Thacher State Park

[L_G_D]

A few more,

This one is a real pain to get to, lots of blowdown, and that was before the last ice storm, I don't know what it looks like in there now. I was actually balanced on fallen trees and dirt that was trapped in them, maybe three feet off the ground, to get this shot.


The upper portion close up, this stream is another that's almost always dry, I took these shots in late April and there was still ice covering the stream just above this, so much so that I couldn't get up to the next waterfall which was still frozen.


Downstream from Hop Field


Another on the unnamed stream south of Hop Field


A closer view of one of the ones I posted before


And finally, for tonight, a rare shot of both Mine Lot & Outlet Falls where you can actually see them. There are two places along the cliff where you can see both at the same time.

[Matt]

beautiful!

[L_G_D]

Bet you thought I was done, eh? Well, you're not so lucky.

This is the waterfall further upstream from the falls in the first two shots from my last post. It was frozen the week before, a week later and it's running fairly decent. The following week this stream was pretty much dry.


This is far downstream from the above falls, and the water is pretty much running out. There are a few more small falls on this stream just before it trickles over the edge of the escarpment, but I've never had a chance to get good shots of them. Besides, it's really tricky to get down to them.


This is one of those falls that you just can't get a good angle on to get the whole thing. Besides the fact that it's almost always dry. Here's an overall view


Bottom:


Middle:


Top:


Here's Mine Lot Falls in the winter. This is actually a small amount of ice compared to most years, usually there's a huge column of ice there.


Last one for tonight (yes, there will be more, I told you there were a lot of waterfalls there) me and the remnants of the ice column at the bottom of Mine Lot Falls. The trail had just opened, so you can tell how much water is usually there at that time of the year.

[hoohaa]

When I was there last fall, the falls were all dried up. It was disappointing! I hope to get back though.

[champy1013]

indeed - i'd say there are quite a few waterfalls there. March and April look to be prime times to get down there (that or a rainy summer)

[L_G_D]

Yes, autumn can be quite beautiful there, but usually for the foliage, not the waterfalls, though if you get lucky, and hit it right after a good day's rain, you might get both. Best bet if you're coming from far away is to schedule in April, and hope the snow & ice are melted enough for you to see the falls, but not already too melted that the water has run out. Getting to see the big falls with lots of water from the lower trail is just a matter of timing after a good rain storm.

Now, some more pics. These should be about the last of them, unless I find something else spectacular in the film archives.

Way up the Mine Lot stream, this is the last waterfall before the stream disappears. Well, actually, it appears if you look at it from the other perspective, it bubbles up from under a large boulder next to the road, and runs down a few yards where it flows over this fall.


This is a rare one, almost never any water in this stream, and you can see by the limbs in the way, a lot of downed trees make it almost impossible to get a good shot.


Further up the same stream


A snapshot of Mine Lot Falls with some people for size & to show how much water there could be by the end of April. This is about typical.


another of Mine Lot, in autumn, an HDR I'm actually not disappointed with


and just so Mine Lot doesn't get all the glory, here's another angle of Outlet Falls


There are of course, other things to take pictures of besides waterfalls (I know, blasphemy!) lol

A nice autumn shot of the escarpment


wildlife




and, just for fun, where old picnic tables go to die & wait for the final bonfire

[L_G_D]

Some final information on the falls in Thacher Park, here's a google map with all of the ones I know of marked. There are a couple I still don't have decent pictures of, and probably never will.

Russell Dunn has some of these listed in his Mohawk Region Guide on pages 175 - 186.

...and now on to some other waterfalls, I've only just begun....

[L_G_D]

Well, after a couple inches of rain last week, I was deciding what to do on a sunny Saturday. The dilemma is that a lot of rain can be too much of a good thing, waterfall-wise. Some falls will just become raging torrents that aren't very much fun too look at and pictures usually turn out to not capture the power that's there. So, instead of going to a few other places, I decided to head back "home" to John Boyd Thacher. I got there earlier than usual and got some early morning shots.

Since the sun was at the right angle, I had a rainbow at the bottom of Outlet Falls. Usually, I take shots from the better perspective on the other side, but the spray and overgrown plants blocked my usual vantage point.



Mine Lot was it's usual impressive self.



The bottom of Mine Lot. I once scrambled down slope from here to get a couple of the smaller falls below as the stream tumbles down the talus slope. The shots were OK from what I remember, if I ever come across them, I'll post 'em up.



This is one of the disappearing streams in the park (and the leg of my tripod, lower left, lol). This is why most of the falls never have water, it just heads underground any chance it gets. This spot has a nice waterfall into the ground, pretty unique, I think. There is one other large sinkhole I'd like to get a shot of, but I've never seen it with decent water flowing.


"Floating down the sound resounds
Around the icy waters underground"