Frozen Cascades 2010
January 10, 2010 at 11:57 pm 6 comments
Ryan had to leave Blacksburg at noon today to return to Elizabeth City. But it’s Frozen Waterfall Season! I couldn’t in good conscience let him leave without seeing Pembroke’s 69 foot Cascades!
So this morning, we woke up at 6 AM. It was 10 degrees out when we started our journey to the trailhead. It may sound cold, but believe it or not, we were taking off layers as we hiked the two miles to the falls.
The waterfall was BEAUTIFUL. Incredibly, Ryan and I had it all to ourselves. This was a first for me. The Cascades are exceedingly popular and regardless of weather or season, I have always found other people there. This time, we just so happened to be early enough to beat all the other hikers. We saw many on our return trip to the car… but those precious moments standing on top of Little Stony Creek surrounded by exquisite deity-sized draperies of flowing ice were ours and ours alone.
Although that surprise solitude was precious, I certainly don’t mind sharing on this blog. 🙂 Here are some of my favorite shots of our trip.
Frozen Cascades 2010
Me with Falls
Ryan with Falls
Layers of Ice Around Rocks
Ryan with Draping Icicles
Self Portrait at Falls
Me and Ryan (After we figured out the self timer and sacrificed a scarf to hold up the camera)
I had another “Cascades First” this trip. As we walked to the falls, I reflected back on all my previous trips over the last decade.
“You know,” I told Ryan, “I have never kissed anyone at the Cascades.”
“You’ll have to do that sometime,” Ryan said.
We voluntarily woke up before dawn on a Sunday to hike in the cold– today was not a day of procrastination. We made sure to knock that milestone right out. 🙂
First Kiss at Cascades
More pictures from our Frozen Cascades Hike can be found on my Flickr site.
| Cascade Falls
Length: 4 miles round trip Elevation Gain: ~500 feet Driving and Parking: Large parking lot at trailhead with water fountain and full restrooms. Directions from Blacksburg, VA Take 460 West to Pembroke |
1.
Dave | January 11, 2010 at 5:20 am
Wow! What an amazing hike! Those frozen falls look otherworldly.
2.
geekhiker | January 11, 2010 at 3:28 pm
It’s a good thing there are no frozen waterfalls around here. I’d probably go crazy shooting wide shots, close-ups, macros, etc. etc. etc. LOL
3.
tgaw | January 12, 2010 at 4:13 pm
The cold might help you keep yourself in check. 🙂
4.
blueridgetreks | May 25, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Great photos of the Cascade Falls frozen. My wife and I will be visiting the Cascades and Barney’s Wall on 5/27/2010. I map trails for my friend Tony’s hiking website (hikingupward com). I will be mapping out this 8 mile hike and would love to put a link in our trail write up of your photos of the frozen falls with your permission. We don’t have many hikes in this part of VA and we are looking forward to getting this one on there. Cheers – Bryce
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