Hey, Sole Sister

This entry is a shared entry between Jenny and Andrea.

We realized as we walked (and walked and walked) this week that we've become sole sisters.  We also both like discovering plays on words and phrases, and this one suits us perfectly!  We really pushed ourselves this time.  We decided to hike to both Upper and Lower Whitewater Falls for a total of 9.4 miles of hiking.  We actually hiked closer to 10...more on that below.

This is the start of the 1/2 mile path up from Bad Creek to Upper Whitewater Falls.  This was the part that earned the 'strenuous' portion of the moderate-strenuous trail rating.  It was steep with roots and rocks to navigate, but also the prettiest part of the trail. 

So many shades of green in this picture...











We named this tree 'Anaconda Tree' because of this root!






We ate lunch on the large boulder to the right.  The sound of the creek was hypnotizing. We could have stayed there for hours, but we still had any miles of trail ahead of us at that point.

When we came to this intersection, we were headed to Lower Whitewater Falls.  Clearly, the blue arrow is pointing to the LEFT...NOT!  We BOTH read the sign and turned left instead of going straight ahead for a lovely detour that we would have continued walking down had we not run into other hikers who turned us back around to read the sign again!





Upper Whitewater Falls










Lower Whitewater Falls

I'm thinking that experiencing more hikes like this and earning the memories you earn when you get to your destination and stand in awe of God's creation...when you go one more step when you didn't think there were any left in you...when you wiggle your toes on the same boulder beside the same hypnotic river...just a few more of this sort of hike and these sole sisters are destined to become soul sisters! -Andrea

Near the end of this hike, we had a monstrous hill to climb back up. We knew that when we went down it that it was going to be difficult, but instead of crying and whining, I laughed and laughed... and I laughed. I almost fell over. I was on some sort of hiking high, and Andrea said, "Wow, we really get to know each other's personality on the trail." This is so true! Andrea has become not only a trail buddy but a friend, someone that I really enjoy hanging out with and trust. We sweat, get dirty and nasty out there, and don't have time for pretenses. Nature treats everyone the same, judges no one. Sole sisters understand this truth and live it. -Jenny