Tuesday, November 21, 2017

In Search of the Hidden Waterfalls

I tried a new local trail twice while staying with our daughter-in-law, once by myself, and once with my grandson.  I was intrigued with a notation on Google Maps for the "Hidden Waterfalls", and was sure that this trail headed that direction.  Warning - another picture heavy post.

It's actually a heavily disturbed forest, but the trees grow fast and grow big.  I caught the morning mist in the sun through the trees here.

It's not all Hemlock and Cedar though; this is a big Bigleaf Maple.

And lots of those Sword Ferns, and the smaller Licorice Ferns that grow right out of the moss on tree branches.

It's a rainforest alright, moss on the branches, and big old stumps nursing new young trees.

A couple of days after my walk alone, I went down the same trail with my grandson, still hoping we could get to see those waterfalls.

In places the trail was flooded with large puddles.  And what does a seven-year-old do with a large puddle?

Of course, see how close you can get the water to the top of your boots!

We got down to the stream quickly, to this collapsed log bridge once used by mountain bikers.  It's a beautiful little stream, flowing through the steep-sided valley.

But look at these two pictures!  If I couldn't quite jump across the first time, we certainly weren't going to this time!  The water had risen about 4" after overnight rain.

We had to give up our quest and head back up hill.  My eagle-eyed grandson did spot this interesting slug on the ground.

These aren't even huge trees, but I like to think that this is one kid who is going to appreciate the natural world in his future.

Meanwhile, back home on the ranch, it appears to be winter now.  This was whiter a few hours later, gone again today, but forecast to return tomorrow.  Four months of snow coming up.

18 comments:

  1. The outdoors, the very best education of all with a grandpa. Love those boots, and snow again... we have a heat wave right now, 26C, so all outdoor activity has stopped till the morning.

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  2. Looks like the hidden waterfalls were aptly named -- a good reason to take the young one out again.

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  3. Ugh to the snow.

    Such a great walk with your grandson, FG.

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  4. Not ready for the white stuff yet...

    I loved all the shots, but especially the fern shots.

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  5. Oh, great shots! I love the ferns. And have a lovely Thanksgiving.

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  6. I'm not sure things are always placed correctly on the Google maps, especially away from cities and places their seeing eye cars can drive. - Margy

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  7. What a big trees. We cannot completely drive through using google maps all ways. Enjoyed seeing the pictures:)

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  8. At least you know why they're called "The Hidden Waterfalls". I never was completely satisfied till my boots were full of water and my mother had warned me about the dangers of drowning, water-borne diseases, trench-foot......

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  9. Hello, love the walk in the forest. The ferns and big trees are lovely. Have a great day.

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  10. Love your forest photos, so beautiful and relaxing.

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  11. It all looks so familiar to me, and I love it all, even the slugs. We have a seriously warm day ahead, with temperatures much above normal, and rain. Lots of rain. :-)

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  12. What beautiful pictures you took along your walk.
    My favorite pictures are those ferns. They are great looking.
    My 7 year old self must still be inside me because I too would have walked in the puddles. : )

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  13. Remarkably lush!

    We got the snow on the weekend- most of it went with warmer temperatures yesterday, and the ice on the canal probably took a hit, but the temperatures have dropped again.

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  14. Nice boots, beautiful images. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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  15. Sorry you didn't find the waterfalls, but you did have a lovely walk with your grandson.

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  16. Well you found puddles and a stream but no hidden waterfalls. Oh well looks like a neat hike anyway---rain or not.
    I scrolled through the rest of your blog--the ones I missed. Looks like a nice time in BC. PNW is so beautiful.We are into rain for awhile now---November is usually a very wet month. I see you are having a bit of snow. We seldom get much at all. It does look like we live in a rain forest. I do love the moss on the trees and the ferns that grow on the trees. Olympic Peninsula has an actual true rain forest---go sometime.
    MB

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  17. Like all the adventure pix, but the fern sori are great!

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  18. Love the photos, the slug gives me the creeps but it's good to see similar fernery like we have here in NZ.

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