Falls Guy

     I did a quick tally and came up with something like eighteen or nineteen, maybe twenty starting batteries that it takes to keep me going around here. Cars and trucks, tractors and skid-steers, lawnmowers and bale wrappers...all need that surge of energy before they're ready to work. No wonder I'm always cleaning terminals, hooking up chargers or swapping fresh for tired ones. 

     Winter can be rough on batteries. Rough on the human spirit as well. By the time spring rolls around I often feel the need for a 'jump'. That's why I try to set aside a 'cascades day' sometime in April or May. There's just something mystical (mist-tical?) about waterfalls, about their power to reenergize. The sight, the sound, the negative ions? I'm not sure what it is, just that I get a 'charge' being near them.

     A couple hours exploring Pike Brook did the trick this year. Located in the Town of Dresden, Washington County, it's a rambunctious stream that drops from near the 2665 foot summit of Black Mountain (highest point in the county) to the 100 foot level of Lake Champlain's South Bay. All in just a few steep miles. As you might guess, there are a lot of waterfalls in those miles. Here's a small sampling: 

     The photos above are from just before Pike Brook drops into South Bay. While we were enjoying the view from a road bridge a jolly gentleman came out and asked us if we wanted to see other falls in back of his house. Did we ever! The egg and honey man (aka Ray) and his wife then proceeded to give us a tour of their idyllic homestead. The stream comes within feet of their living room but is safely contained within a rocky cleft.

     After enjoying the spectacle and some pleasant conversation, we left with a dozen of the freshest, tastiest eggs courtesy their backyard flock. As we drove away I asked Gwenne, "Do you think everybody would be so upbeat and friendly if they could live in such a lovely spot?"

     "Maybe," she opined, "but I think Ray and his wife would be the nicest people wherever they were. Still, being surrounded with  scenery like that can't hurt."

     After checking out the views across South Bay we backtracked a bit and headed up Pike Brook Road. Shortly there was that familiar roar again. Another waterfall. Actually a string of them right along the road. And high above a simple country cemetery. Not a bad place to spend eternity.

     The brook and road twine up the hill with an almost continuous series of rapids and cascades. While each is special when standing next to them, they all start to look the same in photos. But one spot is truly unique. That is the keystone arch bridge over Pike Brook. Built around 1860, it's no longer used but still in great shape. A marvel of ingenuity, it's manmade but looks perfectly natural in its wild setting. And above, beneath and below the bridge are ... you guessed it ... waterfalls! 

     Further up the road are a couple of pretty roadside ponds and then Forest Preserve signs indicating public land. From here anyone comfortable with some rugged bushwhacking could follow Pike Brook up thru the woods to its headwaters at Lapland and Millman Ponds, no doubt encountering lots of small falls along the way. Alternately, the parking lot for the Black Mountain trail system is at the top of the hill. It was nearly full on the day of our visit. 

     This is one of my favorite places to hike but since it was so busy and also late in the day we decided to drop down to Huletts instead. It's always a thrill to be near Lake George and I'ld been wanting to check out a relatively new Lake George Land Conservancy preserve. It turned out to be a good choice.

     The Leeming Jelliffe Preserve is on Bluff Head Road which hugs the lake shore heading north. Look for a sign and a few parking spots on the right, opposite a white house. A blue marked trail winds around a ledgy knob up to an open overlook. It's a short, easy walk    (just minutes) but the rewards are awesome.

     

     Agnes Island draws your gaze across the lake to the cliffs of Deers Leap and the peaks of Bloomer and Catamount. At the overlook a pine is losing its battle to cling to the smooth bedrock but a nearby white oak is thriving. There's also a small stream down by the road, one of hundreds of rivulets that channel sparkling, clear mountain water into the lake. And darn if it didn't have a tiny waterfall...