At 0h dark 30, Andrea, Kirby and I headed out for Eagle Creek in hopes of beating the crowds. And beat the crowds we did! We were able to park right at the trail head. We met very few people as we started up, except for some sleepy backpackers who were just crawling out of their tents. The trail was muddy, and the sky was overcast, but the lack of people made it all worth it.
Our first stop was Punch Bowl Falls. It was running higher than the last time I had seen it. Then, we paused for some pictures at High Bridge. This is a very high bridge!
Then we stopped for lunch at 4 1/2 Mile Bridge and had some sandwiches and tried to get Kirby to eat his dog food. I didn't take any pictures of Kirby, because by this time he was a very dirty dog, and did not wish to put him through the indignity of being photographed in such a state. ;)
I was amazed at Tunnel Falls. There's a tunnel behind the waterfall! I've seen some interesting things before, but this was just weird. So that was as far as we decided to go.
We headed back at an excelerated pace, as we knew the crowds were gathering at the trail head just waiting for the weather to clear, before storming up the creek. And clear it did. Just as we hit High Bridge coming down, we passed our first big party, and they didn't stop coming until we got back down. We ran into many dogs on this leg, but Kirby, who seems to have leash agression was quite well behaved. I think it was because he was tired, cold, and wet. He zonked as soon as he got back into the car.
That after noon, having showered, and washed the dog (now that was gross!!!!), we had burgers at Andrea's house with her folks. It was the end of a very long, but very satisfying day.
1 comment:
I took that hike with Murray last year. It's a really good one but that trail does get crowded. Smart move going early in the morning. Have a great week...
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