There has not been a post in a while because life is as normal as it gets for me now that I’m in my own home parked in one spot for two months. I like it!
During my on duty days, I work with another host to clean the cabins that become empty each day. I’ve done as many as seven in a day, at about 30 minutes each, but often there are only 2-5 vacancies. On those days, I travel around the park in a golf cart looking for Scotch Broom (an invasive plant) or hike the trails to litter pick. These are both good alternatives to cleaning cabins, but my favorite activity is hiking.
The trails are pleasant to walk on through the forest.
Sometimes I walk alone and take a park radio to communicate in case of emergency - which there has not been for me.
There are huge trees
and deep canyons with water coming out of the walls-too little to be called a waterfall but cool sounding none-the-less.
and rivers at the bottom of the canyons
There are 10 waterfalls in the park that can be reached along a 7.5 mile circle hiking trail system. I have walked the entire 7.5 miles, but not in one continuous stretch because it takes more time than I want to devote in one session.
Some days I plan ahead with my cabin cleaning host partner Bob who also likes to hike,
and we leave at 7:00 in the morning on a light cleaning day before the day use hikers show up on the trails.
Sometimes we take a golf cart and do a two mile circle on the South Falls trail where you can pose behind the first of three falls you can walk behind.
This is the most popular section of the 7.5 mile loop because the falls are nearest to the huge parking lot and it is a short two mile loop. This section hike takes us down 187 steps into the canyon behind Lower South Falls,
Sometimes we take a car 2.5 miles up the road to the North Falls parking lot and walk along Canyon Trail all the way back to South Falls. This is a 4.5 mile stretch that passes upper North Falls,
North Falls
Drake Falls
Double Falls
And lots of pretty scenery.
We always come out with trash. Beverage containers, candy wrappers, paper litter, and most disturbing - toilet paper, when we take the little side trails off the main path to find the private places people need on a several hour hike in the woods where there are no official facilities.
Warning! Here comes my litter picker rant………
The disturbing part is not that they had to go, but that they thought ahead to bring toilet paper but chose to leave it behind to spoil the forest rather than “Pack it in, Pack it out”. They know to pick up after their dogs, don’t they? I’m not suggesting they bring the bodily remains like they should for their dogs. Just bring a bag to pack out the paper. Come on, folks! You love the woods or you wouldn’t be here!!!!
End of rant - the actual rant that Bob and I exchange while picking up is not fit for print here:)
