Falls Day 2

Even though our hotel is inside the national park, the trails to the falls themselves are closed from 6pm to 8am. I want to beat the crowds this morning, when I first wake up and check the time on my phone, I am happy to see it is still only 7:30. Angela makes a few growling sounds when I poke her to see if she wants to join me, so I back away quietly, grab a few cameras, and head outside.

When I arrive, there is a barrier across the trailhead, but after watching a few people just ignore it, I wander on by and beeline to the big waterfall we were so enamored by out first time through (note the complete absence of people).

While it is still quiet, I decide to do a quick pass of the upper trail. I know I’ll have to do it again when my travel partner is awake, but I will at least get a good sense of the highlights. Also, it is quite overcast this morning, and we’ll both want to see falls against blue skies.

All this takes about 30 minutes, and starting my walk back the hotel, I see how much difference just a little amount of time makes.

After some lunch and a bit of time by the pool, my well-rested sidekick and I decide to head back into the park. The skies are clear now, and well, Angela loves rainbows, soooo…

Our timing is off though, and while our plan was to head back down to the lower trail (and our favorite overlook) once the crowds had cleared, they stop letting people in at 5:30, even though you can stay until 6:00. It’s a bit of a downer walking back up the hill knowing we missed out by just a few minutes, but unlike most of the tourist that just pass through here for a day or two, we know we have plenty of time, and are already making plans to beat the crowds again tomorrow.