A few work friends wanted to go hiking with me, and I got to pick the venue. I decided on a trail that’s not too long or difficult, but with good bang for the buck. This is one I’ve wanted to do for a little while.
On the day of the hike, it ended up being me and one other person (you know how life just gets in the way sometimes), but we were both still game. We hopped in Matilde and started the journey. We may have gotten a little lost once, but we quickly found the right way and continued on.
This is a popular trail, but we were early enough that there weren’t many people there yet. By the time we left, the parking lot was almost full!
A very traveled trail greeted us and we started our decent. This trail goes down, down, down until you reach the prize and then you turn around and come back up. That’s not generally my favorite way to hike, but sometimes it’s well worth it.
I gave my friend, Jess, some sour grass to nibble on and I ate a little bit as well. I’m not sure she was terribly impressed, but it sure brought me back to my childhood.
We crossed a cute little bridge over a wonderful creek. I wonder if it’s loaded with crawdads in the summer…
There were some very muddy spots, super squishy. I think they were only four or five of those areas. Most of the trail looked something like the above picture.
Well we were hoping for some sunshine, most of our hike was either under a hazy sky or under the canopy of trees. it was starting to clear up, but very slowly.
We reached the bridge without warning, like a fantastic surprise!
Here’s the story & info about the bridge: https://www.sahale.com/drift.htm
This bridge has a bit of pucker factor. Two people could walk side-by-side, uncomfortably. It’s really best for one person at a time. And then there is the view!
Safely on the other side, we had another great view of the bridge itself.
On the rocks to the right, you can see a couple of guys standing there. I think it gives a little idea of how tall the waterfall is.
There was even a place to sit and have a picnic if you were so inclined!
Here
After the hike, we decided to take a loop home and we headed west.
We ended up in Newport, at Nye Beach. This is my favorite beach! We ate at Nana‘s Irish pub and scooted on home. It was a great hike all in all. A big thank you to Jess for making it a fun trip!
Distance: 3.57 miles; Elevation: 527 feet
The Happy Viking 