The plan was pure genius. I would invite two male friends of mine, both married, out to lunch where we would enjoy gourmet burgers and fries on a patio overlooking Lake Washington. One friend would bring his new baby and the other would bring his dog -- creating a living chick magnet of unbelievable power. I would simply sit between them and enjoy the rewards.

Well, several plates of flame-roasted fries later, the only women that we'd attracted were blue-haired and over 50. Argh. Chadd (an innocent fourth party, unaware of my grand, now failed, plans) suggested a hike to Twin Falls. It sounded better than doing laundry, so we were off.

Chadd and I had hiked before and he was well aware of my tendency to overpack. This time, however, I was resolved to travel light. I shunned my 10 essentials, forgoing everything but some trail mix and a single water bottle. I didn't even bring my swiss army knife! I did bring my fleece (I never leave the trailhead without it) and, of course, a fine selection of camera equipment.

Twin Falls is a fairly pleasant trail, meandering alongside the south fork of the Snoqualmie River. The hike was, for the most part, uneventful. I stopped a lot to take picture and Chadd was good enough to wait patiently without even the slightest grumble. I'm a slow photographer at the best of times.

The trail is flat for the first half-mile or so before climbing up a few hundred feet to a spot that gives a nice view of the falls. The climb is fairly easy. At the top is a bunch to rest your weary legs, but chances are it'll be occupied by someone else when you get there. A good combination of easy hiking, accessibility and natural splendor make Twin Falls a pretty popular trail.

From the lookout point the trail drops back down to river level before climbing up to a bridge over the falls. I'm not sure why it's called "Twin Falls", since there's one big fall and at least two other small falls. Maybe there's another set of falls further upstream.

Chadd and I hung out at the top for a few minutes before turning back. When we reached the river again Chadd found a nice rock and I set up my tripod to take photos. The sun was low in the sky and the river gorge was in shadow. I got pretty snap happy.

From there we headed back to the car. No grand adventures this time. Sorry. Even the pictures are pretty boring.

Lesson 13 wasn't learned on the trail, but two days later when I got the results back from the lab. I didn't want to hold up Chadd with my constant photography, so I was pretty lax with using my tripod, making sure it was stable, and metering properly. The results reflected that -- blurry, overexposed photos. Next time, I'll either worry less about the photography or go by myself.