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Thundershowers were forecast, but since the day had dawned clear, we opted to head out on the longer of the two hikes we had planned: a 10-mile round-trip up a ridge and then down the other side, to Anna Ruby Falls, along a well-marked trail. We ate a hearty breakfast and packed a lunch into a daypack. We also brought along 2 quarts of water and the water filter, so that we could drink as much as we needed to, as long as we could find water. This seemed important since the day was looking to be pretty hot -- somewhere in the 80s, with typically high humidity. By the end of the walk, we had consumed more than 8 quarts of water between the 5 of us. The trail was easy to find, initially following a small brook through its valley, but then heading slowly up over a substantial ridge at about the midway point in the 5-mile walk. Much of the trail was covered in a thick blanket of leaves, making the walking soft but a bit slippery. There were fiddlehead ferns, wildflowers, lots of kinds of butterflies, many natural springs and many, many trees. At the top of the ridge we could see three mountain ranges, beyond, to the northeast. Trail signs had indicated that it would take us about 3 hours each way -- we cockily thought we could do it in 2 and a half or less. It took us 2 hours 45 minutes each way, counting rests and water fill stops (and we didn't rest almost at all). The falls were beautiful, tall, and full of water, although Joya turned to Jody immediately after we got there and asked, "Do YOU think this was worth it?" We found a spot on the creek with lots of big rocks to sit on, and we lunched amid the roar. After dining, the girls ventured into some of the pools, although the water was pretty brisk. Doug and Jody joined them for brief dips, mostly just to get cool. Thus fully refreshed, we lounged around in the coolness of the creek canyon for a bit, and then began the walk back to camp -- back the way we had come. There was a request that the adults hike back and fetch the car to retrieve the rest of our party -- NOT! The hike back was a bit tougher on some members of our little party, as muscles were complaining (although not voices, thankfully). All the girls did really well but an early bedtime was in store that night.
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