Capturing the Art of Nature
Tamihi Creek Valley
We drove up the Tamihi valley on November 8, 2003 to see if we could get up our favorite climb. First I took a series of shots of the Creek. Then we ascended the hills. We almost were stopped part way up but a bit of ice work cleared the way.
Category
Serendipitous Discoveries
2003
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We drove up the Tamihi valley on November 8, 2003 to see if we could get up our favorite climb. First I took a series of shots of the Creek. I just never seem to get enough of this one small length of the creek. The trees and logs and mosses are incredible and form fantastic sights with each different angle. Add to that the changes from season to season and you can see why there is so much to photograph here. Once I had collected a few images we ascended the hills. We decided to climb the mountain that had stopped us on our last two attempts. It almost succeeded for a third time with a 40 foot strip of ice covered road. The boys rose to the challenge to chip away two tire ruts for us to drive on. Without solid footing we would have slide off the edge and landed a few hundred feet down. So after 45 minutes we had our path and we were on our way up again. Fortunately it was the only spot blocked by ice.
Once at the top we enjoyed some clear views of the surrounding peaks and a small ice covered pond. The last time I was up I had planned to descend to the pond, so that we did. The ice was several inches thick so we were able to walk on it, right to the centre. When we first arrived we spotted a salamander resting on the ice. At first we thought it to be frozen but it perked up and eventually skittered away.
The boys also got a kick out of crossing the international border to the US even if it was only to say they had done so. It would be a long hike to any US point of interest.