Hiking The Twin Falls Trail

Pasta and I have a new pastime....hiking!!  :)

I was really feeling like it was time to challenge myself a little bit....I've been exercising for six weeks, and I can tell that my cardio endurance has improved.  I asked my friend Gigi, who is an avid hiker, if she could recommend a good beginner-level hike....something that would give me a good workout, but no so much so that it felt like some sort of masochistic torture.  She suggested Twin Falls Trail in North Bend.

Not gonna lie.  This hike kicked my butt.  It's rated easy, but for someone who has only hiked a handful of times in her life, it didn't feel easy to me. It felt like a workout.


The first 1/2-mile of the trail runs along the shore of the South Fork Snoqualmie River. This portion of the hike is the easy part....it's relatively flat with a few little ups and downs, but nothing strenuous.

It is a quintessential Pacific Northwest hike....moss-laden trees, fern-covered forest floors, in every shade of green you can imagine.

As the trail moves away from the shore of the river, it climbs up a series of long switchbacks.  This is where it started to kick my butt.  We were walking at a decent pace, and about halfway up the first switchback, I had to stop to catch my breath.  As I looked ahead, and saw the gradual climb, I knew I was in for a challenge.

At about the 1-mile mark, a short jaunt to the right down a series of stairs leads to a platform overlooking the Lower Falls, which plummet 150 feet to the Snoqualmie River.

Back on the main trail, you climb another 1/4 mile to an elaborate staircase leading down to a large footbridge that takes you over the river gorge, directly between two of the stairstep falls.  From the bridge, you get a stunning view of the Upper Falls and the Snoqualmie River below.

 

 

 

This is where most people turn around and head back down to the trailhead, but Pasta and I kept hiking upwards, and within a few minutes we were looking down on the bridge and the Lower Falls.

We hiked another mile or so to the top of the trail, where it intersects with the John Wayne Trail, stopping often along the way to catch our breath and take pictures.

Along the upper part of the trail, we saw a a ton of little red berries (huckleberries, maybe?) and some pretty wildflowers.

We walked about 1/2 mile on the John Wayne Trail, then turned around and headed back.

This is a very popular trail!!  When we arrived at the trailhead around 8:30 am, there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot, and we saw very few people on the way up.  Coming down, we saw hundreds of people.  The trail is narrow and therefore can't easily accommodate large groups of people.  Several times we had to stop completely due to "traffic jams" as the droves of people tried to pass each other on the trail.  I couldn't believe how crowded it was. It was kind of ridiculous, and after awhile it started to get pretty frustrating.  I was hot and sweaty and tired, and so ready to get back to the car.  By the time we reached the trailhead, we had been hiking for almost four hours (which included lots of stops to catch my breath and take pictures.)  We had gone just over 4 miles roundtrip and had endured an elevation gain of about 900 feet.  I was completely exhausted, but really proud of myself.  There's no way I would have even attempted this hike two months ago, so accomplishing it was a good milestone for me.

I enjoyed it so much that we went back again this weekend.  I called my friend Kelly and invited her to come with us.  I took it slower this time and it didn't feel nearly as strenuous.  We didn't go all the way to the top....we just went as far as the bridge and then headed back down.

When we got back to the bottom, Pasta entertained us for a while by swimming out into the Snoqulamie River to fetch sticks.

I really enjoy this hike a lot, and will definitely do it again, but only if I can go very early to beat the crowds.  It just isn't as fun when there are hundreds of people on the trail.  But I am officially a fan of hiking, and I'm looking forward to checking out some of the other trails in the area over the next couple of months.