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Clifty Falls
May. 12th, 2022 07:36 amI have returned from Clifty Falls! Actually I returned from Clifty Falls on Tuesday, but certain hiking decisions (viz: the decision to hike to all four waterfalls) left me so weary that I didn’t have the energy to report back on my journey.
However, now that I have recovered, I am pleased to report that Clifty Falls is delightful. Not only does it have four waterfalls, it also has a tunnel! It started life as a would-be railroad tunnel in the 1850s (it turned out that the grade up from the river was too steep, so the proposed railway line had to be abandoned) and was thereafter colonized by bats, who hibernate there during the winter months, so the tunnel is closed to humans from November to April.
However, as it is now May, I took the opportunity to clamber through with the flashlight on my cell phone for aid. I had some concerns about bat guano, but either the spring rains or the park rangers have cleared the place out. The floor of the tunnel was still puddly, suggesting that water runs through it in rainy weather - enough water to deposit quite a lot of craggy rocks, unless the original railway workers just left them there.
It also has a lot of smaller waterfalls, which must run only in rainy seasons. One of them streamed over an overhang just above the path, not so much a classic waterfall with a whole sheet of water but many discrete jets sparkling down in the sunshine; and as I was perishing from the heat (not because it was so hot, but because of the aforementioned decision to hike all four waterfalls…) I clambered up and stood beneath it, arms outstretched.
I also found a wonderful smooth shale creekbed, and waded upstream and sat in the shade to eat my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
In short, a roaring success, both in general and in terms of distracting me from my book launch! Perhaps in the future I will plan tiny trips to coincide with all my book launches.
However, now that I have recovered, I am pleased to report that Clifty Falls is delightful. Not only does it have four waterfalls, it also has a tunnel! It started life as a would-be railroad tunnel in the 1850s (it turned out that the grade up from the river was too steep, so the proposed railway line had to be abandoned) and was thereafter colonized by bats, who hibernate there during the winter months, so the tunnel is closed to humans from November to April.
However, as it is now May, I took the opportunity to clamber through with the flashlight on my cell phone for aid. I had some concerns about bat guano, but either the spring rains or the park rangers have cleared the place out. The floor of the tunnel was still puddly, suggesting that water runs through it in rainy weather - enough water to deposit quite a lot of craggy rocks, unless the original railway workers just left them there.
It also has a lot of smaller waterfalls, which must run only in rainy seasons. One of them streamed over an overhang just above the path, not so much a classic waterfall with a whole sheet of water but many discrete jets sparkling down in the sunshine; and as I was perishing from the heat (not because it was so hot, but because of the aforementioned decision to hike all four waterfalls…) I clambered up and stood beneath it, arms outstretched.
I also found a wonderful smooth shale creekbed, and waded upstream and sat in the shade to eat my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
In short, a roaring success, both in general and in terms of distracting me from my book launch! Perhaps in the future I will plan tiny trips to coincide with all my book launches.
