Weekly Hike #11: The Last Weekly Hike (Maybe)

Remember back in January, in my annual goals, when I said I was giving myself a pass on hiking goals? Well, the fact that I only have done eleven weekly hikes means I have made good on that promise. I am not swearing off on ever doing weekly hikes again, and in fact, I'm sure there will be more this year. But with the first day of autumn only six days away, and with rain in the forecast for the end of this week, it is not likely that I will get out on the trail much, if at all, before autumn begins. Autumn is my favorite time to hike, however, so I'm pretty sure there will be a few more hikes before the rainy season begins in earnest. So what follows is not the last weekly hike ever (far from it), but almost certainly the last weekly hike of the summer of 2014.

On August 26, Mr. D and I decided to go to one of our favorite spots to hike, Wallace Falls State Park, and to hike to the Upper Falls viewpoint, a hike destination that I vaguely remembered getting to once, several years ago. But Mr. D wanted to practice the uphills, because of what he had on his back:

Yes, that is a heavy-duty backpack, loaded with camping gear. Mr. D was going on a two-and-a-half-day backpacking trip with our friends and former neighbors over the Labor Day weekend, and he wanted to practice hauling his gear on our hike. I was happy that I didn't have to haul anything but myself up the steepest sections of that trail!

Wallace Falls State Park is a beautiful place, and hiking there is a pleasure. To start with, there is the forest, which is mostly Douglas fir, but also includes some cedar and hemlock.  I love how tall and straight the trees are here. One of my Flickr contacts described this upward view as being "as if you were in a tree tunnel". I love that description, and it is so true.

The trails at Wallace Falls also follow the water. Here is the view at one of my favorite spots, taken from the bridge over the North Fork of the Wallace River.

And then there are the falls. I have seen the Lower and Middle Falls more than once, and photographed them, too, but the Upper Falls were new to me.

I love that old, dead tree, balanced so perfectly between the rocks on either side of the falls.

I know I will return to Wallace Falls State Park many more times in the future, and I will always find something new to enjoy and photograph. I hope you will "hike" with me and my camera when I do.