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- Aug 21, 2018
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Temperatures have held well below twenty degrees for the last two weeks or so here in North Central Ohio.
Lake Erie is nearly frozen over and so have a lot of our inland waterways. It might start to warm up next week, so I thought yesterday would be a good day to see what a few more frozen waterfalls looked like in Cuyahoga Valley National Park before the melting starts.
Brandywine Falls gets most of the attention in Cuyahoga Valley. It is technically the largest, but it is also one of the easiest to see with a parking lot near and a boardwalk leading to the falls. Blue Hen Falls takes a bit of a hike to get to, but I've posted many pictures of that one frozen and flowing on the forum before.
Today I decided to check out Twin Sisters Falls and Crazy Man's Hollow Falls. These are "backcountry waterfalls" in the park. . . terms used loosely because the backcountry always seems to have a road or building nearby and both falls tend to be seasonal.
The hike started at the Station Road Bridge Trailhead where we crossed over the Cuyahoga River and then walked under the giant arches of the Route 82 Bridge above us. Temperatures were in the teens and a good breeze was blowing. . . so it was chilly at the start!
Cuyahoga River.
Route 82 Bridge. There are ongoing repairs happening as the concrete looks compromised in places.
As cold as the river must be the geese and ducks did not seem to mind.
We followed the official Towpath Trail for a distance but then turned up a drainage guarded by a device known as "The Mudcatcher." In the canal days this functioned to keep the debris/silt from emptying into and clogging up the canal. Today its presence foreshadowed what we might see further up the gulley.
There is no official trail to either waterfall.
In less frigid times one has to walk the hillsides or navigate thru the creek itself to reach the falls. Today we simply walked up the frozen creek bed.
Hemlocks line the gorge and add a little greenery to the frosty landscape. The sun was peeking out behind the occasional cloud too.
Getting Closer. . .
The last time I walked thru here a sizeable log jam clogged up the creek and I had to navigate thru it/poked my boot into the water. Today were easily able to walk over it and our feet stayed dry.
The main event: Twin Sisters Falls. I was not disappointed.
For Scale. Hidden deep in the Superintendent's Compendium the park asks that you stay 50 feet away from the base/brink of the falls. I'm guessing that is most important in the unfrozen months to keep people from trampling the area. I'll own that I was closer for this picture. . . hopefully I did not trample the ice too much.
We admired the frozen pillars for a while then hiked back out the way we arrived. The Mrs. chose to warm up in the vehicle as we passed the trailhead, but I kept walking down the towpath to seek out a second frozen falls in what is called Crazy Man's Hollow.
Not everything was frozen on this day.
Rumor has it that "back in the day" ammunition was stored in this area and the person guarding it was so isolated that is drove him crazy, thus Crazy Man's Hollow.
It is not so isolated any more, in fact a road and power lines pass not far from the brink. Still an interesting and less visited area of the park down at the bottom. A fine display of icicles on one side of the rock face.
Frozen Waterfall on the other side. Pretty Cool Stuff.
On my way out I passed two guys with ropes/gear that planned to climb the frozen waterfall. I know they said ice climbing was not allowed on other falls in the park but it was ok on this one. I hope they achieved their goals.
I followed the drainage back out to the towpath and back to the waiting Mrs.
I know the bridge in man-made, but it does seem to fit with the natural environment better than most. They don't build many with that kind of style anymore.
The End.
Lake Erie is nearly frozen over and so have a lot of our inland waterways. It might start to warm up next week, so I thought yesterday would be a good day to see what a few more frozen waterfalls looked like in Cuyahoga Valley National Park before the melting starts.
Brandywine Falls gets most of the attention in Cuyahoga Valley. It is technically the largest, but it is also one of the easiest to see with a parking lot near and a boardwalk leading to the falls. Blue Hen Falls takes a bit of a hike to get to, but I've posted many pictures of that one frozen and flowing on the forum before.
Today I decided to check out Twin Sisters Falls and Crazy Man's Hollow Falls. These are "backcountry waterfalls" in the park. . . terms used loosely because the backcountry always seems to have a road or building nearby and both falls tend to be seasonal.
The hike started at the Station Road Bridge Trailhead where we crossed over the Cuyahoga River and then walked under the giant arches of the Route 82 Bridge above us. Temperatures were in the teens and a good breeze was blowing. . . so it was chilly at the start!
Cuyahoga River.
Route 82 Bridge. There are ongoing repairs happening as the concrete looks compromised in places.
As cold as the river must be the geese and ducks did not seem to mind.
We followed the official Towpath Trail for a distance but then turned up a drainage guarded by a device known as "The Mudcatcher." In the canal days this functioned to keep the debris/silt from emptying into and clogging up the canal. Today its presence foreshadowed what we might see further up the gulley.
There is no official trail to either waterfall.
In less frigid times one has to walk the hillsides or navigate thru the creek itself to reach the falls. Today we simply walked up the frozen creek bed.
Hemlocks line the gorge and add a little greenery to the frosty landscape. The sun was peeking out behind the occasional cloud too.
Getting Closer. . .
The last time I walked thru here a sizeable log jam clogged up the creek and I had to navigate thru it/poked my boot into the water. Today were easily able to walk over it and our feet stayed dry.
The main event: Twin Sisters Falls. I was not disappointed.
For Scale. Hidden deep in the Superintendent's Compendium the park asks that you stay 50 feet away from the base/brink of the falls. I'm guessing that is most important in the unfrozen months to keep people from trampling the area. I'll own that I was closer for this picture. . . hopefully I did not trample the ice too much.
We admired the frozen pillars for a while then hiked back out the way we arrived. The Mrs. chose to warm up in the vehicle as we passed the trailhead, but I kept walking down the towpath to seek out a second frozen falls in what is called Crazy Man's Hollow.
Not everything was frozen on this day.
Rumor has it that "back in the day" ammunition was stored in this area and the person guarding it was so isolated that is drove him crazy, thus Crazy Man's Hollow.
It is not so isolated any more, in fact a road and power lines pass not far from the brink. Still an interesting and less visited area of the park down at the bottom. A fine display of icicles on one side of the rock face.
Frozen Waterfall on the other side. Pretty Cool Stuff.
On my way out I passed two guys with ropes/gear that planned to climb the frozen waterfall. I know they said ice climbing was not allowed on other falls in the park but it was ok on this one. I hope they achieved their goals.
I followed the drainage back out to the towpath and back to the waiting Mrs.
I know the bridge in man-made, but it does seem to fit with the natural environment better than most. They don't build many with that kind of style anymore.
The End.
