Getting There
From Old Downtown Bend, take NW Galveston westbound until it changes to Skyliners Road and NW Skyliners Road. Continue for about 8.7 miles. Veer right onto Tumalo Falls Road, continuing about 2.6 miles to the trailhead.
I saw a lot of cars parked on the side of the road before the bridge over the creek. I parked behind a truck but realized it was illegally parked. I decided to check if there were any open spots near the trailhead and there was! Score!
The Hike
Elev. gain: 702 ft
Moving time: 2:08:11
Total time: 2:21:15
Avg pace: 24:31
Calories: 1,129
If I'd know this was such a popular destination and that the trail really didn't got to any views, I might not have picked it. The waterfalls are nice to see and the white noise of the water crashing down is soothing. To be honest, I didn't really plan the last two days I had in Bend.
It was still good to get out somewhere and it was kind fun hiking along the river. The snow was sort of expected but not necessarily at this elevation. To be fair, most people only went to the first waterfall and lookout but when I started up the trail, I only saw a few.
It was cool (50s??), especially in the shade, but blue skies for days!
I hiked to a creek crossing and found a bridge with 1/2 inch of ice. I recalled the mountain biker I'd seen earlier. I was so paranoid about falling in the water, and getting injured on such a benign hike. I crept across, holding on the the railing for dear life! I continued up the trail but stopped after checking my map. It wraps around in a much longer loop but I didn't think I'd ever get to any views/elevation.
I went back and crossed the scary bridge again. I had sweat through my shirt and had the foresight to have brought my full pack, 10 essentials, baby! I changed and felt so much better.
I started my way back. I passed a group of guys and noticed one of them wearing flip-flops. In my head, I made a comment about "there's always one in the group" or "forgot your boots or 'don't need 'em' " but was glad I didn't verbalize anything. LOL. Tough guy syndrome.
It was a "nice" hike but I was underwhelmed. I regretted not finding something more challenging. This trip was zipping by. I'd recreated part of my first two trips here and they just weren't giving me the same feeling as I'd had originally. Sigh.
