Blackwater redux

Last year, when an impending snowstorm shut down the federal government, a few of us used the time to go play in the woods.  We had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year, when the promise of more snow bore with it the promise of another chance to use our dusty, neglected snowshoes.  We rented a cabin at Blackwater Falls State Park, filled it with people who in turn filled it with food and beverage options, and spent a couple days playing outside.

More like Windy Point, amiright??

Saturday's hike took us first to Lindy Point, a rocky outcrop over the Blackwater River, whose valley on that day formed a screaming windtunnel of clouds and snow.  Many of us took pictures, working as quickly as possible so as to facilitate quicker egress to the relative comfort of the forest.  The smaller members of our group had to hunker and lean windward to avoid getting pushed around too much on the overlook's high wooden platform.

Lindy Point

Further hiking led us to a wide creek crossing which was thinly covered with ice and thickly blanketed in snow.  Our trail-breaker at the time, a towering, bearded gent known for lifting pick-up trucks in his college days, had carefully picked a path around the pool before the rest of the group decided it was time to eat lunch and turn around.

This tree grew for decades on a rock shelf before the broad and extremely shallow root system failed it.  This view shows the bottom of the root mass and the top of the rock where the tree lived before it fell.

We had one other hiking goal for that day, so we passed the Nordic Center and headed uphill to Balancing Rock.

I am but a medium for her self-portraits.  Nice camera, though!

I probably don't have to tell you what Balancing Rock is.  You're smart; I'm sure your reading comprehension skills will get you there.  Unfortunately, I can't prove your conclusions, because the rock balances in a fairly thick forest, so by the time you're far enough away to get a good picture, trees block the shot.  Instead, I took a few macros of tiny hemlock cones, snow clumps, and droplets of ice.

like this one!

We did make one other stop on the drive back to the cabin.  A couple of us wanted to take a look at Elkalala Falls, after seeing it named on our map and a couple signs.  It's close to the main lodge at Blackwater, and we figured it wouldn't take more than 20 or 30 minutes to walk there, get our fill, and return to the parking lot.

I'm not sure this sign is necessary in this weather.

Just before we crossed the bridge in the above picture, we encountered a couple we had seen earlier in the day, and asked them if the falls were worthwhile.  "What falls?  There are no falls," they assured us.  We consulted our map again, questioned their assertion, and decided to take a look anyway, just in case.  Then we reached the bridge, and realized why they didn't know about the falls: they weren't falling that day.

Elkalala Stand

The falls had frozen solid, which was somehow more satisfying than if they had still been ... um... falling.  A couple of us carefully found our way to a lower vantage point, an activity fraught with Bad Ideas from which I save you, dear reader, by supplying these views.  Remember: I am not a role model.

This very impressive ice cave is about sixteen inches from floor to ceiling.  neat, huh?

Saturday evening was filled with card games, a Munchkin battle prolonged far too much, and the 38-course meal which is a standard with that group of people.  There may also have been a variety of Adult Beverages, some of them home-brewed.  Maybe.

Sunday lunch break

On Sunday, we drove to Dolly Sods and hiked up the side of an active ski run to find a wilderness trail known to a handful of our group.  It was all new territory for me, and as much fun as it was to use snowshoes in conditions worthy of them, I was a little bit sad that I didn't get to go skiing.  I miss my days on the mountain.  Maybe I'll get to go skiing this winter.

Too cloudy for real views, but still pretty.

Our only real goal on Sunday was to hike for a little while; some of us had rental equipment to return, and most of us had long drives between us and home.  We stayed along the ridge after our lunch break (during which the tall, bearded one made us cocoa from melted snow), and a small group of us turned around when we realized we had just enough time to return to the rental center before closing.  The rest of them pushed on to a rocky outcrop they had aimed for in the past but never reached; I'm sorry I missed it, but I didn't want to be too tired before I started that drive.

The Girl leading our sub-group back to the cars.

This is why you shut off the outside spigot in the fall.