Stairs are Evil.

On Wednesday, Emma and I decided to embrace our woodsy sides and get THAT out of the way. We headed north to Lynn Canyon so we could check out the scary suspension bridge over the falls and then hike around a bit. I found the bridge to be fairly mild... nothing compared to the terror of the rope bridge Carrick-A-Rede on the Antirim coast in Northern Ireland. I get chills thinking about it even now. This one felt like a paved sidewalk by comparison... Still I respect everyone's fear of it's bounciness and terrific plummet to the waters below if something did happen to go wrong.

These signs were particularly entertaining to me:

We read them before going over the bridge and into the woods. I just love how they are sooooo negative and almost celebratory of all the potential deaths you could encounter on this journey around Lynn Canyon and its river. It reminded me of an Edward Gorey book. The alphabet one that describes all the ways one might die... P is for placid waters pulling you under.

The first bit of a hike was really nice and we crossed a little bridge leading us over the water and instead of doubling back we decided to follow that path across the river. Unfortunately it merely led STRAIGHT UP to the parking lot via a lot... I mean, a LOT of steps. I can handle steep terrain in a hike but following wooden steps endlessly is NOT my idea of a good time. I nearly had a heart attack. Seriously.

Next we followed a path to "the pond" and discovered a swimming area with young and old alike dipping into the frigid waters. I went so far as to step out of my tennies and strip off the socks and let the water numb my feet for a few minutes. It was actually quite refreshing.