Hiking with little air

Wednesday we were a bit lazy, we were on the trail by 8:45 but only because it literally started at our front door and we were still on Eastern time.  Our goal was Bear Creek falls.  The trail is a 6 mile in and out, 3 miles each way.  It is described as mostly level which is true but the mostly means that it tilted uphill the entire way.  You gain about 1100 feet of elevation on the walk. 

As promised the trail was mostly flat but it was rocky.  The first part was forested but then it opened up which provided some nice Mountain Views.  There are lower falls that you can see from the trail but you can’t get close.  After about an hour of hard walking, we spotted the falls.  At sea level it would have been easy but at 9-10 thousand, took some exertion.

You never know how close you will get to the falls until the trail ends but in this case the trail went all the way to the water.  On the way up there was a good bit of down traffic, the early risers.  When we got to the top though, we were alone which was kind of nice. 

 We had a  good time taking pictures and selfies.  The falls created a great cool breeze which was welcomed as the sun was starting to beat down.  After about 25 minutes other people started arriving and we decided to head down.

The way down was much easier,  there were a few places that were steep but most of the trail was easy.  We also started to pass throngs of people headed up.  We really timed it well.  Lesson learned, be a bit lazy but not full on sloth.

On the way up we passed an area where the trees had been smashed.  We discussed what might have caused this localized disaster and on the way down we learned.  A fellow hiker was discussing the avalanche that had caused the destruction.  Seeing the trees flattened really gives you an idea of the power of nature.

Back in town we grabbed some food and relaxed a bit.  Then we took a drive to scout out Thursday’s hike and then to the local grocery to check it out.  Our next stop was the airport.  No we didn’t land there but we heard the views were good so we had to look.  The views did not disappoint.

We drove down the valley a bit more sightseeing before returning to town.  On the way back we arranged to meet up with our friends.  We took the gondola up to Mountain village.  This time we hopped off to sightsee.

Mountain village is mostly hotels, stores and condos though there are some houses too.  In the winter this is more of the ski hub.  There was a small outdoor market set up and we walked around viewing the booths.  The girls bought some fruit, they were sold by some motivated children wearing egg and peach costumes.  Odd but true.

We spent some more time strolling about until the rain came. With a light drizzle starting, we boarded the Gondola for the ride down.  It is a really spectacular ride, Disney should add one but it might be expensive to install the mountains and scenery.

Dinner was Thai food.  The town has a wide assortment of fare so most will find something they like.  CC and I split some curry and pad Thai.  The portions were huge and we had lots extra for the next day.