1/15/2012 - Latourell Falls

1/15/2012 Latourell Falls. 2.4 Miles, 520 Feet Elevation Gain

Portland Hikers description of Latourell Falls describes the season for this hike as "Year round except during winter storms"  Since it was only snowing and not icy we went for it.  I had promised the girls I would get them to the snow and I also promised them a waterfall and Latourell Falls delivered!  As we arrived at the falls, big snow flakes started to come down. 

Unfortunately unlike last week, my leg gave me a lot of trouble.  I have a muscle hernia through the fascia of my calf muscle that requires surgery to repair.  In the meantime, it's safe to hike but it hurts like hell especially on steep uphill sections.  I found that I could take about 100 steps until the pain was too great.  After 15 to 30 seconds of rest, I could keep going.  Flat and downhill did not hurt as bad and I actually did some trail running to catch up to my family after taking too long to photograph the upper falls.