Ramona Falls
I love nature
Many people think that Portland is dullsville. I beg to defer.
Well, if you merely stay in Portland, then perhaps, there's not a lot to do. To be honest, Portland itself has a number of good eating places, scenic places to have a picnic, great running trails - you just need to go out and explore. Outside of Portland, there are many great places to visit in Oregon. On one of my last trips, I visited the Multnomah Falls which was totally beautiful. We snowboard during the winter period and enjoy the great outdoors. So truly, there are things to do!
We decided to go for a hike. Firstly, I was kinda scared. Not of the hiking trip itself, but uh of snakes. I think I sent a few people into endless laughter and my email on 'snakes' has been circulating -_- ANYWAY, the night before, we shortlisted a couple of hiking trails and finally decided on the Ramona Falls. Okay. That is what we should have seen.. BUT, we didn't get to see that masterpiece. Sigh. You'll read on and find out why!
The weather forecast wasn't good but I decided to be positive and kept singing for the sun to come out. It was an hour odd drive and pleasant. We got lost for a bit when we made a wrong turning but found our way back on track. We made it to the start of the trail and started our hike armed with two bottles of water each and a trail bar.
I think we were the only two that were not exactly dressed for hiking! We were both wearing running shoes and dressed in standard knit pants (my airplane pants) and with just a thin jacket. Most hikers were all geared up complete with sticks, huge haversacks and heavy sturdy hiking boots -_- It was a good thing that the trails turned out to be an easy trek through - mostly mossy like with a slight gradient.
I enjoyed being out in the nature but I'll be honest - I was nervously looking out for snakes! Even as we sat to eat our trail bar, I kept staring at the hollow log beside me expecting a snake to peep out any moment. There weren't as many hikers as we thought there would be - perhaps just 20 throughout the entire 7 mile course.
As our watch read 4 in the evening, we decided to turn around. The thing about hiking is that the distance given is just an approximation and it depends if you get onto the right track. We knew we were probably a mile or two from the actual falls itself but we were afraid of getting lost when it turned dark and since there were just us two girls, we decided - safety first.
We turned around and made our way back to the start. We passed by a couple and they said that we flew on quickly. We confessed that we didn't make it to the falls. And then we found out the truth - we were just 0.5 miles away from it! Argghhhhh! It was such a waste! Sigh. Oh well.
Hopefully, I can do another hike next summer. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures!
Sign boards that help
At the start I think
We are walking for once instead of running :P
More signs
Can you see the different shades of green?
Slightly wet ground
We crossed a few tiny streams
Rivers and streams make good pictures
We saw lots of this but not falls
And more
Since I'm so klutzy, I decided not to get too near
My running marathon buddy
This was where I kept looking out for snakes
Lovely
We were soooo near!
Another nature shot
Walking pace
Can't exactly remember which part this was -_-