Douglas Falls

Today I went hiking with Matthew and my parents. We ended up going to Douglas Falls which was only about 1/2 mile hike but then there was a trail which went all the way up to the parkway. We didn't hike all of it but we hiked up to a second waterfall called Cascade Falls which made the hike about 4 miles total. Near the beginning of the trail there was a fallen tree. The roots were still holding on to rocks and dirt. Some plants had sprouted in the dirt but they were still very small. The roots made a really pretty pattern. I thought I had never been to Douglas Falls before but when we got to the falls I realized that not only had I been there but it was the background I use on my phone. I was there with Mallory about 3 years ago. It is a small waterfall but it is really pretty.

(Right) Me under Douglas Falls (Left) Douglas Falls

It took us a while to find the trail up from the falls. In the process mom got stung by stinging nettle. First it hurts and then it itches for a while but luckily it doesn't last very long. There was lots and lots of stinging nettle on the trail. Sometimes it grew over the trail so that we had to push it out of the way to get through. That is when I got stung. It got me in the butt because my pants were thin and couldn't keep the needles out. Up above the falls there are these rocks one of which looks a little like the front of a ship. That is the comparison my dad made anyway. The rock plowed through the earth sending up billows of dirt until it came to rest. There was a tree growing up from the other rock. It was really cool to see the tree perched on the edge of the rock. We took our time hiking which was nice. We stopped along the trail and ate lunch. Hummus, cheese spread, bread, cookies, and carrots. It was not a special lunch but it was good. I was pretty hungry by the time we finally stopped. We crossed many creeks and mom tried to take me swimming with her in one of the creeks. Luckily it wasn't Cascade Falls because it would have hurt to fall down. It wasn't a complete drop off but it did go down pretty steep and it was rock the entire way. It was really cool in the woods, so we didn't get sweaty which was nice. There were clouds most of the day, but it didn't rain on us.

Cascade Falls

When we got back to the car we had a snack. At the trail head there was a pile of burnt parts to either a car or a camper. It would have been a real drag to have your vehicle burn all the way out there. We had to drive 20 minutes on a gravel road to get to the trail head which was the end of the road. We couldn't decide what it was from what was left. On the drive back we stopped at one of the waterfalls on the road it was almost as nice as Douglas falls. It didn't fall as far but it was multiple cascades. When we got back to the main road I noticed that there were squash fields. I had never seen a place where they farm yellow squash.

(Left) Waterfall by the road. (Right) Roots from fallen tree near the beginning of the trail.

When Matthew and I got back to our apartment it really started raining and I was making quiche. I didn't have any cream, though, so we got our umbrellas and walked to the little corner store. It was nice walking in the rain. Most of the time I don't like getting wet but it was refreshing. As I had never made a quiche before I was surprised at how good it was. Matthew and I watched In the Mood for Love. It is a Cantonese film. I liked it but I feel like I missed a lot of the subtext. I think to really understand it I would have to understand Cantonese and watch it more than once.