Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

After finally getting Evie back from her work trip in Juneau, we talked about everything she had missed when she was gone and about her time in Juneau and about what to do on Sunday afternoon. So, we decided to ignore TLC's advice--"don't go chasing waterfalls"--and four of us decided to hike the Indian River trail with hopes of reaching the waterfall 4 and a half miles away. The weather was great for most of the hike as it stayed pretty clear and I was able to hike in shorts and a t-shirt for most of it and the river was full of salmon making their way upstream to spawn and die, so unfortunately a lot of the trail smelt of dead fish. The trail itself is pretty flat for the first half or so with several bridges crossing over the river that provide great views of the clear water below. About an hour and a half or so into the hike we ran into Meg and Eileen who were on their way back from the waterfall with a few friends (including a husky) and told us that we were about forty minutes away from the waterfall. After leaving them, the trail grew thinner, steeper and rockier as we approached the trail's end. Eventually we reached the waterfall and my only reaction was one of shear awe. It was majestic and giant (I haven't seen too many waterfalls so I have little to compare it to) and Katie, Evie and I felt the need to get closer. We "carefully" manuevered through and around the river to approach the falls and got within about ten feet of it (as well as soaking ourselves in the process.) The spray was freezing yet refreshing at the same time, it was really misty and pretty tough to see when you were right up next to the falls, but it was a beautiful sight.

We soon realized that it was 5pm, that we had a 2 hour hike back ahead of us and wanted to get out of the woods before dark, so we started back. Along the way, I had a really great conversation with one of my housemates about our time in Sitka so far, potential future plans, what has been challenging so far (relationships, adjusting to life here, and spirituality, among others), and things we are looking forward to, particularly a visit from Jamie, our area director, and our fall retreat so we can see and catch up with the other Alaska houses. About halway through our walk back, Katie yelled and showed us the largest bear print I have ever seen; I am pretty sure it was bigger than a dinner plate. Needless to say, our pace quickened and we started singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as loud as we could in an effort to avoid this large bear. We all made it home safely so overall I would say this outing was a success and I fully support anyone who wants to chase waterfalls :-)