Silver Falls 3/18

[pdxgene]

A little break from the long drives today took me to a pretty much deserted , and much more muddy than usual, Silver Falls.
Arriving about 815ish and starting at South Falls..


Looking down the stairway to the South Fork of Silver Creek below Lower South Falls..


Lower South Falls..


The trail passing behind Lower South Falls..




Drippy wet moss..


Looking thru the mossy branches down to the North Fork of Silver Creek..


Lower North Falls..


Double Falls..


Salmonberry blossom posing in front of Double Falls..


Middle North Falls..


The trail passing behind Middle North Falls..


The little tiny woodland flowers are already blooming from one end of the trail to the other. Wood violets here..


North Falls (at this point I'd seen only the two people I passed that started before me, it was still almost another hour before I'd see anyone else)..




One of the little mushroom colonies along the trail..


Skunk cabbage amid all the new spring green sprouting up..


Lone skunk cabbage in front of Winter Falls..


Looking down the North Fork of Silver Creek from the trail..


Finishing up at the splash pool of South Falls..


Just a touch different from when I was last there in January when getting behind the falls was a tiny bit more challenging..




Today's album here... http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxgene/Sil ... tatePark53

For picture taking getting there early and starting at South Falls is your best bet. Otherwise you'll constantly be fighting sun/shadows/crowds. I've never tried late afternoon but I get the feeling early morning is still the better option. Midday light is horrible!

[sgyoung]

Cool TR and great photos (I especially liked the flower with the falls in the background). Silver Falls is a beautiful place. I brought my family there last summer and despite them not being big hikers they all still enjoyed themselves. My daughter seemed to like the opportunity to get behind the water falls; that was a first for her. Thanks for posting.

[hiker4fun]

Beautiful pictures. This place feels like a mini Hoh forest (may be a nano). When I went last summer, there was no water on the North side/winter falls as expected. May be it's time to make another visit.

Nice comparison pictures at the end.

[pdxgene]

Hey, thanx! That's one place where you can really see the difference in the four seasons. There'll be tons of wildflowers soon and come fall with the right weather conditions (no prolonged rain) the fall colors can be spectacular. Maples all over the place..