Follow the Orange Dots to Glen Onoko Falls

Before my friend and I went hiking to Glen Onoko Falls in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, she asked her dad to pray for her safety. I thought she joking but later on I realized that she was seriously afraid of nature.

We parked the car by the railroad station (only to find out later that we could have driven to the base of the park) and walked 2 miles to the park entrance.

Many old trains such as this one were scattered along the path.

I was curious to see what was inside so I went up to the train while my friend stayed by the path. As I approached the train, I imagined some killer or ghost pop out. I climbed up the steps, looked into the glass door, freaked myself out, and ran back to my friend.

We were welcomed by this sign when we arrived at the base of the trail. Good thing I was wearing my Chucks.

At first the hike was easy but eventually the trail became steep and it was hard to figure out the direction of the trail. We were told to follow the orange dots but they weren't very helpful.

My friend is a bit on the dainty side so I ended up hiking ahead of her most of the time, stopping to take pictures and then waiting for her to meet me.

Every time we passed by a tiny "waterfall" we got excited because we thought we were close to the big waterfall.

This was one of the waterfalls. I wasn't expecting Niagara Falls but I was expecting more than trickling water.

The view at the top of the falls made up for the anti-climatic waterfall.

This is what I like to call a leaf model shoot.

We hiked further up and came across another waterfall.

I went behind it to see how it would be like if I were to be stranded in the woods and needed to seek shelter for the night. I think I've been watching too much Discovery Channel.

On the way down the trail, my friend spotted a snake and ran down screaming. She also screamed when she saw spider webs.

At one point we didn't know how to get back down because we couldn't find the orange dots. Logic told me to walk alongside the river because that's how we came up, but my friend insisted that we wait for other hikers to come by. Eventually a man and woman came down and told us that we could follow them. They led us down an unmarked steep path. I had steady footing, but my friend slipped a couple times and was clearly shaken up. I thought she was about to burst into tears and felt awful for taking her on the hike.

We made it back without any injuries or hard feelings. I love my friend but we're going to stick to being city friends. By the way, I saw these ladies by the bottom of the trail. I thought I was in an episode of "Little House on the Prairie."