John in NH
Member
What to look for in hike on a cloudy day after a few weeks of straight rain? Waterfalls and wildflowers. These are actually perfect conditions for doing photography on either subject. Personally, I had just ran a marathon the week before and was looking for something easy on my injuries, yet new, wild, and interesting. This hike fit the bill.
I figured I’d post this here for anyone curious or interested in ever photographing the falls. There seemed to be little information out there on them; my WMG (27th edition) has no description and even a Google image search turned up nothing worthwhile. Parking and initial hike starts at the Drakes Brook Trail off Rt. 49. After .4 miles on the Drakes Brook it is 1.2 miles up on the Fletcher’s Cascade Trail for total stats of 3.2 rt with about 1000’ gain.
There are 3 distinct falls, so don’t stop at the first one you see, there are more! I suspect what I saw was made possible by the high water levels of rain and end of spring snow melt. They probably wouldn’t look the same in summer.
First Falls (about 12 feet high)
View attachment 3310
Second Falls (biggest, about 30 feet)
View attachment 3311
Third Falls (top part, there is also a bottom part which is a 10 foot smooth ledge of water)
View attachment 3312
The trail was mellow with lots of dirt for White Mountain standards and was absolutely lined with hobblebush in bloom, trillium, and fresh moose tracks wider than my outstretched hands. The only stream crossing was rock hoppable even with high water.
Normally I hike fast in pursuit of some sort of goal like peak bagging or redlining, but it is very nice to slow down and just enjoy the experience of being out there. I noticed things I never would have and felt more aware of just how much is going on in the forest around me.
Painted Trillium
View attachment 3314
Details of nature
View attachment 3315
Happy Trails
John
? Anyone know how to get the images to appear in text after attaching them? It's my first TR post here and couldn't get it any better than this.
I figured I’d post this here for anyone curious or interested in ever photographing the falls. There seemed to be little information out there on them; my WMG (27th edition) has no description and even a Google image search turned up nothing worthwhile. Parking and initial hike starts at the Drakes Brook Trail off Rt. 49. After .4 miles on the Drakes Brook it is 1.2 miles up on the Fletcher’s Cascade Trail for total stats of 3.2 rt with about 1000’ gain.
There are 3 distinct falls, so don’t stop at the first one you see, there are more! I suspect what I saw was made possible by the high water levels of rain and end of spring snow melt. They probably wouldn’t look the same in summer.
First Falls (about 12 feet high)
View attachment 3310
Second Falls (biggest, about 30 feet)
View attachment 3311
Third Falls (top part, there is also a bottom part which is a 10 foot smooth ledge of water)
View attachment 3312
The trail was mellow with lots of dirt for White Mountain standards and was absolutely lined with hobblebush in bloom, trillium, and fresh moose tracks wider than my outstretched hands. The only stream crossing was rock hoppable even with high water.
Normally I hike fast in pursuit of some sort of goal like peak bagging or redlining, but it is very nice to slow down and just enjoy the experience of being out there. I noticed things I never would have and felt more aware of just how much is going on in the forest around me.
Painted Trillium
View attachment 3314
Details of nature
View attachment 3315
Happy Trails
John
? Anyone know how to get the images to appear in text after attaching them? It's my first TR post here and couldn't get it any better than this.
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