Savage Gulf - Part 2

By the time we hit the waterfall we came to a complete standstill for a long time as members of the group took turns snapping pictures of the falls and the frozen tree and the tiny rainbow.

At the same time more and more hikers were beginning to reach into their packs for a snack that would tie them over until we stopped for lunch.

As hikers took their pictures they continued further down the trail, and at this point hikers were now scattered over a 1/4 mile distance or more.

I spent a long time at the falls engrossed in all of the beautiful scenes around me and was suddenly very glad that I was standing there.

But eventually I turned back from the river, climbed up the short dirt and root filled hill and continued hiking further down the trail..............

And soon I came to a very long set of wooden steps that led down to more huge boulders close to the water.

I could hear the water crashing below the trail and headed down the steps eager to see what sounded like a roaring waterfall.............

And it was very beautiful...........

After spending much time taking pictures of the falls (and before heading back up the stairs) I stood for a moment looking around me.

We were deep in the woods surrounded by the continual roar of crashing water............

Unlike the region closer to the house which is dominated by now leafless hardwoods, this trail was a world of green.

Pine trees, mountain laurel, even many holly bushes............

Hikers were strewn out over the length of the trail from the first waterfall to the second............

Eventually we regrouped and continued hiking further.

Over the course of a couple of hours we had transitioned from race-pace to no-pace to comfort-pace.

Between such changes in pace, the rock filled and root filled uneven trail and our stops at both sets of falls, our forward progress had slowed down significantly.

I was having a great time and was very glad that I had decided to make this trip.

Continuing further.

An endless combination of bridges, trails, water crossings, and the beginning of overlooks.

The pictures tell the story..............

Everyone regrouping again at a rocky creek crossing just before finally stopping for lunch...........

Five minutes later a group of hungry hikers were pulling off packs and digging out food, and eating lunch at a rocky outcropping overlooking hill after hill filled with "Christmas trees".

Aside from a little laughter and a little quiet and easy going conversation the place was absolutely silent.

Through the trees I could see a fast moving stream in the gorge far below, a rocky and ice covered outcropping to my left and another to my right.

We were deep in forest and far from civilization and it was very good............

After a quick 20 minute lunch, one of the hike leaders told the group that we were not going to have time to complete the 8-9 mile loop we had planned on walking, when we had set out a few hours earlier.

Some in the group wanted to be back in Nashville in time for the Broncos football game. 

Between the football game, the still short number of daylight hours at this time of year, the lengthy stops we had taken at both sets of falls, and the hikers who wanted to eat dinner at a restaurant on the mountain before heading home, I was not surprised at the news.

Some wanted to head back to their vehicles and stop at Stone Door before heading home, which is a really outstanding place that I want to go to only with LC.

It had been a nice hike, and we still had another 90 minutes or so to go out on trail, even after taking a shorter connector trail back to the Ranger Station.

On the way back I enjoyed an easy-going and friendly conversation for a short while, with a lady whose daughter lives in Anchorage.................

If adventure has a final and all-embracing motive, it is surely this: we go out because it is our nature to go out, to climb mountains, and to paddle rivers, to fly to the planets and plunge into the depths of the oceans... When man ceases to do these things, he is no longer man..............Wilfrid Noyce