We walked through the skeletons of trees that had been in a forest fire years ago. The new growth covered the forest floor with greenry. There were beautiful purple flowers blooming along the trail. Every now and then I was lucky enough to find a few thimble berries. The view of the Stehekin land scape was awe inspiring at the top.

After our exciting Rainbow Loop hike, we had 13 people at a trailhead and a car that seated five. So, the folks who were new to Stehekin or leaving the next day took a quick walk a mile up the road to see the fabled Rainbow Falls while the first group headed back to the Lake House. The falls DID NOT disappoint. Wow. The snow, ice, and still running falls and creek were absolutely incredible, and I was very happy that we made the trek fast enough that there was still a little bit of light left to enjoy them. For comparison, we were moving at about a mile-an-hour pace on the Rainbow Loop Trail, and we made our way to Rainbow Falls in about 15 minutes. To be fair, I encouraged a very fast pace in order to not miss them, but boy is it great. Definitely take the Mist Trail up to the upper platform. That's where the cathedral of icicles is best visible, and you can see the almost-frozen upper splash pool. Bonus -- the picnic table photo is one I've always wanted. It is a comically large table, definitely worth checking out, too.