A Rainy Trek to Silver Falls

With Amanda's recently landed job manning the visitor centers' desks in Mt. Rainier NP as well as an end-of-school, happy birthday hike promised to Alicia, it was about time to get up to the mountain with them and head out on a hike. 

The gorgeous Ohanapecosh River

Here in the Pacific Northwest 2011 has brought us an incredibly cold and wet Spring as far as springs go. It took a good 5 months into the year to break the 70 degree barrier. Combined with some cumulative 900 plus inches of snow fall at Paradise means that we are looking at ten to fifteen feet of snow in much of the park. Anything above about 4000 feet is just swamped in snow, great for skiing or snowshoeing but don't go looking for wild flowers, or the ground for that matter. This is where Ohanapecosh comes in. At about 1900 feet in elevation, Ohana melts out early and with the snow up higher melting, the Ohanapecosh river is really raging late Spring, early Summer.

This Saturday was the high school graduation, marking one year that I have been all gradumacated (hard to believe, I know), as well as Amanda's only overlap with my days off. Minimal weather cooperation (meaning some of the hardest rain I've seen) combined with the aforementioned 10 plus feet of snow meant that Ohanapecosh was an ideal place to hit the trails. It is not vista dependent, mostly in the woods and snow free this time of year. 

It's an awfully long way down. If I had been with boys I would have spit. JK, I spit anyways. 

A stop along Stevens Canyon at Box Canyon got the three of us thoroughly soaked. Probably more wet than if we had made the 180 foot descent down and been dunked in the Cowlitz, though the canyon itself never fails to amaze. Puts time in perspective. The deep canyon, a result of a godly number of years of river erosion through stone and the broader valley ground to a smooth, rolling, moss covered surface by glaciers long since retreated. 

After a poking our heads in to the visitor center to say hi and get trail conditions/suggestions, the truck was left in the campground and the destination was set for Grove of the Patriarchs via Silver Falls, heading up on one side of the river and crossing over to the other for the return trip.  A reasonable five miles meant that we could get Amanda and Alicia back in time for their sister's (Danielle's) graduation. Probably don't want to be late for that. The Red Cedar and Doug Fir forest provided excellent protection from the torrential downpour as we hiked along the river. More water than I have ever seen was rolling over the impressive Silver Falls. Silver Falls has no elevation on Comet Falls but the sheer volume and the pure power displayed by the water falls was impressive. On top of that the enveloping roar combined with a cool mist (though hard to feel in the downpour) provided a sensory enveloping experience. 

We crossed the river before the falls and continued on upstream (remember, we had a graduation to catch). The trail backtracks where we had driven, crossing Steven's Canyon about a quarter mile past the entrance station. Switching from the Silver Falls Loop Trail, we got on the East Side Trail headed for the Grove of the Patriarchs cut off. 

The Grove of the Patriarchs is a stand of massive giants. Cedars, firs, and hemlocks tower over the trail, leaving an open understory giving an indoor-like feeling to the walk. The girth of the larger trees exceeding that of cars. To get there a rockin', single person extension bridge leads hikers across the Ohanapecosh River. A park service sign recommends one person on the bridge at a time, though it has enough give to simulate a substantial earthquake with a couple good jumps.  

The suspension bridge, allowing access to The Grove

The sun, somehow busting through the cloud cover, shone through the leafy ceiling, layers of evergreen branches and mats of Big Leaf Maple leaves, creating a very lush and fresh surrounding among the silent giants standing tall. Between the luscious vegetation and the the seasoned glass color of the Ohana River, the day provided refreshing, organic immersion, reminding us that nature never ceases to provide a beautiful environment beyond our own creativity and dreams.

Looking up from beneath the surface of the Ohanapecosh River

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. 

-John Muir