Just before the hike we stopped at the ranger station at the top of the mountain and bought our yearly park passes.
We officially began the hike around 1:20. We had a couple of false starts. Susan decided her new boots were not broken in enough to risk wearing, so she changed shoes. My backpack was too heavy so I got rid of a few things. The path looked very pleasant and easy at the start.
The trail was well marked. We needed to keep watching for blue swatches painted on trees and rocks. There were a few spots that required a little investigating to be sure, but mostly it was easy to figure out where to go.
There were six or seven creeks to cross. We passed a few hikers with walking sticks or poles One hiker, noticing our lack of sticks, told us sticks would be helpful. He wasn't kidding. The creeks weren't all that wide or deep, but I felt sure it would have been very painful to fall. I took my time judging each step and testing rocks to see if they were slippery or wiggly. I'm happy to say, we didn't fall. On the way back, after a good bit of searching, I finally found a sturdy stick. At one point I carried two sticks. The second stick was larger and very heavy so I only used it for a few crossings. The sticks made crossing sooo much easier. I'm definitely going to invest in some lightweight poles before my next hike.
There were six falls along the trail. They were all pretty dinky, but they were fun to see. We could hear running water almost the entire hike, which was really pleasant.
Finally, we made it to the largest falls - Cascade. It wasn't all that large, but it was quite pretty. There was a bench there, so we sat a few minutes and had a snack.
The falls were right beside the wolfden. It's hard to tell from these photos, but there's a large overhang down low.
We didn't stop to take photos on the way back. We didn't want to risk getting back late.
Our muscles were definitely feeling the workout by the end. As we cooled down on the ride home, everything started getting stiff. That didn't phase us. We're already planning our next hike. Friends - let us know if you want to join us.