It doesn’t get any better than this. For a change of pace from hiking above tree line and to escape the sun for a day we decided to stay low and hike in the trees today.
The Eastside Trail crosses the road at a small parking lot just inside the park at the Stevens Canyon entrance. This trailhead has all you could want--plenty of parking, restrooms, and picnic tables. We started our hike by heading north along the Ohanapecosh River. This trail quickly rises above the river a couple hundred feet and then meanders upstream eventually crossing the river and continuing on to Chinook Pass where it connects with the loop trail we did a few days ago. That was way farther than we wanted to go so we stopped after a couple miles. After a short break we headed back to the truck where our picnic lunch was waiting. On hiking days we usually have our lunch on the ground somewhere along the trail. It was nice to have a table and ice cold cokes.
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| Silver Falls |
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| River below the falls |
After a leisurely lunch, we crossed the road and headed along Eastside Trail in the opposite direction. After half a mile, this trail connected with the Silver Falls Loop trail which continued to follow the Ohanapecosh River as is fell a couple hundred feet and eventually made its way into the Ohanapecosh Campground. The falls were just beautiful cascading downward a few feet at a time until they finally fell over the edge. Of course, that hike downhill meant an uphill climb back to the truck, but it was worth the effort.
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| Olallie Creek Falls |
Our plan for tomorrow is a trip back to Paradise. When we were there last week we did not take the time to check out the new Visitor Center and Gift Shop. The road that was closed last week has since reopened so the drive shouldn’t take so long.
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