Drift Creek Falls, Dec 31st

We couldn’t finish the year without a hike and being down in Newport, we had a handful of choices. At first, we thought about doing the Thumb but with the recent rainy days, we thought it would be muddy and very slippery, so we opted for Drift Creek Falls which is always very rewarding. From Newport, the drive there is longer, or at least seems longer than is should be as it goes thru a vey windy road. I’ve always wondered about those roads asking myself is that is by design or just happens while following a natural feature like a river or canyon. Either way, once we got there, we took the main trail going down where we cross paths we a lot of other people with the same idea as us. The forest was lush and beautiful but cold. I thought I had enough layers but as we were hiking downhill, I quickly learned that I was wrong. I do remember shivering a bit and trying to warm up by walking a bit faster – it didn’t work. Once we got down to the bridge we were welcomed with a bit of sun. It was not enough to feel the temperature difference but at least it made us feel better. WE took some pictures from the bridge and then hiked down to the lower view point where I took a couple of long exposures. On Our return, Marci stayed on the main trail heading up back to the parking area while Cindy and I took the alternate high trail that goes up to the ridge to descend back to the main trail adding about half a mile and some variety to the hike. After that, we drove back towards Newport making a stop in Otter Bay where we said goodbye to 2017 with the most spectacular sunset I’ve seen in a long time

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