Sunday, August 9, 2020

So Many Waterfalls

In my last post about our camping trip to Strathcona Park, I mentioned that Rob and I saw several waterfalls. But first, I'm going to start by showing you a photo of a waterfall close to home. 

Cedar Creek

 I've mentioned before that I live in a semi-rural area. There is a large network of trails right outside my door, and I walk on them several times a week. This image above is of a waterfall created by a small seasonal creek on "my" network of trails. I'm cheating a bit here, because I took this photo a couple of months ago when the weather was rainy. I hiked along Cedar Creek recently, and the waterfall has disappeared until the next rainy season. 

No Name Waterfall
 This dramatic waterfall is not really named "No Name Waterfall." I'm calling it that because neither Google Maps nor my Backroads map book supply a name for it. (I need to invest in a better map.) This waterfall can viewed from historical site and rest stop along Highway 28 between Upper Campbell Lake and Gold River. The photo you see is the portion of the waterfall above the highway. It crosses under the road and continues to plunge another 1,000 feet to the Heber River below. 

The Heber River passes through a narrow canyon at this point. Although it is hard to get a good view from above, there are some impressive rapids and waterfalls on the Heber River as well.

Rob at Lady Falls
Jude at Lady Falls
 These photographs do not do justice to this impressive waterfall. Lady Falls is much larger than it looks in the photos. Although it was a sunny afternoon, the area all around the falls was misty and wet from the force of the plunging water. 

What you also can't see is that the viewing platform is cantilevered out over the lower section of the falls. Rob is standing there bravely with his hands in his pockets, whereas I didn't quite bring myself to let go of the slippery guard rails. 

This trail is accessed off Highway 28, near the top of Upper Campbell Lake. It is a beautiful trail through big trees, Douglas Fir and Hemlock. I believe it was about 3 kilometers round trip, although we did gain quite a bit of elevation switch-backing up to Lady Falls.

Lower Myra Falls, Looking Up
Lower Myra Falls, Looking Down

Lower Myra Falls was, in my opinion, the most spectacular waterfall that we saw on this camping trip. It is a short drive away from one of the big provincial campgrounds on Buttle Lake. The easy, well-maintained trail is about a 1.5 kilometer loop. However, the disadvantage of Lower Myra Falls is that because it is so accessible, there were a lot of people there on this beautiful sunny summer day. It wasn't easy to get photos without people in them!

We left Lower Myra Falls and decided to do a second hike to Upper Myra Falls. In order to get there, we had to drive through a large, active mine. Myra Mine, which extracts zinc, copper, and gold, was fascinating, but I forgot to take a single picture of it. We signed in and parked within the mine area in order to access the trail head. This area in the heart of Strathcona Park is presently designated as a mixed use area, and there is a plan in place to eventually shut the mine down and have it revert to parkland. 

Our map book described Upper Myra Falls as an easy 3 kilometer hike. It was neither easy nor 3 kilometers. My fitness device recorded the distance we walked to and from Upper Myra Falls as 9 kilometers. 

As it turned out, the trail head was a one kilometer walk from the trail parking lot. We wasted a lot of steps walking in circles looking for the trail head. A diamond driller who worked at the mine and who was out for an afternoon stroll finally pointed us in the right direction. The 3 km referred to the distance one-way from the trail head to the falls. We gained a lot elevation on a narrow rooty trail to get to the falls, so I would describe the trail as moderate rather than easy. Nevertheless, it was a nice hike through the forest.

Upper Myra Falls

Upper Myra Falls was not as pretty as Lower Myra Falls but it had quite a drop. Those two brown sticks that look like toothpicks beside it are actually full-sized logs, so that gives you an idea of the height of the falls. 

We were tired, but happy that we'd explored another interesting part of Strathcona Park.

 

26 comments:

  1. Waterfalls make any hike memorable and these ones are beauties!

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    1. I know. We’re kind of spoiled here in BC because we have so many.

      Jude

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  2. Just stunning, Jude! This one is going on my list, for sure.

    Deb

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    1. It’s funny, but it took us three years to get around to start exploring Strathcona Park. Mount Washington, the ski hill where we’ve been many times, is right on the edge of Strathcona Park, and apparently there are some beautiful hikes and cross country ski trails into the park that can be accessed from there as well. So much to explore!

      Jude

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  3. So beautiful! Once again, I am envious of where you and my other blogging buddies live. VI is a jewel, for sure. Maybe you could get that no name waterfall named something fun... like Jude's Waterfall :)

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    1. Janis, you're funny. I'm sure it has a name; I just don't know what it is. But -- perhaps that little waterfall on Cedar Creek could be Jude's Waterfall. Cedar Creek isn't its real name either. None of my maps show a name for the little seasonal creek. We started calling it that because of all of the huge beautiful cedar trees along its banks.

      VI is beautiful. But the winters are long and wet. I have been to San Diego, and it is a gorgeous city. I know many people consider it to be paradise there. My friend who moved here from California yearns to go back, especially when it rains nonstop.

      jude

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    2. That settles it... one house in San Diego, the other on Vancouver Island. Perfect.

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  4. Hi, Jude - The waterfalls that you highlight here are beautiful. When it comes to great hiking trails, and majestic waterfalls, we are definitely spoiled for choice on Vancouver Island. Richard and I are currently trying to wrap-up our #30(new)-hikesin30days. We just finished Day 47. Why we have been so tragically unsucessful in finishing is that there are still so many great hikes that we want to do. Stratcona Park hikes are high on our list See you Friday!

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    1. Donna, I’m glad that you and Richard have found such a fun focus for your summer. We, your readers, are the lucky beneficiaries because we get to read about the hikes and I’m keeping your descriptions for reference the next time we decide to explore a new hike. In fact, we did a new-to-us hike yesterday, the hike from Resort Way to Top Bridge and back, and it was lovely.

      Jude

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  5. Love these waterfalls, Jude. Good for you and Rob to persevere until you reached Upper Myra Falls.

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    1. Natalie, the hike to Upper Myra Falls was actually very nice. But when you’re expecting 3 km and it turns out to be 9 km, it’s a bit disconcerting. We ate lunch when we reached the falls, but I was already ready for lunch when we started out.

      Jude

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  6. The waterfalls ar3xall beautiful. I particularly like Lower Myra.

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    1. Anabel, I liked Lower Myra Falls the best, too.

      Jude

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  7. Jude, thanks for sharing all this beauty. Your photos are stunning. Is swimming allowed in the pool at the base of Lower Myra Falls? It looks so inviting.

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    1. Thanks Suzanne, that’s very kind. I’m not a photographer like you are.

      There were a couple of people dipping their feet in the pool below Lower Myra Falls. However, swimming would not be advisable because just below the pool, the waterfall continued cascading down over the cliff to the lake. One might be swept over the edge! Plus the water was quite cold, as the peaks above still have snow on them.

      Jude

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  8. Nice collection of waterfalls, Jude. I agree with you that Lower Myra Falls are the most picturesque. I could sit and watch them forever - apart from the crowds. The Upper Falls must have been quite loud!

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    1. Liesbet, the loudest waterfall was Lady Falls. There was a huge amount of water flowing from the top and the roaring was incredible. I took a video and tried to post it here but it wouldn’t load — too big, I guess.

      The trail to Upper Myra Falls ended in a small viewing platform on the opposite canyon wall, not very close to the falls, so it wasn’t that loud. Furthermore, the view of the falls was largely blocked by tree branches. So, I confess, I scrambled out past the guard rail and along the cliff a couple of meters to get this photo.

      Jude

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    2. Anything for a good photo op! :-) Jude, have you tried to upload your movie on YouTube and then copy and paste the link (“embed link”) from there into Blogger? That’s how I post my videos into WordPress and it works like a charm. Doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the size. I can’t remember for sure whether it works like that on Blogger... It might as I think I did post videos that way on my previous It’s Irie blog, which as Blogspot.

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    3. Liesbet, thanks for the tip. Do you have to have a YouTube account to upload a video there? I’m not very proficient with YouTube.

      Jude

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    4. Yes, but it's easy to do and you can set it as "private" instead of public, if it's just for the purpose of posting videos and grabbing their links.

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    5. Thanks, that’s a great tip!

      Jude

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  9. Jude, The photos of the waterfalls are breathtaking. I am also in awe of all the moss. I can almost smell and feel the fresh, misty, clean air. Your photos and this post remind me how we have not been in that area for many years. Time to go back. You remind me how some of these areas are popular in the Summer. It is also disappointing when the directions/instructions are misleading. Thanks for sharing, Jude. I especially liked the photos of you and Rob. The smiles, priceless!

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    1. Erica, I also really appreciate the beauty of the coastal rainforest. The cedar trees, the moss, and the ferns are so lush and green. People might complain about the rain at times, but if it wasn’t for the rain, we wouldn’t have this glorious ecosystem, nor all the waterfalls.

      Jude

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  10. My wife and I absolutely love waterfalls. As you can imagine, there aren't many in the desert area around Phoenix. There are several in Hawaii and the Portland area that take our breath away. BC may have them both beat. Thanks so much for cool water photos on a hot August day.

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    1. Bob, every different ecosystem has its own type of beauty. I have spent much of my life in a northern mountainous interior part of BC. We had a lot of waterfalls there, but it was also much colder and drier than here. Much of the year, it was snowy. Water in all its forms: rain, rivers, waterfalls, and ocean shores are the key elements of this coastal rainforest that I live in now. I can see that the lush, cool scenes would be appealing to you and Betty in the middle of a Phoenix summer!

      Jude

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