What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, the river was running so high (9,000 cfs according to the nearest gage upstream) that I only dared to go a short distance up the familar Twin Falls trail. Today the river had long since crested and was down at about 4,000 cfs so it seemed safe enough to take the girls for a late-evening hike to Turtle Rock, about half a mile up the trail.
The first damage we saw was within a couple hundred feet of the trailhead where a tree had come down across the trail. Clara, equipped with my headlamp, had little trouble finding a way through the branches and even with Lilly strapped to my back I also made it easily.
At the bottom of one of the hills we could see where a tributary had blown over the trail and scoured a little channel. Still not a big deal.
As we neared a spot we've dubbed "Tokul's Hole" (it's where she always goes swimming) we started to see more of the impact of the river. Brush that usually lined the trail was just gone and logs were strewn across the trail. Where the trail runs along a high bank over the Hole it was missing. About five feet of bank had been reduced to a jumble of exposed roots and river rock randomly piled.
Although I would have loved to see the falls themselves it would have taken far too long to get there with both girls. Instead, we said hello and goodbye to Turtle Rock and returned to the house with info to share with the state parks department.
Total whopping distance: A mile? Maybe? Sure. Why not.
