Falls give rise to a feeling of wonder.

Byline: THE OUTSIDER By John Rezell The Register-Guard

As the trail slowly wound down around the side of the ridge in the shadows of Western hemlock and Douglas fir, nestled deep in the Coast Range, one of those majestic outdoor moments began to unfurl.

Mother Nature kicked off the symphony with a natural drum roll - the distinct sound of a steady stream of water pounding down onto a rocky base gradually growing louder with each step.

We continued down the slope crunching tiny Hemlock cones, turned the corner and BOOM! The twins of Lower Kentucky Falls hit full force, like a pair of resounding cymbals crashing on cue.

The North Fork Smith River tumbling out of the forest peeks through the trees, revealing itself first as your heart rate and foot speed quicken, and your voice cranks up a few notches in volume to be heard over the roar.

Before you can finish belting out an appropriate response, Kentucky Creek dominates this native game of one-upmanship with its leaner, meaner falls squirting down.

There you stand, stunned into momentary silence, snapping your head back and forth between two falls nearly 100 feet high, like a bobblehead doll. My daughters even quieted down for a few minutes as they took in the breath-stealing sights and felt the gentle mist caress their cheeks.

I got turned on to Kentucky Falls a few weeks back by my Geo-Caching buddy BeavTeam, who insisted it's a must hike for anyone with kids. Not too difficult with a big-time payoff. Like a set of reliable satellite coordinates, he was spot on.

The drive to the trailhead, located south of Mapleton (or northeast of Reedsport, depending on where you come from), offered some stunning winter panoramas of the Cascades. Looking back at the snow-capped Sisters in the distance cranked up our anticipation, and made the 90-minute drive from Eugene seem much shorter than that. (You can find directions at www.fs.fed.us/r6/siuslaw/). The two-mile hike down to the Lower Falls begins in thick, lush forest dominated by ferns. Just three-quarters of a mile down a gentle slop the first treat of the effort appears - the Upper Kentucky Falls.

You have to hike a bit down the steep edge of the mountain to get a beautiful view of the upper falls, but it gives you an excellent understanding of just how far - and how quickly - the water of Kentucky Creek dives into the canyon.

This first section of the trail is the most challenging for kids. The terrain falls quickly down the side, and the trail is rocky. Still, it is wide enough to be able to hold hands, if necessary. with younger children. My daughters, ages 8 and 10, had no trouble on it.

The hike down always seems more unnerving and demanding than coming back up, and getting the downhill portion out of the way first is a refreshing change from many of the hikes we've had around here where you grind up a mountain first.

It reminded the girls of the Grand Canyon, where practically every hike begins by heading down, then eventually, back up.

A couple of log bridge crossings of the creek along with an ever-changing terrain and flora pattern keep the experience fresh from top to bottom, and back. The second bridge provided a perfect place to rest on a stump and enjoy a lunch break, next to the babbling creek.

The trailhead has a restroom, which comes in handy after a long mountain drive. And, the connection with the 6.5-mile North Fork Smith Trail creates the option for a longer effort, either out-and-back, or point-to-point if you have two vehicles to use as shuttles.

Either way you hike it, the trail delivers the great experience of hearing, then seeing, nature at its best.

John Rezell, aka, Raz, can't, for the life of him, understand why no one has invited him on any fun snow adventures this winter. His daughter Taylor is dying to try snowshoeing. Drop him a line at [e-mail], and visit his blog at www.registerguard.com/outsider.