When my sister and I did the Wolf Creek Trestle hike, we loved it. The tunnels, which of course had bears and axe murderers in them, were very creepy and remote, but the hike was so neat. When I found out there was another hike on the same disused railroad, I was totally excited. It wasn’t as awesome, but it was still a really good time, especially since I got to laugh at my sister all day.

The Lower Salmonberry part of the railroad is definitely easier to find. It’s on an actual road and not in the middle of no where. When we hit the tracks it was sprinkling lightly, but it soon began to rain really really hard. Our rain gear was no match for it. It wasn’t just the rain either. The Scots Broom that blocked our path was soaked and we had to walk through it. It wasn’t very long before our jeans were soaked through. My sister had a small V-shape on the back of her upper leg that was dry. The rest of her jeans were totally wet. I can’t actually see the back of my legs, so I don’t know. One thing I do know is that I got huge soapy bubbles on the knees of my jeans. Apparently my washing machine isn’t removing all of the soap. Good to know, I suppose.

The trestles we crossed were beautiful and even our foe (the Scots Broom) was a lovely shade of  warm yellow. There were flowers everywhere. When you are wearing a hat and a hood, it is hard to see all of the cool stuff around you. One of the features of the hike is a large water tower. I was looking forward to seeing it and insisted, after my sister begged to turn around, that we continue until we reached it. When we got to it, I didn’t even see it. I was literally standing three feet away from it and she had to point it out to me. Did I mention it was raining really hard?

My sister did not want to finish this hike. She wanted to turn around a long time before I would let her. I wanted to see the water tower and the train cars left behind that were mentioned in descriptions of the hikes. Maybe I shouldn’t read the descriptions anymore. This was a similar scenario to the damn light house on the Warrior Point hike. I HAD to see it. At one point we crossed a creek that was pretty deep and wide. She was so frustrated with me she just stomped right through it. It was so funny.

One of the highlights of the hike was my sister being so upset. Something about sisters, it is absolutely hilarious when your sister is annoyed or frustrated. She laughs at me. I laugh at her. We both know that all it does is exacerbate the situation, but that doesn’t stop us. She was sooo mad. She hates being wet. She was cold. Her raincoat was leaking. Her “waterproof” boots with the fancy waterproof membrane were also soaked through. I know all of these things because she kept saying them. Then she stopped talking and just walked faster and faster and faster. She was just a speck in the distance. If she had to finish, she was doing it fast. More hilarity.

When I finally caught up, in the most exasperated voice, she said, “I know what this waterproof membrane in my boots is for.” I decided to bite, “What?” She answered with a gruff voice as she powered up her walking speed again, “It keeps the water in my boots. I’m walking in boot soup.”

Boot soup is disgusting. I do not recommend it.

We did eventually see all of the sites. We were finally heading back. It was an 8.2 mile hike round trip with almost no elevation. We are often relieved when we reach the end of a hike, but never so much as today. I had a bag of Goodwill-bound clothes in the hatchback, which we promptly raided. My sister basically took off all her clothes and put my old ones all over her. She had a sweat shirt on her feet, another on her legs, an old brown sweater around her waist, and a few shirts on her torso. She was also wrapped in my Ducks poncho. I just changed my shirt. There was nothing left for me after we got her warmed up.

I had a great day. I’m pretty sure Jessie didn’t.

For information about the Lower Salmonberry Hike click here.