This is dangerous!

"You hike at your own risk.", was his first words to me. That always makes me feel a bit better about a new place to hike.

The trail to see Rainbow Falls is listed as a strenuous hike but I couldn't let that stop me. Strenuous is a matter of opinion. It's my opinion that most of the guys reviewing the hike are on crutches.

After I found the start of the trail on the side of the road and got myself pumped up to enter the forest I saw a sign. The sign said that this is a dangerous trail and that I must check in at the Main Office. The trail is located on the property of a YMCA camp. I considered ignoring that sign and moving on. I imagined myself laying at the bottom of some cliff for days. I decided to check in.

That's when I met the "at your own risk" guy. He told me that it was a strenuous hike. Not that far of a hike, but a major elevation change. This trail would have me hiking on the edge of cliffs with 75 ft drops he told me. He had me fill out a tag to hang in my car window. It had my name, the time I left, and two emergency numbers. "If your car is still there tonight, we'll know who to call.", he told me. I wonder how that call would go? "Yes mam, you can come get the car tomorrow."

The first ten minutes of hiking were into the woods. I crossed two small streams by walking on large stones in the water. The trail turned beside an open cave. I went and sat in it for minute. What an easy hike this was. Strenuous my butt.

Shortly after seeing the cave and hearing some noises in the woods, the hike became more of a climb. Sections of my trail went almost straight down. On top of that I really was on the very edge of falling 75 ft. My fear of tripping on a rock or tree root slowed me down. Walls of granite on one side, nothing but open air on the other.

Maybe it was my excitement of finding what's around the next corner, but this climb didn't seem to strenuous.

Then I came to the bottom. That's when I saw Rainbow falls for the first time. With a backdrop of gold and black granite, it was one of the best waterfalls I have seen to date. I sat on some rocks in front of it and drank my water.
After a few minutes I couldn't resist climbing closer to where the water crashed into the rocks. Then I learned why it is called Rainbow falls. A huge rainbow was formed in the splash and mist at the bottom. Absolutely beautiful.
When I was done taking my pictures and admiring the scene, I started my strenuous climb back up. That's right, I said strenuous. At one point I even had to sit and take a break. It was less than fifty degrees out, but I sweating. It was a great thing to see my car. It took a few minutes to get my breath back. This strenuous hike/climb was well worth it to have seen Rainbow Falls.