To begin our journey, we started out a few miles west of Shoshone at the hot spot, known as Pillar Falls. This is a popular destination for hiking in Twin Falls because it carries a wide variety of beauty on its own. Climbing about a mile and a half down the steep trail, the canyon walls instantly shoot higher and higher up into the air, creating an incredible gorge. Photographers often venture down this trail for shots of the iconic Perrine Coulee Bridge during sunset (this bridge is known by B.A.S.E. jumpers for its 500 ft drop). At the end of the trail, just before Pillar Falls, we set up basecamp. Camping here will easily make you feel like you’ve left civilisation and stumbled on a brave new world with towering boulders and thick trees that zigzag and shoot horizontally across the sky. Just imagine hanging up 10 hammocks, evenly spaced from each other down the same tree line. It’s an unreal place. From there, less than 50 yards away, are several basalt pillars which stand approximately 30 ft in the air, dividing the Snake River into multiple channels. All this, and swimming hole after swimming hole create the highlights of this attraction. Upstream rests the giant Shoshone Falls. The falls are actually the result of the Snake River carving ancient lava flows into canyon cliffs. These cliffs span a quarter mile across and rise 500ft above the river. This is a canyon worthy for Evel Knievel to jump across.
