Freedom Falls and Hector Falls (Pennsylvania, May/18/'24)
May 19, 2024 9:40:02 GMT -8
burntfoot likes this
Post by GaliWalker on May 19, 2024 9:40:02 GMT -8
Freedom Falls and Hector Falls (Pennsylvania, May/18/'24)
I did a road trip yesterday, hoping to hit three waterfalls in western Pennsylvania before the cloudy conditions lifted, which was forecast for noon.
Freedom Falls
I began with Freedom Falls, in Venango County. There was the odd drop of rain, but it was mostly dry and overcast. I was at the falls by sunrise (6am) and spent about 1.5hrs there.
Logan Falls fail
Next up was supposed to be Logan Falls. Unfortunately, I ran into "road closed" signage, so that plan didn't pan out. I even wasted an hour attempting to approach from the other side, but nope, the road was closed from both ends.
Hector Falls
It was 10am, but the cloud cover had started to break up, 2hr ahead of schedule. After the Logan Falls debacle, I was dejected enough to just drive home, but decided to go for Hector Falls, despite the sunshine. I'd last visited this unusual waterfall 13yrs ago, in February. The final 2.1mi stretch of gravel roads had been icy and undrivable, so I'd had to walk that with spikes on my boots. There hadn't been a lot of water in the falls, and this is one of those waterfalls which suffers greatly when running weakly. So, I was keen to see it under better conditions.
A 50min drive had me at the trailhead for Hector Falls. Much had changed in the 13yrs since my last visit. There were a couple of new (to me) small parking areas and an actual board indicating that one was at Hector Falls trailhead. A 1mi walk, mostly down a gravel road, took me to Hector Falls in no time at all. Some clouds blocked the sun, and I fired off an in-the-bag shot. As I repositioned the camera to a more optimal spot, the sun broke through its cloud cover. The next 40min were spent waiting for even an itty-bitty bit of cloud to cover the sun. I was about to throw in the towel, when I lucked out with 1min of cloudy conditions; this was enough to net me the shot I wanted.
I did a road trip yesterday, hoping to hit three waterfalls in western Pennsylvania before the cloudy conditions lifted, which was forecast for noon.
Freedom Falls
I began with Freedom Falls, in Venango County. There was the odd drop of rain, but it was mostly dry and overcast. I was at the falls by sunrise (6am) and spent about 1.5hrs there.
Logan Falls fail
Next up was supposed to be Logan Falls. Unfortunately, I ran into "road closed" signage, so that plan didn't pan out. I even wasted an hour attempting to approach from the other side, but nope, the road was closed from both ends.
Hector Falls
It was 10am, but the cloud cover had started to break up, 2hr ahead of schedule. After the Logan Falls debacle, I was dejected enough to just drive home, but decided to go for Hector Falls, despite the sunshine. I'd last visited this unusual waterfall 13yrs ago, in February. The final 2.1mi stretch of gravel roads had been icy and undrivable, so I'd had to walk that with spikes on my boots. There hadn't been a lot of water in the falls, and this is one of those waterfalls which suffers greatly when running weakly. So, I was keen to see it under better conditions.
A 50min drive had me at the trailhead for Hector Falls. Much had changed in the 13yrs since my last visit. There were a couple of new (to me) small parking areas and an actual board indicating that one was at Hector Falls trailhead. A 1mi walk, mostly down a gravel road, took me to Hector Falls in no time at all. Some clouds blocked the sun, and I fired off an in-the-bag shot. As I repositioned the camera to a more optimal spot, the sun broke through its cloud cover. The next 40min were spent waiting for even an itty-bitty bit of cloud to cover the sun. I was about to throw in the towel, when I lucked out with 1min of cloudy conditions; this was enough to net me the shot I wanted.