Canterbury Falls- Hamilton

 It's been a very long two weeks after a crushing blow to the family.  I wept for my sons who lost their father both unexpectedly and much too young.   Alan Laine had left quite the legacy as over 200 people showed up for his funeral and I just had to sit back and smile during the reception afterwards to listen to the stories and laughter spread across the room filled with people who had something funny to tell about 'Big Al'.  During the eulogy there were stories shared of his strength and fellowship by his dearest friends and music played in honor for his life, which brought me and my sons to tears.

The service was respectful and not over-indulgent.  Just long enough to keep our attention and the visitation the day before brought me to tears as I had said my final goodbyes to the man I loved for his dedication to fatherhood.  He was a pillar of strength and will be missed by his co workers and friends and family.

My sons are taking this hard as his death was untimely for them, but the three of them were lucky enough to spend the last few years living together building and mending bonds.  My own husband has been patient and understanding through my grieving and allowing me all the time and space I need to be there for my family.  

Many times in life when we lose someone we care about, we turn to the church for support.  I may not attend church as much as others, but I never lost my faith and my hope in my spirituality.  Whatever God is to me, it lives wherever I do, and I am able to talk and listen to my own better judgement to which I can trust is the answers to anything I need to know.

The Canterbury Falls in Hamilton is owned by the Anglican Church of Canada.  The surrounding land is facilitated as a conference retreat, church and children's camp.  I hoped to spot some deer but it was just too frigid out for them I suppose.  These pictures were shot at dusk and the exposure was set high to get as much light as possible, but I was not very happy with the pictures.  The last time I saw Canterbury there was no water at all so was surprised to read that it has a year-round flow.  I will be pleased to finally take a fine shot and get down about 10 metres (32 feet) to get a good shot of the entire cascade.  The waterfall is a tributary of sulphur springs creek.

After a few hours of walking in the cold outdoors, I felt a little better, and the flow of the waterfalls reminds us all that life goes on...

Princess Falls- (Upper and Lower) Hamilton

Princess Falls, both upper and lower in Hamilton can be seen directly on the Chedoke Radial Trail, so the access to view is easy peasy.   

The water system for this flow of upper to lower is unknown, so as a point of interest it has been featured a cascading waterfall in Hamilton.  The Upper Princess falls is about 130 metres high, but rarely has a flow, as the lower princess or simply "Princess Falls" as depicted in this picture I took is a 7 metre high ribbon fall.  Most flow will be seen in the winter thaw in the spring which will dramatically improve the water flow, but take it from me although it is considered the second highest waterfall in Hamilton, it doesn't get much notoriety due to it's location.  Frankly it looks like nothing much more than a water fountain.
   

Westcliffe Falls - Hamilton

I have been down in Chedoke Valley (Radial Trail) a few times since last winter, but haven't seen Westcliffe Falls yet.  You can hear the water from up top (Scenic Drive/Paradise Rd) coming into the gorge, but you can’t actually see anything from up there.   


There wasn't much of a flow to her at this time of year, but it promises to never dry up!  Westcliffe is one of several waterfalls you’ll see if you take the Iroquoia trail off Chedoke Radial.    It’s a terraced, ribbon cascade that stands about 15 metres high and has a wide chest of about 3 metres.  

The easiest way to get to it, is to go down the steel stairway (about 300 steps) and walk up the dirt footpath located on the left embankment from Lower Westcliffe / Lower Cliffview.  You will see it up on your right side once you are over the top.  


I took the hard way down and instead of using the stairs, I dragged and skidded myself down the side of the embankment wall until I reached the bottom of the gorge.  After a few cuts, scrapes and bruises, using the staircase (which is what I was trying to avoid) seems like a better choice....and a safer one!

Although the terrain is very rugged and sparse, there are still some very scenic views down in the valley here.  One of which is the really neat tiered staircase that has been carved out by glaciers as well.  This area would be best viewed though in the spring/summer or perhaps early autumn. 

more notes:
See Lower Westcliffe (Cliffview Falls) / Lower West on this blog  -  is a 4 metre high and 3 metre wide classic cascade waterfall found just north of the Cliffview Falls.

 

Buttermilk Falls - Hamilton

 Buttermilk Falls...is not my favorite.  I haven't seen it from the bottom up, mind you, because I have yet to take the hike in from Albion Falls.  I've been to Albion more than a few times, but have yet to take the King's Forest Walk to this waterfall.

It's known as a terraced-ribbon waterfall and honestly if you think you can take a short-cut by photographing from the top off Mountain Brow Blvd., forget it because there is no impressive view from there. I don't have a natural fear of heights so I have no problem walking to the ledge, but still I was disappointed yet again by the flow here from Grindstone Creek, even after Hurricane Sandy.    The waterfall is about 23 metres high and 8 metres wide making it one of the largest waterfalls of Hamilton and it flows all year long. However, the amount of flow is unpredictable as you can see.   I wasn't happy with the pictures, but that had nothing to do with anything other than the lack of green everywhere.  All the foliage was dying and made for some pretty sombre landscapes. 

new waterfall discovery...:)

If you want to find this particular waterfall to add to your collection, my suggestion is to walk from Albion Falls first, then hike through King's Forest walk and you'll hook up with Buttermilk before moving on toward Red Hill Creek and Glendale Falls.  The view from down below may be better!  If you've got pictures to share, feel free to send them to my email in the sidebar on this blog.  

Billy Green Falls - Hamilton

Billy Green Falls, is found just off a fairly busy regional road (Centennial Parkway). It is considered a "complex ribbon" cascade at a height of about 17 metres.  It goes by Battlefield Falls because its on Battlefield Creek.  



It had a pretty good flow when I was there in the spring so I was able to take a few decent shots. 

After about five minutes another couple showed up and it kind of distracted me because I was getting the impression they were being polite to allow me my space, so I didn't want to take advantage of that.  

It was a rush job, and by the time I went through most of my pictures they all looked pretty much the same here, it's a shame because it really isn't such a bad area.  There are lots of photo opportunities here, so definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for challenging POV's.  




 

Centennial Falls - Hamilton

Let's be honest, when you think of a 'waterfall' you usually have visions of crashing water cascading over a rocks or a silky ribbons of water over a quiet riverbed.  I figured after hurricane Sandy's stormy rainfalls, there would have been something leftover for Centennial Falls in Hamilton, but there really wasn't anything more than a trickle.  You'll traditionally see more of a flow here after the snow melt anyways, so coming here in the early spring is your best bet. I know you can't really tell by these pics, but the height is about 10 metres (33 feet) high.  I've seen pictures of this waterfall in full flow, and it can be more impressive than what you see here.

There is 'no authority or rules' to define or classify a waterfall, my guess would be that it is really up to us to decide which we personally would consider one.  Centennial has been described as a 'terraced ribbon cascade waterfall".  

If you carefully yield to park to the side of Centennial Parkway and walk down a relatively sloped hill, you'll see it pretty close to the parkway.  It's very messy in there, especially after the rain where its slippery.  There are large rocks in the area and tree twigs sticking out of the ground as well as overhead.  It looks to be ignored for the most part except for the garbage that gets tossed over from the overpass above.  

There's a tunnel below that leads under the parkway and I curiously (like most of us) found myself peeking through it to try and make out a large blob at the other end.  As I took a step into it, a wild dog runs through it to charge at me for entering his territory.  I got the hell out of there fast, but think I left my heart in my throat back there still..

Centennial is not without its charm though, and if you dare to enter it from this point (off Centennial) you will find the Bruce Trail up on top and Felkers Falls, a far more picturesque waterfall just to the west of it.

Didn't spend much time in the area due to time constraints (again) but took more than enough pictures of the area.  Just up the parkway from here, and you will find Billy Green falls, a far more pictorial 'waterfall' :)

I'm tired of looking at garbage around these falls, aren't you, haha? 

Heres how to get here

Websters Again!

A beautiful alternative to Niagara is Websters Falls in the Spencer Gorge at Greensville...
There are plenty of beautiful picture opportunities to take as well as relatively safe hiking trails as well.  

If you haven't already been here, it's a must see with flows all year long.  There's also plenty to do once you're here if from out of town.  There are several other falls and cascades nearby, including Tews Falls, Borers and Hermitage Cascade. Click on the link above for directions.  I was surprised to see very little water coming off of Tews (fed from the Spencer Creek) before the rains came this week.  If you're into hiking, there are plenty of Sanctuarys and Conservations Areas of course, such as Rock Chapel, Borers Falls CA, Dundas Valley CA, Christie Lake CA and what I like to call the 'Crooks'  

And of course if you are into Sightseeing on the ground level and up perspective, there is an Antique shop close by and the Hamilton Farmer's Market.  History lovers, will find the Hermitage Ruins interesting as well as the Dundurn Castle, which I have yet to see inside!!  Of course the Royal Botanical Gardens, but I prefer the hikes and historical places.  

You might see other earlier shots (winter) on this blog when I was here last year!