Falling Waters Hike

The best friendships are the friendships that don't stutter with time. Even if Maddie and I don't see each other all that often, we always  pick up where we left off. It's not everyone who you can do a challenging, huff-worthy hike with for 5+ hours and be able to talk the whole way through. I'm so happy to know that no matter where life takes us on our separate ways, we'll still be close enough to act like we spend every weekend together when we finally meet up after a year apart. 

​This hike was more challenging than we originally thought. If we had known how many uphill scrambles we would have to do from the beginning, chances are we would have chosen a different hike! Even if we complained, in the end we were both glad we did this one. Hikes are always rewarding.

I picked Maddie up in Kirby at 8:15, we got to the trailhead in Franconia Notch at 9:20, and we didn't summit until a little past 12. The entire thing was uphill, but the first half was definitely easier than the second half. I will give this river credit: the waterfalls are gorgeous. Instead of the more common 1.5 hour haul to a big final waterfall on top, like with most waterfall hikes, this one gave us at least 3 or 4 different waterfall views in the first 2 hours up. Criss-crossing was fun, but I'm sure it would be a pain when the water rises. The last hour of the climb we were beyond the river and didn't really have a view. It was all worth it when we reached the top. Wow. 

The photos don't do it justice. The trees thinned, we saw a spectacular view into the valley below, and it felt really cool to be level with a shelter on the other side of the valley. It was quite windy! The 360 degree view was an awesome reward.

​When I dropped Maddie off at her house, I enjoyed talking with her horse Shortie and nearby cows. I couldn't resist but to take a picture of a calf with her mum. 

​My dad made a delicious dinner (like always) of pulled pork and veggies, and I enjoyed some Chocolate Therapy Ben & Jerry's for dessert because that's my favorite flavour. Life is good.