Monday, March 14, 2016

Another Ephemeral Waterfall

I think I"m going to christen the next two weeks 'Waterfall Weeks'.  It's a great time to photograph waterfalls, with the spring runoff flowing high and fast.  And I've been to 9 different waterfalls in the past 3 weeks I think, but so far only posted pictures of 4 of them.  Hope you enjoy waterfall pictures!

This one is the ephemeral Woodford Waterfalls that we hiked into last week when there was still more snow left.   The Bruce Trail Guide calls it a 'disappearing waterfall', and indicates 'that it only flows for about 1 week a year, when water thunders over the edge of the escarpment'.  The rest of the year the water disappears into a crevice upstream and emerges at a spring at the bottom.  This is a panoramic view of part of it; it continues downhill beyond the right side of the picture.

It's a fairly long walk in, and that day the woods was downright ghostly with mist.

At one point along the trail there is an old lime kiln, built right into a crevice in the cliff, with a front wall of stone added - probably well over 100 years ago.

We had to watch our footing on the trail.  It was icy in places, and in other spots the snow still hid crevices you could fall into!

When we got to the stream, this is what we saw.  The temporary stream is curving around a small valley right in front of the trail, starting to drop down over the rocks.

Looking to the right, you could see the water falling downhill, ledge after ledge.

We backtracked and climbed down to try and see the lower part of the falls.  This section is about the steepest; it's tumbling over rocks rather than dropping straight down over a cliff.

Right in front of me two channels were joining, and continuing on down.  The water was roaring, and there was certainly no way to cross the creek to continue any further.

Below me at that point the stream tumbles on down to the bottom.  The neatest part of this for me was that it only flows like this for a few days, so we were seeing something that few other people ever see.  A few more pictures tomorrow.

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16 comments:

  1. Lovely area and photos . I do like all that lovely green moss on the forest floor ! Thanks for sharing have a good day !

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  2. Wow! I've always loved waterfalls and try to go to one here even if it is far as long as it is accessible without long arduous hikes. But seeing them frozen like those in temperate countries like yours is wonderful. I can imagine the thrill. I love dynamic water flows even not in real falls, love also capturing the movement. Oh how i wish at least once in this lifetime i can see an actual one like in those photos.

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  3. Talk about being in the right place at the right time... That was so neat to get to see that waterfall with LOTS of water....

    We have quite a few waterfalls here in the states that totally dry up in the summer ---but I don't know of any that only 'run' for a few days a year... You are one lucky man!!!!!!

    Great pictures...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. You had to deal with the cold of the snow to get these shots. They are wonderful photos of a beautiful place.

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  5. Love those foggy, snowy woods! I see you got bit by the waterfall bug too! :)

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  6. We can certainly tolerate some more waterfall shots! I've never seen a lime-kiln built into the rock like that, though it seems an ingenious way to build one. By the way there seems to be a huge frog sitting at the bottom of the second-last picture!

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  7. Hello, the snowy woods and the waterfalls are beautiful. I really love the rock wall lime kiln shot. Happy Tuesday, enjoy your day!

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  8. We have many of the same kind of ephemeral waterfalls from rain, and as soon as the rain stops, they do too. These are great to look at, and the fog is a familiar friend, too. Gives an otherworldly feeling to the woods. :-)

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  9. Short lived though it is, that stream's a beauty!

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  10. of all of nature's natural elements, waterfalls are one of my favorites and it's something i don't see or photograph often. i especially like the 3rd image, such pretty colors!!!

    these are really beautiful images, you have a great eye for natural beauty!!!

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  11. Such ntural beauty captured in each photo.

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  12. Fascinating. It does look like you had quite a hike to get to this waterfall. You were rewarded with a beautiful sight.

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  13. Gorgeous! The misty forest is beautiful and I love the waterfall.

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