I stopped to look at the falls for a moment before heading through the tunnel.
A magnificent sight.
Shelby asked me to try to look other than the terrified fool that I was--like a real manly explorer or something--so I gave it my best shot. A few seconds later I fell into a heap against the wall, clutching at the cable and asking for my mother.
Criss-Cross Falls.
We rested for a few minutes at the fork in the trail where one path leads to Wahtum Lake and the other to Indian Spring. The trail to Indian Spring is about 2 miles from that point, and gains about 1800 feet. No switchbacks, it travels essentially straight up the spine of the ridge, and the day was getting short, so we shouldered our packs and made the final push. I got my trekking poles out, which brought another round of ridicule down upon me, this of course from the guy wearing black jeans to hike on a hot day. Part way up the trail I stopped to photograph the mountains around us.
