A Cold Sunday Hike to a Frozen Waterfall
This weekend, my wife and I, along with some friends of ours, had the opportunity to hike to see the Cascades waterfall in Pembroke, Virginia. Normally, it wouldn't be that special since we've done the same hike probably five times. But given the recent wave of chilly weather we've had in Southwest Virginia, we got to see the waterfall completely frozen for the first time.
The Cascades is a 66-foot waterfall located in the Jefferson National Forest near Pembroke, Virginia. it is the largest waterfall in the region, and is a popular spot in the summer and fall for swimming and hiking. The trail to access the falls is a 4 mile round trip that is a fairly easy hike with only a few areas of moderate difficulty.
Here's what the falls looks like in the summer:
It's a fun hike that doesn't take too long, so we take friends on the hike if they are visiting the area. I've only ever been in early spring and in the summer, so hiking to the falls on a cold winter day was a new experience.
When we arrived, we noticed it was unusually crowded. I suppose everyone else in the area had the idea to go see the frozen waterfall also. I had never seen so many cars parked down the sides of the road at the falls, even on a warm summer day.
We set off up the trail, and along the way, you get to enjoy the scenic Little Stony Creek. Most of the creek was frozen, which made it particularly scenic on Sunday. Here's a shot of one particular area of the creek on Sunday:
And here's that same spot on a warmer day with the water flowing:
It was also extremely interesting to watch the water flow beneath the ice. Check out this clip from a video I took:
The ice on the creek was fun to look at and take pictures of. There are many scenic spots along the creek, so here are a few photos I took of various places along the way to the falls:
Arriving at the falls was a great experience. I knew the falls was frozen because I had seen other people I know post photos on social media, but seeing it in person was a completely different feeling. Of course there were many other people there, but what is normally a fairly deep portion of the creek where people swim was completely frozen over. You could walk right up to the falls and touch it.
The view upon arriving:
Here's a view looking up from the base of the falls:
Of course my wife and I had to get our picture in front of the massive wall of ice:
It was around 29 degrees F on the hike (-2 C), but the sun was shining, and since we were moving at a steady pace, it wasn't too cold on the hike there. However when we were idling around at the falls standing on ice, it did get cold in a hurry, so we snapped some more photos and headed back down the trail.
It was a really great experience to get to see the falls completely frozen. There were some more adventurous people who climbed up behind part of the waterfall at the top, where you could hear a little water beginning to flow and see more of the ice formations. I decided to play it safe and enjoy the beauty from afar.
If you ever are in Southwest Virginia, take a day to go hike to the Cascades. You won't be disappointed, no matter what time of year it is!
I'll leave you with one last shot of the falls as we were leaving:
I hope you've enjoyed the photos from our hike this weekend! As always, you may click on the photos to see the full resolution images! I'd love to know your thoughts on the hike, and if you have any similar experiences or photos, please leave them in the comments!
Thanks for stopping by!
Ok, once upon a time you told me I could skip over you if I had to make a choice on who to promote. So ... this is how your own words have come back to haunt you. This is a wonderful post -- but of course you know that. But we needed to bump you to another car ... maybe just this once. But we gave you a window seat and deluxe accommodations. It's a little different scenery than the route you usually travel. We hope you enjoy it just as much.
This excellent post was included in our new curation effort The Magnificent Seven -- a collaborative work by @enchantedspirit and @catweasel. You have received a 100% upvote from each of us to show our appreciation for your post. To see your creation showcased here ... and the fine company you keep ... please visit this link.
We appreciate your support both for our work on this project and for the other creators of exceptional content who make it all possible. (Follow @catweasel to catch our future Magnificent Seven posts. He's really not as annoying as you might think. <--- He always makes me say that.)
I appreciate you including this post in the Magnificent Seven. It's truly an honor!
This is a really nice post , I got cold just looking at it though. That is amazing that the water below the falls had frozen thick enough to support the weight of all those people who ventured out on it to get a closer look.
The thing about water that is really fascinating in my opinion is that it is the only element that I am aware of the reacts the opposite of other elements when exposed to cold and heat.
It expands in the cold temperature to the point of freezing. Where other elements contract when temperatures get colder.
Conversely when heated it contracts and will vaporize if the temperature gets to high, and other elements will expand when heated.
You two make a great looking couple, btw, thanks for all the photos showing the contrast from summer and the current conditions. Looks like an enjoyable place to visit for outdoor enthusiasts.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
Always good to see you stop by for a comment, @sultnpapper!
Thank you for the kind words about my wife and me. I'll pass that along to her, and I'm sure she'll appreciate it.
I was also amazed at how thick the ice was in the pool area. Here's a better photo of the "swimming hole" part from another visit to the falls last March (there's a bit of ice still there). You can see that it's fairly deep:
When we walked out on the ice, it was very thick. Someone had gotten curious and attempted to dig down, but they had not gotten close to the water's normal surface after digging almost 2 feet. I'm not sure if some snow got dumped on top of the frozen ice or what, but keep in mind it had not been above freezing in over a week, and the lows at night were in the single digits F, which would have felt even cooler down in the creek-bed thanks to the properties of water (evaporative cooling).
So it felt perfectly safe to tread out onto the ice, and it wasn't too slippery across the flat surface since so many people had been there. It felt more like snow than ice. There were some slippery portions, though, especially up next to the actual waterfall.
The properties of water never cease to amaze, especially in my research when I'm considering dispersing or dissolving various things into water. The more you study it, the more fascinating it is.
Thank you for stopping by to read this post. I appreciate your comments!
WOW.... that is so neat and crazy all at the same time. I had no clue flowing water could freeze over like that..... I love how you showed the 2 different view of all the photos... much love!
Thanks for checking out my post!
It was really incredible to see the falls like this. I know many people don't realize that if it gets cold enough, even something as powerful as a waterfall can freeze over! Glad you enjoyed the multiple views. I think it's interesting to see things in different seasons.
yes.. in fl we only have one season.. 3 miles away from the sun
I believe you had some cold weather recently. The whole East coast went under a deep freeze. But normally, yes. Just one season in Florida. The only time I visited Florida, they ended up having weather in the mid 50s F, and I remember all of the locals complaining that it was too cold. haha
Yes we had a good freeze.. I even had enough frost to make snow balls.. it's back to being warm now... whew.. glad that week of winter is over!
Wow this is gorgeous! I hike a lot and take my cam too. What kind do you have? I just got the Nikon D5600 for Xmas. Looks like you got a Nikon too! How’d you get the vid in there like that into the blog it’s soooo beautiful. I love this post so much and this made me feel better just reading it. Thank you for sharing. xx
Yes, indeed! Not sure why I didn't have our friends use the Nikon to take the picture of us in front of the waterfall, but oh well. haha
It's an older model that my dad gave me. Nikon D60 I believe. I've always been impressed by the quality of photos it takes. Most of the other shots were taken by the Nikon. I think you can tell if you click through to the full resolutions. The ones with the DSC_ naming architecture are from the Nikon, and the IMG_ are from my Google Pixel. It was interesting comparing the differences in the photos between the D60 and my phone.
As far as the video, there's a really neat website called EZgif that allows you to upload a video and turn it into a gif very easily. So I clipped 10 seconds out of the video and converted it to a gif that I just included in this post like any other image. I've done it once or twice before, I think in my last hiking post so I could post panoramic views.
I appreciate the kind words about the post. I'm so glad you stopped by and gave it a read!
YAY! You’ve been a huge help. I have tons of vids I can’t get uploaded for age or software issues. So thank you so much!! xx
You are very welcome! Any time you need advice on anything relating to posting, please let me know. Ask in one of the Discord rooms or shoot me a PM!
Awesome waterfall and gif picture. So many people. I guess it is not as cold as it looks. I jumped aboard the Steem Engine. Sorry I didn't get on sooner. I just had a little trouble getting around. You can check out my application on discord.
Thank you for the kind comments! I have to say that when we started the hike, we were all dressed warmly in several layers, so once we got moving down the trail, it didn't feel too cold, especially with the occasional sunlight trickling through the trees. However, when we got to the falls and stood out on the ice for a while, it started to actually feel below freezing. Nevertheless, everyone still came out, so it was a lot of fun!
We're glad you found The STEEM Engine! I'll be looking into your application soon!
Lovely couple, exciting expedition!
But as @saltnpapper hints in his comment - I would tap that ice before walking on it!
Go safely!
Yes, indeed. It seemed pretty safe considering the amount of people standing on it. Plus it was much thicker than I expected. Thank you for stopping by to read this post!
Such an amazing place and such amazing photos! Thank you so much for sharing!
Glad you stopped by! It's one of my favorite hikes to go on, and it never disappoints!
THAT is an amazing sight! How gorgeous!
Nice to see the frozen view as well as the summer one!
Yes! It's a lovely place to go in every season. We went last spring, and a pop-up hailstorm happened while we were at the falls. It was the most interesting weather I had ever experienced there, but the falls was still beautiful!
Thank you for stopping by to comment!
It's impressive how much it changes through the year, really mindblowing, and it's beautiful every time. Fantastic photos Ethan! Thanks for sharing
Yes, indeed! If you look up in the comments a bit, I shared another photo of it in March of the year underneath @sultnpapper's comment if you're interested. It's always beautiful no matter what time of year you visit.
Wow that is so cool. It must have to be super cold to freeze that up. Tourist attraction in the frigid weather. :)
For sure! It was so crowded at the falls. I've never seen so many people there, even on the hottest day in the summer.
It had been extremely cold the past week, but it's always astonishing to see something like this in person. Thanks for your comment.
Getting people out there comfort zones! That is always a benefit. :)