The Path Behind the House

In lieu of wanting to not drive anywhere and explore the area around the mountain house, the four of us trekked out to the hill that looked  like a truck runner from the mountain highways. As we climbed up and up and up where there seemed no respite, the landscape of mud and strong waterflow of the creek that was the path showed that it was not a truck runner. There were still tire tracks all the way up the mountain, but we figured more and more that it is most likely people mudding. Muriel had to turn back some ways up, and Doron, Will and I continued until we hit the ridgeline! I had a severe case of "just a little farther!" as the top of the mountain tempted me to keep exploring. We finally reached the top, though the trees were still too dense to see out. Here's our journey!

  

Rainbows, Sunflares, Crabtree Falls

Today we hiked Crabtree Falls after getting a wee bit lost in the mountains (as one does). The GPS wasn't exactly sure how to get there, and Google didn't believe there was a Crabtree Falls visitor center even though later on it became apparent. We also got to drive by some mining sites, campsites, rock shops and all of the above were closed but we did get to enjoy a few scenic lookouts. At long last, we arrived at our destination, and began our hike to the falls! We started on the decidedly less tiresome way (it's a loop) although there were several muddy creeks to cross and slick steps to descend before we reached the glorious falls. I've not seen many waterfalls in my life, so this seemed a very new feeling for me. It was awe-inspiring, and super cool! We were able to go so close to it and even sit in the biggest sprays of water. In the first pic, that is Doron, Muriel and I. We climbed and waded bare foot (coooooldddd water!) to the middle of the falls. The water spray was intense there. In the second set of pics with all 4 of us, Doron is so wet because he did extra climbing on the far side where more splash was happening. There is also a video of the fall at the bottom!

The way back up was intensely grueling, nearly all uphill, and the path poorly maintained in some areas (likely because of covid keeping workers from working). We stopped a few times to catch our breath, cross bridges, have some water and jerky and eventually came back to the trailhead and parking lot.