Summer is still taking its sweet time getting here (again) and many of the bigger, higher hikes have either snow pack left or muddy bogs where the snow has just melted. In other words, the places we might normally be tromping are not trompable just yet. This gives us the opportunity to find some closer-in lower-elevation hikes. Isn't that a happy, positive attitude? We're always this sunny and adaptable, too. You're super lucky to know people like us! (Helpful life hint: Sarcasm is the antidote to climatic dreariness)
It is always best to begin at the beginning, and this is the Snoqualmie River under the bridge at the beginning of the trail to Otter Falls. I was very excited to see some otters! (again, I kid. It's a sickness.)
The sun broke through a few times, and one good thing about a cooler, wetter summer is that everything is amazingly green.
The trail wasn't all this smooth, but it was a pretty even grade most of the way with a couple of river crossings which had to be forded on foot. We did pass a guy on the way back at one crossing who was crawling across the river on the rocks that were easily steppable. Poor dude looked terrified, but he made it!
This is not Otter Falls. I'm not kidding.
This is Otter Falls. Many moons ago, this trail was meant to be a real road, but due to some conservation laws or some such, the road was abandoned and became a trail. The bridge over the falls is, obviously, still very road-like, with nice cement berms on which hikers were seated to have their lunches while admiring the falls.
A very large, very cleft rock, The Big Guy, and a Pacific Northwest Forest Pig.
The sun temporarily blinded the forest pig, and I was able to capture it without incident. It's no otter, but it's pretty darn cute.