Nancy's BIG Birthday

October 31, 2007

I took the day off of work, of course. When I awoke, found I was treated to coffee in bed, a few gifts to open from my wonderful hubby, and time to be lazy and snuggle with the dogs under my down comforter. A little later we headed out for a hike to Wallace Falls, where the air was clean and there were no phones or mirrors to remind me that I've somehow managed to live for 50 years.

Wallace Falls is one of the tallest in the state, visible from the highway over 5 miles away. It's in a state park but the park is currently closed. Keegan went along and seemed pleased to be away from her brothers. The air was cool, but it didn't take long to work up a sweat. It was a little foggy but no rain was forecast.

There weren't too many people on the trail so often we had the trail to ourselves. The trail follows the Wallace River upstream and there are three main stopping points: the Lower, Middle and Upper Falls. The Middle Falls is the most spectacular. The falls drop 275 feet to a pool, then there is another drop of about 75 feet. Even this time of year there was plenty of water! Much of the river is cut into rock so it's steep and fast.

Between the Middle and Upper Falls is a viewpoint over the Skykomish River, Goldbar, Startup and, faintly in the distance, the Olympic Mountains.

The weather remained cool and the fog lifted. We worked up a good sweat over the 5 1/2 mile roundtrip, 1200 foot gain. It took about 2 1/2 hours with lots of photo-stops on the way up, and 1 1/2 hours to come down. Here are some photos and video of Upper Wallace Falls.

Wandering beneath the alders and fir, seeing fall mushrooms (the one in this photo is about an inch high), hearing the water roar in the falls, and just enjoying nature was the best possible way to spend the day.

A scenic drive home was followed by a hot bath (no photo!) with a glass of wine. Scott went out and picked up some yummy Chinese food. I was pleasantly tired, full and relaxed by the time I went to bed.

Thank you everyone for the calls and cards, and for not giving me too much grief about turning 50. I sure don't feel any older than I ever did (even if the mirror tries to tell me so).