Johnston Canyon
Kaylee
Johnston Canyon is a beautiful and well maintained hiking trail that provides stunning views and up close opportunities to witness the falls. It is a wonderful hike to experience however it can be extremely busy during the summer and even more so on weekends. The area provides a single trail that leads to the lower falls, upper falls, and continues on all the way down to the ink pots. There is plenty of elevation to this trail and the path to the lower and upper falls is all paved and provides catwalks that follow along the canyon walls. If you consider continuing on to the ink pots, keep in mind that the hiking trail elevates even further for a period of time and then descends into the valley, but when you get to the ink pots you have to be ready to climb all the way back up the mountain and then down back through the upper and lower falls to the parking lot. That being said the ink pots are definitely a sight to see, especially on sunny days when the special composition of the mineral water causes it to become all different colors of the rainbow. Whether going all the way to the ink pots or just to the falls, it was another lovely hike and the farther you go, the less people there are crowding the trail.
Sunali
This hike is super popular so expect to be surrounded by a ton of people no matter when you go. Also, be aware of flocking tourists who tend to swarm around you when you’re trying to take a picture – backstory needed here obviously: So Kaylee was trying to take a picture of a dead bird and the poor girl was suddenly surrounded by a bunch of tourists who thought she was looking at something dead cool. It was cool in the name of science but not really all that cool when you’re a tourist, which would explain the weird looks they gave Kaylee when they realized she was looking at a dead bird. This trail is super picturesque because of the river that runs alongside it as well as the boardwalk that you walk on up until the upper falls. The first time we did this hike we went all the way up to the Ink Pots and holy man, I thought I was going to die. It was so nice to have Kassy, Kaylee and Jack there telling me how good I was doing and how we were almost there. Then when we finally got to the Ink Pots it was slightly embarrassing but mostly nice when a lady said “Oh you made it and didn’t die! Good for you!” (apparently, she heard me screaming about my near death). The second time I did this hike, I did it with Liam, Keegan and Denzil and oh boy it was definitely a trip. They bothered me the whole way and I swear I was going to use them as bear bait but we did get some nice pictures and I managed to survive the overload of testosterone.