Turn 30... Hike To Punchbowl Falls

This weekend I hiked out to Punchbowl Falls with my friend Heather in celebration of my birthday.  (Not that I really need a reason to hike to the Falls, but declaring it a "birthday celebration" makes it that much more exciting!)

It was a lovely day for a hike with blue skies, bright sun and a crisp fall chill in the air.  The hike was a relatively easy 1.5 mile out-and-back with very little elevation gain, and beautiful views all around.  During most of the hike the path is skinny with few places to pass people and a pretty steep drop off on one side.  But they've secured cable to other side, so if you have bouts of vertigo, there's something to hold onto which is great!  I, thankfully, didn't need the cable, but we saw many who did.  I imagine in the spring when the path is wet with spring runoff, the cable would come in handy for those slippery moments.

Once you reach the rock bed where Punchbowl Falls feeds into Eagle Creek there's lots of beautiful nature to check out!  There's boulders for climbing on, cliffs covered in moss and fungus (neon green fungus that's awesome!) and HUGE trees crying for hugs.

Visitors have left their mark with stacks of rock, and it's really neat to see them poking up across the river bed.  I much prefer this reminder of visitors past to the crude markings on trees and rocks with paint or marker. 

All-in-all it was a beautiful day, beautiful time spent in nature and was filled with good conversation with a good friend.  In my book, this counts as the perfect way to celebrate a milestone birthday!