Rainbow Falls 1-16-2010

We found the trailhead fairly easily. The parking lot was full so we had to park a little bit down the road. It is a very popular hike. We should have figured it would take longer especially because of the condition of the trail. Parts were fairly icy, especially on the rocks around the creek and up by the waterfall. Two people actually turned back when they saw the trail because they weren't wearing shoes with adequate traction. The trail was 5.4 miles round trip and I am still amazed I talked Jason into it.

Dale is taking off down the trail. The beginning was not too tough because there was not much ice, just a little snow on the rocks.


Emma wanted to walk some of the way. She alternated between walking (for a very small amount of the trail, maybe a mile total) and being carried by Jason or me.


Dale wanted to hold his Daddy's hand for a bit.


Dale and me. Notice the snow.


I like huge hole in the tree you can see in this photograph.












There was a muddy portion of the trail somewhere around the middle. This side of the mountain had a lot more sun and was actually pretty warm. Jason took off his coat. It was on a ledge that had a fairly steep drop so I was a little nervous for the kids but it wasn't icy at least. We also passed a lot of people on the trail with hiking sticks and chain type things on their shoes. If we live somewhere with hiking like this in winter I will definitely get some of these grip things for my shoes.


The "bridge of death". When we saw this bridge we did not know what we were going to do. When I read that the trail crossed a couple foot bridges I did not think they meant a flat topped log with one hand rail. It didn't help that the tope of this one had clumps of ice. Jason crossed it holding onto Emma with little trouble. The problem was Dale. He was too little to hold onto the rail and I didn't think he would be able to keep his footing well on the ice. A nice young couple came up behind us and the woman (probably close to my age) offered to hold one of Dale's hands while I held the other. That way we each had one hand to hold onto the rail and Dale was safely supported as he walked. He slipped a little at one point and I about had a heart attack. When we made it over and thanked the woman, I noticed that some people had simply crossed the stream on some rocks. They were spaced out well enough that it wouldn't have been hard for Dale and I to cross in this manner. We determined on the way back that is what we would do. There was one more foot bridge before the waterfall and this one Dale and I avoided and used rocks to cross. Jason again crossed with Emma and did well. This bridge had more grip and not as much ice.


A first glimpse of the waterfall. Jason was not impressed after all the work but I thought it was amazing. When it isn't frozen the water will sometimes make a rainbow when the light hits it, hence the name. But with it frozen solid it sparkled like a million crystals in the light. Definitely worth the hike for me, but then I enjoy hiking.

Some icicles from the top of the cliff dripping over. I climbed up the rocks off the trail to get close to the waterfall. It was a steep climb and the rocks were not safe for the kids to climb (and had a warning posted to stay on the trail becaus the rocks were slippery). Jason sat with the kids at the trail and had a snack. He was not interested in climbing up.


Side view of the waterfall. You can see here some of the volume of the water. It was quite thick. The sparkling ice is more evident in this photo as well.


The side and a little of the back of the waterfall.


A view down from where I climbed up and the trail where Jason and the kids were sitting and eating. You can see another foot bridge their but thankfully we did not cross that one.


A picture of me next to the waterfall. A Christian youth group was hiking the trail as well and one of the guys who had climbed up there to the falls offered to take my picture next to it. A lot of them were climbing out on the waterfall since it appeared to be frozen solid. We had just heard some ice crack and fall from overhead though (some of the icicles at the top) and I didn't want to push my luck. I am a little clutzy and tend to slip when most inconvenient. I do have kids to worry about after all.


A red squirel! I don't think I had ever seen one before so I took a picture. It didn't stay still long enough for me to get a better one but I do like this one even though it is blurry.

Jason, Dale, and Emma with Rainbow Falls. I love Dale's goofy smile here. You can see in the background some of the people climbing on the waterfall.

Jason crossing the less icey bridge with Dale in hand. He made it look so easy, but I am the one that is afraid of things like that. I did cross it this time though, by myself. Then Jason took the kids one by one. The next one Dale and I did the rocks again though. Just too much ice for me and not enough traction.


A little frozen waterfall. It was pretty so I took a few pictures of it.


We were almost done here! Dale wanted to sit and look at the creek. And I wanted to snap a picture. He has quite an opinion about what he does for photos sometimes. He said "take a picture of me looking at the river".


Part of the stipulation for this trip was that we would stop at Sonic. We missed happy hour since it took us about 5 hours to hike, not including our rest at the waterfall. But Jason was craving a Sonic slush so we stopped at Pigeon Forge, TN and got one and some hamburgers for dinner. Everyone was starving. Emma and Jason shared one drink and Dale and I shared the other one. As you can see Emma had a hard time sharing hers. Once she got it she refused to give it back until she thought it was gone.