I took the day off of work to go hiking with my son. I knew the weather wasn't going to be great and it certainly wouldn't be clear but that has never stopped me before and I wanted to make the most of the day. Where do you take a new hiker who wants "destinations" and "a view" on a rainy day? To see waterfalls! I have always wanted to go to Silver Falls but it’s a very popular place and I’m not a fan of hiking with crowds. It’s in Silverton, Oregon, a little over an hour south. I looked at a recent trail report before going and it said “mud and snow”. I didn’t think we would need our snowshoes but threw them in the vehicle just in case. I had no idea what to expect but knew we would have a great time no matter what we encountered.
This is the “trail of ten falls” and the falls are all spectacular! We picked up a map at the trailhead and were able to identify each of them and trust that we were always headed in the right direction to see the next one. We started at the South Falls and worked our way up to the Upper North Falls where we encountered snow and an ice covered trail. It was a little sketchy at times but caused a great deal of laughter as we both tried to make it up a hill here and there with no traction at all. :)
We saw nine of the ten falls. The tenth one was at about our Mile 9 as we were on the way back to the vehicle. We were tired and on a mission to be done. When we saw the sign to the falls we were able to look down into the canyon and see the trail far below. Uhhhh... no. We didn’t want to hike down there to see it because we would have to hike back UP out of there. We'll just save that one for next time. ;)
It was an AMAZING day! I love spending time with my son... he is such a beautiful soul. I enjoyed our many conversations, the laughter and our hike together. I love you, Matthew... to the moon and back a million times over and over again.
We hiked 9.67 miles and had an elevation gain of 2,764 feet (pretty awesome for a new hiker to accomplish without complaint!). I took a total of 221 pictures (yes, you read that correctly!!) and I've narrowed them down as far as I could. haha The waterfalls were beautiful as were the trees, rocks and trails. The company was awesome!! I couldn't get enough of it. Silver Falls is definitely a place to return to.
I can't wait for our next hike together, Matthew!
This is the “trail of ten falls” and the falls are all spectacular! We picked up a map at the trailhead and were able to identify each of them and trust that we were always headed in the right direction to see the next one. We started at the South Falls and worked our way up to the Upper North Falls where we encountered snow and an ice covered trail. It was a little sketchy at times but caused a great deal of laughter as we both tried to make it up a hill here and there with no traction at all. :)
We saw nine of the ten falls. The tenth one was at about our Mile 9 as we were on the way back to the vehicle. We were tired and on a mission to be done. When we saw the sign to the falls we were able to look down into the canyon and see the trail far below. Uhhhh... no. We didn’t want to hike down there to see it because we would have to hike back UP out of there. We'll just save that one for next time. ;)
It was an AMAZING day! I love spending time with my son... he is such a beautiful soul. I enjoyed our many conversations, the laughter and our hike together. I love you, Matthew... to the moon and back a million times over and over again.
We hiked 9.67 miles and had an elevation gain of 2,764 feet (pretty awesome for a new hiker to accomplish without complaint!). I took a total of 221 pictures (yes, you read that correctly!!) and I've narrowed them down as far as I could. haha The waterfalls were beautiful as were the trees, rocks and trails. The company was awesome!! I couldn't get enough of it. Silver Falls is definitely a place to return to.
I can't wait for our next hike together, Matthew!
 |
| This is Matthew's "WTF?!" This is soooo cool!!!" face. |
 |
| Cleansing his crystal tools in the river water. ❤ |
2019 Hike 5/52
