Sunday, August 3, 2008
I originally expected to finish my post-ILTR chicken lunch and head back to Albany, since I figured my legs would be pretty well shot after two races in two days (and Thacher can get pretty crowded on a nice Sunday, at least along the escarpment.) But when I saw that there was a decent amount of water going over the two waterfalls, I knew I had to do the semi-traditional walk along the actual Indian Ladder trail before I left. (Semi-traditional because I've now done it after three races up at Thacher - twice after the ILTR and once after Hairy Gorilla.)
Since it was cool and at times cloudy (there'd even been some rain earlier) the trails weren't as crowded as they'd usually be on a Sunday in August... which meant I could take my time (ie. walk slow) and many of the pictures I shot didn't have people all over the place. (What can I say... when I'm taking nature pictures I'd generally prefer they be people-free.) Had a nice walk along the lower Indian Ladder trail... while the waterfalls weren't the heaviest I've ever seen them (that distinction goes back to the Great Floods of June 2006) they were close and a nice change from the usual summertime trickles.
Along the way I made a side trip to the small waterfall just off the Paint Mine picnic area... unfortunately, the really large falls on that stream are further up the hill and essentially out of view of the trails... and generally did my best not too push my tired legs too hard.
There were very few cars at the Hop Field picnic area (and no one in sight) so I stopped there on my way out of the park and took some pictures of the waterfall that's hidden back in the ravine next to the old road up to the hiking and XC ski trails. By the time I was done it was around 1:30 PM... hard to believe I'd spent five hours at Thacher today!
JMH
