Water Falling Everywhere

-
If you've ever seen any material on Wells Gray Park then you've surely seen photographs of the place we headed to after our horseback ride; Helmcken Falls.  It's the highest of the thirty nine falls that grace the park and arguably the most spectacular.   It's on the Murtle River and at 141 metres it ranks as the fourth highest waterfall in Canada.

This view is easily accessed by turning east off of Clearwater Valley Road and parking in the lot at the end of the four kilometre Helmcken Falls Road.  The viewing platform  is a short walk from the lot.  If you're keen to see the falls from another perspective, there's a 4k hike (4 hours one way) rated difficult, that gets you to the bottom of the falls and a 3 3/4k hike (1 hour one way) rated easy, that takes you to the brink of the falls.

Helmcken is located off the 26K mark on Clearwater Valley Road and we took the rest of the afternoon to head back south to our cabin, stopping to see the sights along the way.  Just before the road does a sharp turn and crosses the Murtle River, there's a pull-out on the right where we parked the truck.  We walked across the road, led by a small brown sign that said "Mushbowl Trail".  The photo below looks down the creek from the trail.  You can see the spray from the Mushbowl, or Devil's Punchbowl as it was once called.  


The trail wasn't very clear but it wasn't difficult to  make our way along the water.  I'm so glad hubby noticed this because it wasn't mentioned in the guide book and it was a great walk along the rushing river.





We were well rewarded for our efforts at the end.  This is definitely the best spot from which to view Dawson Falls, pictured below.

When we left the cabin that morning I'd forgotten the camera inside.  We hadn't gone far and so my hubby turned back.  In a typical senior moment that's becoming all too frequent, I returned to the truck with my hat, hubby's sunglasses and no camera, which I didn't notice until we were half way to Helmcken.  Luckily hubby had his little pocket Sealife camera with him and he got some great shots and couple of videos.


The Mushbowl from the Murtle Creek bridge.


Back in the truck we continued over the bridge and followed the road which now headed up river.  The trail to view Dawson Falls was well marked.  A short hike gave us a different perspective and we were able to stand at the brink.



Stay tuned for the next post which will feature more rivers, mountains and lakes, oh my!

For previous posts on our Wells Gray holiday check out:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pearls of Wisdom

-
Image
On Tuesday, my daughter received her diploma from the University of British Columbia. On Wednesday I was moving documents to my new computer when I stumbled upon a verse I'd copied from a card my mom gave Nicole when she graduated from high school.  I thought I'd post it today along with some photos of my Mom.  Today, is the fourth anniversary of her passing. GRANDMA'S PEARLS OF WISDOM by Becky Netherland I've traveled paths you've yet to walk Learned lessons old and new And now this wisdom of my life I'm blessed to share with you. Let kindness spread like sunshine Embrace those who are sad Respect their dignity, give them joy And leave them feeling glad   Forgive those who might hurt you And though you have your pride Listen closely to their viewpoint Try to see the other side Walk softly when you're angry Try not to take offense Invoke your sense of humor Laughter's power is immense!   Express w...
Read more

My Favourite Childhood Christmas Book

-
Image
Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember my heart has been touched by  The Wonderful Window by Beth Vardon,  illustrated by Charlot Byj.    I believe it was written in the 50's and I would likely have received it for Christmas sometime in the 60's.  It's no longer in print so I hope I'm not violating any copyright laws by sharing it with you.    As soon as the patchwork was tacked into place The angel came in with a smile on his face. And both he and Katie got down on their knees, Praying: Lord, could you spare one small miracle -- please? That night, all the people who happened to pass  Saw a wonderful window of glistening glass! And the light from the candles was shining inside  On the angel and Katie -- both beaming with pride. (Just take a look now, while the happy choir sings...You'll see -- even Katie --- has almost got wings!)
Read more

Currying Flavour

-
Image
When I arrived home from grocery shopping on Tuesday I discovered my husband had already purchased a four litre jug of milk to replace the empty one I had spied on the counter that morning.  I bought one too.  We don't use a lot of cow's milk and a four litre jug will usually last us two weeks.  It's not that we don't like it, we just believe that milk is for baby cows, not people and use almond or soy milk (though someone  prefers cow milk in their cereal).  I've been on a kick to use up the extra milk for the past two days and tonight we are going to consume it in a flavourful curried cauliflower soup.   I used this recipe more or less.  The cauliflower was huge so I added a little more curry, used chicken flavoured vegetable broth and replaced the half & half with a cup of skim milk.  I also left some small chunks of cauliflower in the mix because I like a little texture in my creamed soups.  I also added a couple of hu...
Read more