The hike up to the Falls was pretty challenging compared to the other hikes I've done recently. The trail was full of rocks and roots. I was definitely glad to have my hiking boots on - I would have rolled my ankle at least 4 or 5 different times if I didn't have them on. Other than being rough, the hike up was pretty awesome. A lot of the trail follows the stream/river pretty closely, and the running water sounds were very peaceful. Even though though there were a fair number of other hikers, it wasn't terrible; we managed to outpace most of them.
The forest itself seems like it had more old-growth trees than places like Frozen Head. Not certain that's actually true, but it sure felt that way. There were also a lot of large boulders and rocks, both along the stream as well as out into the woods. Again, not something I have seen a ton of recently.
All in all, the hike took us almost exactly an hour and a half from the parking area up to the falls. Not bad. Another 2 miles (I think) would have gotten us up to Mt. Leconte.
I'm not very pleased with the photos from the trip. There's a lot of noise in most of them, probably because it was relatively dark out and so the camera picked a high ISO for a lot of the shots. That said, I still got a few I liked, and I have the RAW images this time, so I may go back and fix up what I can at a later date. So, consider these a preliminary pass :)
So, photos...
A really nice Turk's Cap Lily (or maybe a Carolina Lily):
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| From Rainbow Falls |
The rare Homo Moosehandicus:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
Is this sign unclear? There were a ton of people (young and old) frolicking on the slippery rocks right beneath the falls:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
Crimson Bee Balm near the Falls:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
Bottom of the falls, long exposure:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
Top of the falls, long exposure:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
Almost the entire falls:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
I'm unable to identify this one:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
Chillin' on a log:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
I believe this is a tiger swallowtail caterpillar that is close to pupating:
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| From Rainbow Falls |
I'm going to do a bit more looking to verify that though. Regardless, it was the second coolest critter we saw.
That's it for photos I'm going to post. More in the album.
Critter count:
Cool caterpillars: 1
Awesome red-headed woodpeckers: 1, on the drive out. Very cool.
Bears: 0
Just wasn't a great hike for seeing animals. Not surprising, it's a pretty well trafficked trail.
Speaking of traffic - crikey! I made the mistake of not heading for Wears Valley Road when leaving, and we spent (I think) upwards of 2 hours getting back to I-40. I will not be doing that again. I think it was holiday traffic combined with afternoon traffic, but whatever it was, was ridiculous.
Other than traffic and lack of critters, the hike was very enjoyable, and certainly wore me out. I think it's worth doing again, possibly even earlier in the morning (got there around 09:00 this time). It might also make sense to hike to Leconte and stay over an evening, and then get up early to get some early morning pictures of the falls. We'll see.
For those who have just been dying to see, here's the GPS data. There's a ~120 minute gap where I hit the stop/start button instead of the lap button. Oh well!
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