Finally Made It. Galena Falls on Mt Rose

“Leisure is a form of silence, not noiselessness. It is the silence of contemplation such as occurs when we let our minds rest on a rosebud, a child at play, a Divine mystery, or a waterfall.” ~Fulton J. Sheen

Hi Friends,

For years I have been trying (or at least thinking about) getting up on Mt Rose to see the Galena waterfall. Usually by the time I get up on the trail, it is long gone or a sliver at the most. This year with all the snow late in the season, I knew it was going to be amazing. So I kept reminding myself to get up on Mt Rose as soon as the snow had melted enough for the trail to be open. At one point I forgot about it , then remembered and thought I had probably missed the chance to see the falls at their peak.

On July 28th I again was reminded that i beauty was just a few miles away and luckily had an extra day off. I bounded out the door and in about 40 minutes was sitting at the Mt Rose summit parking area. Wow, there were alot of cars here today, I must not have been the only one with the idea of catching a waterfall that comes and then is gone so quickly.

On the trail the wildflowers were beautiful this year and the trail looked to be in good condition. Lot's of little critters running around, even one little chipmunk that stopped long enough for me to change lenses on my camera and get his picture. I was happy to hear the woodpeckers again. They are loud on this trail and seem to fly around you for quite a while.  They probably have nests here they are protecting, but I don't know for sure. I just know they always greet me and they make me smile.

Found something new on the trail this day ... snow! Yup still some pretty good amounts of snow covering the trail even in July. A reminder of the heavy snowfall this past Winter (and Spring). I managed to cross the snowy areas without falling, injuring myself or looking too much like a idiot so that was good.

Then I could finally hear Galena Falls. It was pretty loud as I rounded a bend in the trail. I have to admit, it was pretty exciting for me. I finally had made it to Galena Falls before it disappeared. Quite a few people were enjoying the meadow below the falls and snapping pictures while they chatted with friends. I tend to enjoy these things by myself. Don't know why, just have always been a solitary hiker using my hikes to clear my head and cleanse my Spirit. I always try to bring back a picture or video to share that captures what I found. I know they don't even come close, but at least there is something to share.



Now refreshed I start looking for my next adventure.  This one was pretty coolio so it will have to be something really different. But I have some ideas ... just might take a while to get to them.

If you find yourself needing to refresh you Spirit or need a break from the everyday life junk, this short hike has a great pot of gold waiting for you. But you have to time it just right.

Follow Your Bliss,

Don

Goal Accomplished!

I can scratch off one more item from my list of things that I just had to do. Today I hiked to the top of Mount Rose and looked out over Northern Nevada and California.

I really enjoy getting out and going for a good walk in the woods now and then and today I finally got off my rear and began hiking to the summit of Mount Rose. It was a bit more than any hikes I have taken in the past with a good 2000' rise in elevation in about 2.5 miles. Luckily I had read a bit about this hike or I might have been too intimidated by the trail in a couple of spots. Monday night I took a few minutes to read in the Tahoe Rim Trail Book and found that it was an amazing hike but the last few hundred feet rise towards the end was a real test.

I was on the trail at about 11:00 am and it took all of 3 hours to reach the summit. I rested and of course called Brenda at work to tell her where I was. She was really not too excited but listened to my adventure story anyway.

It took about 2 hours to fall .... I mean walk the 2.5 miles back to the car before returning home. This is going to be remembered as one of my favorite hikes because of the beauty of the Mount Rose wilderness and the views from the top of the hill. I hope to return sometime early next Spring to see the falls when they are really running and to check out the Spring Flowers.

So check out our Flickr photo's from this adventure, I know I will look at them this Winter when I am cold and stuck in the house. It will warm me up for sure!

Talk to ya soon...

Don