Silver Falls

After work, my co-worker said she was going hiking at Silver Falls in Oregon.  She wondered if anyone was down to go, and few of us said, "yes." 

We all went home to change into our summer weather hiking gear, consisting of shorts and tanktops, backpacks with snacks.  I took Trevor's K-Bar, a neck knife, a taser (you never know), granola bars, peanut butter sandwich crackers, pineapple juice, and water, a second cell phone as I knew I would be using one phone for pictures and the second phone could be backup in case of emergency.  I also brought rubber sandals and a hoodie.  I come prepared for the worst sometimes. 

I had never hiked in Oregon, so this was my first and I had not researched the trail.  It's a loop trail, thankfully.

Enterance to the trail head.  There were different forks in the trail but it is a loop trail, so easy to follow.

Dani, Aveline and Hannah.

The first fall we came across.

Me and the first waterfall

Zoomed in

Behind the waterfall

The first of a few breathers.  The water was great.

Jackson playing in the water 

A toy snake.  

We saw a few garter snakes, many chipmunks.  I don't think I'd ever seen a chipmunk in person before, so I was surprised at how small they were.  We waded in the water, and it was shallow and cold.  It felt good on bare feet.

There were few steep switchbacks, but benches greeted us a few times so we could cool down and relax before finishing the loop.  The trail is highly trafficked, but has many beautiful views.