canyonwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
canyonwalker) wrote2022-08-11 11:45 pm
canyonwalker) wrote2022-08-11 11:45 pm
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Angel Falls (Hiking Covel Creek, part 3)
Our hike up Covel Creek on Saturday took us past numerous waterfalls. Some were unnamed but not that small; then there was Covel Falls, which we could walk behind. Either one of these would be enough for the trail to stand on its own. But wait: there's more.
We continued up the ridge from Covel Falls— and it was steep, up, up, up— and down the other side. The trail curved into a plunging stream canyon. Falls 5-10' high stood above and below. "Is this Angel Falls?" we asked each other. Then we looked through the trees and saw it. It took a bit of bushwhacking and climbing up 10' of rock to get to the real Angel Falls.
This photo (above) doesn't really do Angel Falls justice. The falls looks much taller in person. It's a drop of 60-80' down a moss covered rock wall.
This photo (above) shows a closeup of the upper part of the falls. Here you can better appreciate how all the little rivulets of water combine to make it a sublime sight.
While getting to the falls is (almost) always the highlight of a waterfalls hike, that's not "it". There's usually more to appreciate. Generally it's just a matter of remembering to look up instead of merely putting one foot in front of the other.
That was the case with this tall cliff we descended. The trail went down, down, down surprisingly steep switchbacks. I guess those shouldn't have been surprising given the steep switchbacks we went up, up, up on the other side. But once we descended them we passed below a huge cliff. It seemed like we dropped 1,000' before we got back to the trailhead. Had we really climbed that much to see all the falls? We must have.
In beauty I walk.
We continued up the ridge from Covel Falls— and it was steep, up, up, up— and down the other side. The trail curved into a plunging stream canyon. Falls 5-10' high stood above and below. "Is this Angel Falls?" we asked each other. Then we looked through the trees and saw it. It took a bit of bushwhacking and climbing up 10' of rock to get to the real Angel Falls.
This photo (above) doesn't really do Angel Falls justice. The falls looks much taller in person. It's a drop of 60-80' down a moss covered rock wall.
This photo (above) shows a closeup of the upper part of the falls. Here you can better appreciate how all the little rivulets of water combine to make it a sublime sight.
While getting to the falls is (almost) always the highlight of a waterfalls hike, that's not "it". There's usually more to appreciate. Generally it's just a matter of remembering to look up instead of merely putting one foot in front of the other.
That was the case with this tall cliff we descended. The trail went down, down, down surprisingly steep switchbacks. I guess those shouldn't have been surprising given the steep switchbacks we went up, up, up on the other side. But once we descended them we passed below a huge cliff. It seemed like we dropped 1,000' before we got back to the trailhead. Had we really climbed that much to see all the falls? We must have.
In beauty I walk.