We didn’t set out to hike Rose River that day, but with wintery road conditions closing the south end of Skyline Drive, our plans quickly changed. “It’s the prettiest waterfall in the park,” said the man who greeted us at the gate. What was I supposed to say? Oh nah, I’m good. The directions were simple but after unknowingly missing the very first left turn, navigation got weird. Before we knew it a 2.6 mile hike turned into a four hour hike, I’m guessing around 8 miles. But it was worth it. Not necessarily because of the falls, which were quite pretty (even though fallen trees covered in drooping ice obstructed full view), but because I got to see Ben pretend the ice-covered trail was an adult slip-n-slide and earn a gnarly bruise on his butt. And also because the mountains are so beautiful in the winter: icicles hanging in curious little nooks, river water charging through openings in frozen layers, dainty animal tracks on untouched snow. The silence…broken by moving water and swaying tree tops. Plus, I probably burned like 74,019,457,361 calories that day. So, yeah.

<–the end of Dark Hollow Falls | Rose River Falls + fallen tree + serious icicle—>

cell phone summary: