Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Along the Stream

On our Christmas Day Walk, which I wrote a bit about earlier, we hiked a section of the Bruce Trail that ends up following a beautiful tumbling stream down a ravine.  In fact, there are two streams, which come together near the bottom of a long slope, and with the streams, two waterfalls.

The upper waterfall is quite striking.  Pouring over the upper Amabel Dolomite cliff, the stream emerges beneath a chalet, and then tumbles down the slope over ledges of bedrock.  At any other season it would be partially hidden (and the chalet would not be allowed under today's tighter planning rules).

I always think it's a remarkable series of bedrock ledges that forms the waterfall.

It levels out somewhat, and starts carving a deeper ravine through the shale, the next layer of bedrock - while still tumbling over some stepping-stone ledges.  The adventurous, energetic five-year old with us had to be watched pretty closely here!

Its course downstream is interrupted by another geological layer, the Manitoulin Formation, that creates the second waterfall, almost entirely covered in moss.  I like this photo, which I managed on shutter-priority, for a 1/3 second exposure at 100 ISO, but just hand held.

The trail twists around, goes back uphill a minute, and then crosses the smaller stream on a series of stepping stones.  Then it follows the steep slope downhill on the slopes of the ravine formed by this stream.

At this point both streams are carving through the Queenston Shale Formation, leaving these typical steep slopes.

With more bedrock ledges forming steps for the stream.

Near the bottom the streams join, and the trail follows along above them on the slope.  Trying hard here for one of those 'slow' water shots.

We crossed the stream on a bridge, and followed it further til the trail turned uphill and out to a small parking lot.  The stream tumbles further down the lower slopes until it joins the Beaver River.  It was a great hike with my son, my son-in-law, and our 5 year old grandson.

****

It was the big storm that never amounted to much here!  We sat in the evening listening to the ice pellets bounce off the windows for several hours, while the wind howled around the cabin, seemingly coming from all sides.  At any moment I thought a branch will break somewhere, and the lights will go out.  But they didn't, and I didn't read of any major outages in the news this morning.  There were lots of fender-benders in Toronto of course, but that's more about stupid drivers than the weather!  We only got an inch or two of icy snow.

Here the temperature rose to above freezing, and the slippery layer of ice on the deck and the car (I forgot to put it in the garage...) this morning melted away.  I waited for a break in the rain before walking the dog, and managed a good hour walking through to the farm next door.  I'm walking there a lot these days; tomorrow I'll share some pictures of their amazing stone fences.  But I did find out that crunching through 2 inches of semi-frozen slush makes for hard work.  I could have worn my lighter fall jacket.  My coat stayed open, and my gloves came off half-way.  But we got in our hour of cardio.
   
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16 comments:

  1. Good for you making that walk. And relief that you escaped the worst of the storm! Lovely waterfall. :-)

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  2. It's interesting how much you know about the rock formations and the landscape there. The waterfall image with the the moss is really gorgeous.

    I really enjoy a good storm, just like you described where no one gets hurt and there is no property damage. Just a good ole' storm with howling wind!!

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  3. Lovely streams and waterfalls. Good for you for trying a long exposure!

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  4. I had a dream about crossing a stream last night. I could the water was tumbling past. Maybe that means I'll be near a stream soon. - Margy

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  5. A slice of heaven. I would be happy to walk this trail.

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  6. Lovely show shutter photos, and those steps in the waterfall, what an amazing feature.Keep warm and safe on any road you travel.

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  7. I enjoyed this virtual stroll FG. Fascinating area along this escarpment ... I enjoy all of the areas I have hiked and explored. This week, we're up at the cottage in Tobermory with more snow dropped over night and through the day on Monday than you got.

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  8. Love the waterfalls! Just needed a video to hear the water, but I can imagine. Have a happy 2016

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  9. Wish I had a portion of your energy. This would be so much fun, but cannot handle anymore.

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  10. It's good to be out walking even thought it can be difficult through icy slush! Dogs are great because they encourage you to go out.

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  11. Just caught up with your last three posts. I was thinking of you over Christmas, imagining how difficult it must be, without Will. The memorial bench is incredibly heartful (the only word that sort of speaks my thoughts). The various crystal photographs are magnificent and I especially loved the iron sun outlined so perfectly. Your "slow" shots of the waterfall worked really well, and as always, I felt like I had to come back and absorb a bit more of your store of knowledge. I feel like you understand every nook and cranny of that waterfall - and of course, you do. Wonderful gift to all of us - this blog. Many thanks! Wishing you and your loved ones peace, good health, love and laughter amid what I know is still a terrible heartache.

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  12. Beautiful early winter scenes and water course. And I learned some new geology words as well.... Happy New Year to you and yours in Ontario from Minnesota's Karst covered Bluff Country. :)

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  13. Lovely, what a beautiful spot

    mollyxxx

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  14. The waterfalls are beautiful. I love the sound of running water.

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