Icicles or Ice Stalactites? One More Week and They Will Be Gone...
The pictures of Hilton Falls I took from last Saturday's hike were showing that the icicles formation (or can we call them stalactites?) could be well gone after a couple of weeks.
Arriving at Hilton Falls Conservation Area last Saturday afternoon, I noticed that there were about a hundred vehicles in the parking area – meaning there's quite a number of visitors already at the trails. After paying for the park fee, I grabbed my camera backpack (loaded with hiking essentials like swiss knife, firestarter, head-mounted mini-flashlight, drinking water and trail snack bars) and began my hike following the Red Oak Trail. The trail starts with an ascending path, which is least travelled when starting from the park's main gate as compared to starting at the commonly-followed Hilton Falls Trail.
After reaching the top of the ascent, the Red Oak Trail slightly levelled towards the rugged terrain of the escarpment. Rather than following the main trail, I took the side trail as I wanted to get as close as possible to the edge of the escarpment to get a better view of the frozen reservoir.
Following the rough side trail, walking up and down between tree trunks and rocks, some segments still had snow and black ice on the ground. As always, I thanked my mid-height waterproof hiking shoes for protecting my ankles from near-sprains.
Continuing along the edge of the escarpment, I found a number of spots which offered a good view of the frozen reservoir below to the east.
LESSONS LEARNED
If your camera has a detachable viewfinder hood, remove it when hiking. It is easy to lose, and you will most likely not notice dropping it. I dropped mine, but I backtracked and found it.
Reaching the northwest edge of Red Oak Trail where it meets the east edge of the Beaver Dam Trail, I turned left and continued towards the falls area.
Arriving at the falls picnic area after a few minutes, I paused for a while and enjoyed one of the trail snack bars I brought and re-hydrated as well. There was a fire pit at the picnic area, and I took a few snaps at the group (a family actually) gathered around the bonfire which was producing smoke that accentuated the sunrays shining through the trees around. The shots turned out to be beautiful, so I spoke to the gentleman (who I assumed was the father) and offered to e-mail him a copy of the pictures if he would give me his e-mail address. He was delighted with the pictures, gave me his e-mail address and we had a short chat about how beautiful the day was.
I took the stairs down to the viewing deck of the falls and took some pictures of the small but beautiful waterfall. Not exactly happy with the angle of my shots, I vaulted over the staircase railing close to the ground and found a good shooting spot by standing on a couple of small rocks in the middle of the stream. This is the spot where I took a LOT of pictures.
The sound of the waterfall was very refreshing. The wall on the left side of the waterfall was shaped like a small half-dome – like the top of a cave where icicles formed. A couple of times some icicles fell off, leading me to think that those ice formations will be melting away very soon. Below the waterfall, to the right, the ruins of the old mill from the 1900s can still be seen. Patches of snow and ice were scattered along the rock-strewn stream.
After enjoying the sight and the snaps, I went back up the stairs to the picnic area and walked towards the edge of the stream. I was on a spot which was physically at the top of the waterfall, and took some pictures of the stream flowing down to the falls. It was already starting to get dark so I hiked back to the main parking area. Clearing the trails and crossing the road to the parking area, I noticed pink clouds right above.
The pink cast was caused by the sunset, and I thought I could do a quick walk along the paved road to the gate of the reservoir, and see if the view there would be better. Was able to take a few shots, though it was already dark.
Three more days and it will be spring. Snow and ice will melt away. The forests will soon be green and full of shady trees.
If you want to see the icicles, now is the time.
Comentarios