Capturing the Art of Nature
Gold Creek Falls
I had time only for a short hike today and found the Gold River Falls in my new book of hikes. So having never been there we set out to explore Golden Ears Park.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2008
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Golden Ears Park was another one of those local areas I have often talked about but never visited. So it didn’t take much convincing to decide on this hike along Gold Creek to see the Lower Falls. The drive to Maple Ridge and then up to the park entrance went quite quickly, the final leg through a residential neighbourhood I found quite scenic. This area looked like a nice suburban area to live with the large lots and heavily treed surroundings.
I found the drive along the main road once in the park a bit odd. It feels like driving down a long tunnel as the roadway is lined with a thick corridor of tall trees. It really looks somewhat artificial and over maintained but I guess it helps make the place feel more like you’re in the back country. After a bit of a drive we reached the end of the road after crossing over Gold Creek. The lot was mostly empty when we arrived and I selected and end spot for extra room to set up the repeater. The setup went quite quickly today and I was able to work the Sumas Mountain repeater the best, so that was what we used for the hike.
We set out for the trail and encountered quite a number of groups and families walking the well maintained trail to the falls. It is a very popular hike and hence lacks the wilderness feel, but the deep greens still make it worth while for enjoying a glimpse of a rain forest. The initial walk presented lovely views of heavily moss covered trees and rocks and a few clumps of mushrooms. Soon we could hear the roar of the creek and after a dip in the trail we came to the first access point to the creek. The trail paralleled the creek from this point up to the viewpoint of the falls.
I tried the radio a number of times along the trail and as we hiked deeper the connection to the repeater became quite spotty. It was not achieving the penetration I was hoping for, so this was a good test of the current equipment’s capability. Once at the falls I was able to move to a point that I could work the repeater reliably, but it was only with careful positioning.
I had thought the falls were going to be a taller drop but it was still quite pretty and with the volume of water it made for a full curtain and of water as it dropped. The volume of water does kick up a large amount of mist and it made the viewing platform and its visitors quite wet. After a short stay on the platform we made our way up to the top of the falls where we were able to get down on the actual rocks of the creek bed. The pool just above the fall was a deep emerald green colour and contained in a circular wall of rock which almost looked too perfect to be natural.
Watching the water race over the large rocks just before the edge was quite amazing, though shallow, the flow was quite fast and I am sure would knock one off their feet quite quickly should someone try walking across. That would undoubtly lead to them falling over as there isn’t much to hang onto if you were being pushed by the water. We stopped for lunch on the rocks and watched the flow while we listened to the roar of the water. As we ate, the sky cleared a bit more and was giving us a nice play of light on the water and rocks for the rest of our stay. The only negative was the growing number of people who were also enjoying the view but getting in the way of the photos.
The walk back went quite quickly though I did stop for a few further shots. The views of the mountains across the creek looked much nicer on our return as the day had brightened which gave more vibrant colours. Once back to the truck we started to take down the antenna and had a couple of people come by to ask about the setup.
We then drove down to the day use area and parked again. It sure is one huge parking area. They must have quite large numbers of people here in the summer; even today there were a fair number of families cooking their lunches in the picnic area next to the lake. It is a lovely setting and needs a return visit when there are fewer bodies getting in the way of the camera. The beach further up the lake where the over-night campers are looked less crowded and would likely be a better place to take photos, but we were both tired and needed to be heading back. I was definitely glad I finally came to see what this park has going for it. There are many more adventures here to explore including a visit to a higher set of falls on the creek. The only real negative of the place is that so many others have found it and enjoy the place which leads to a bit of crowding. I guess I have gotten use to more secluded spots!