Today was a day of adjustment, flexibility, and surprise. I had planned to hike a 7-mile loop that started and ended at Tumalo Falls (pronounced like "tummy" not "Tupelo"). However, the road was blocked by a locked gate about 2 miles before the trailhead. I don't know when they opened it, but I was obviously too early.
Since I didn't want to add another 4 miles to the hike by parking outside the gate and walking to the falls, I found another trailhead from which I could hike 6.5 miles out-and-back to the falls.
I began on a well-maintained trail shared by hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.
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| Early Section of Trail |
I made my way through several varieties of trees and bushes.
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| Manzanita |
Atop the ridge across the way were some interesting rock formations.
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| Rock Formation |
Eventually the trail veered close enough to Tumalo Creek that I could see it through the flora from time to time.
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| Tumalo Creek |
I came across some small patches of snow protected by shade. I didn't realize it at the time, but I should have considered them a heads up of things to come.
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| Remnants of Winter Snow |
Through the trees and bushes, I eventually got a good view of the opposite cliff face.
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| Rocky Cliff Face |
I was greeted with three different viewpoints of Tumalo Falls. The first was as I approached from along Tumalo Creek.
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| Tumalo Falls |
The second was from an overlook partway up as I hiked to the top of the falls.
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| Tumalo Falls from Overlook |
And the third viewpoint was from the top of the falls.
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| Atop Tumalo Falls |
I knew from my original plan to hike the loop that there were other waterfalls further upstream from Tumalo Falls. Looking at the map, I figured the next fall wasn't that far. So, I decided to continue the hike a little further (it turned out that they were a mile apart).
What I didn't expect was the larger amounts of snow I would encounter. Instead of a few isolated patches among the trees and bushes, there was a considerable amount and often it covered the trail. It was mostly frozen over and solid, but my feet did occasionally break through the crust and sink into the softer stuff below. I took my time, stepped carefully, and picked my way over the snow.
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| Snow-Covered Trail |
My reward for adding the extra 2 miles and hiking over the snow was a beautiful view of Double Falls.
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| Double Falls |
I chose at this point to turn around because I didn't know if the snow would be deeper and harder to navigate as I continued to climb further upstream. And I still had a little over 4 miles to go to return to the trailhead and my van. So, in the end, it may have been best that I changed my starting point and route because I don't know how the loop hike would have worked out with a large percentage of it through the snow.
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