodsy trail.

Sometimes you are brushing shoulders with the river, and sometimes you are on the embankment high above, either way the trail is sheltered with mossy trees, shiny salal and big green ferns.

The highlights of this trail though, are definitely the waterfalls.  The first one is a little stream off the main path.

 

 

My stopping point was the Lower Falls, with an overlook to the Middle Falls.  I was disappointed, though not surprised, that this camera didn't catch the view very well.  My normal camera is definitely vastly better. 

But look at the views that this one CAN catch!  I had a lot of fun doing this.

 

Bridal Veil Falls-Wallace Falls 1-25-12

On my birthday, I took the day off, and Dave and I grabbed Cedar and his brother's dog, Junior, and headed out Hwy 2.  I thought with all the snow and the warmer temperatures it would be a great time to see Bridal Veil Falls on the Lake Serene trail at full force.  Unfortunately the trail head was snowed in.  I parked a quarter mile away and we hiked in.  It just got worse from there.  The snow was deep, and where it had drifter- deeper.  The trail was buried under newly fallen trees, branches, and bowed over bushes.  It looked like a couple people had tried to hike it, and following in their footsteps where the snow was compacted was a bit easier.  Once we passed where they stopped though, we were post-holing with every step and it was exhausting.  A bridge was out too, so we forded the icy stream.  I only took a few pictures on this trail. 

So we gave up and drove back to Wallace Falls State Park.  There was just a tiny bit of ice and snow on the trail in places so we were able to easily reach Lower Falls.  It was beautiful out, and the attentive rangers had cleared all the fallen trees and branches from this popular trail. 

Small Falls, usually unimpressive, was quite pretty with all the snow melt.

Lower Falls was pretty as usual with a view of one of the upper falls as well. 

It was a really great birthday, and hiking was just the beginning of it!