Leon Turnbull Photography

We just returned from a very nice and much needed week long vacation to Canada to visit my family. It’s always nice to go up there to play in the snow and partake of great food (thanks Mom and the Colander). I always seem to gain ten pounds when I go home to Canada. Nonetheless I still do get lots of exercise.

My new favorite waterfall up there is Bear Creek Falls. I found it last year, a gorgeous 63 ft high falls hidden in a difficult and remote canyon but yet it is so very close to the city. This year I wanted to bring my wife Tara along. I told her it was short and easy. Well I thought I remembered it being fairly easy anyway. Except for the very steep descent, traversing the dangerous cliffs, and battling through the difficult brush. Doesn’t that sound easy to you? Well for some reason my wife didn’t think so. She made it to the waterfall however. And she didn’t throw me off the cliff in exasperation either. Bonus.

There was more snow on the ground this time and also more snow covering the waterfall. This is odd because BC is also in a drought this year. Well maybe not a drought but they are well below average in snowfall this year. It is awfully sad in the entire northwest. Poor California is in the worst shape of all of them. So I’m not really sure why there seemed to be more snow at Bear Creek Falls (yet less water flow in the creek). I think the snow made the hike even harder than last time. Sorry Tara.

I was able to get a bit closer to the waterfall this time by treading over the ice to get up to the big log crossing in front of the falls (see last year’s photo on my website). All the while I was sure hoping the snow would not give under my feet. That would’ve been bad, but the snow held up and I got my photo. It was a very enjoyable winter day.

All right so this one is a bit interesting. This little waterfall is not really something that I would include on my website. It is 20 ft. high, but is disqualified because it is not on a named stream. It is just a little side stream and cascade. Yet it does flow for much of the year, even in winter of all the silly things. It is not a named waterfall of course or otherwise documented elsewhere. So I believe that means I have naming rights to it. Hoo Hoo.

Thus my name for this little thing is Gladys Falls, in honour of my mother. It is, after all, in her very backyard (practically). It is found along a new little trail that begins immediately below my mother’s property in Rossland BC. And she is the first one (that I know of) that photographed it. So are there any objections? Good, I thought not.

I went down here with Tara and my dog Kaya one day. Kaya just loves Grandma’s house in Rossland in the winter, she loves the snow and loves going for walks in the snow (even if it is deep!). She did not want to leave with us when we were on our way to drive home, she wanted to stay at Grandma’s house (I am not kidding). She just abhors the car rides now (and of course, it is a 800 mile drive to my mother’s house!). This is not good for her at all. She used to be so much better when she was younger and did not mind the car rides. Not so anymore, and this was the worst year ever for her. She basically just gets so stressed in the car the entire time we are driving, and not much we can do about it. Poor old girl. I think her days of going to Grandma’s house in Rossland are over, unless we can figure out a solution. Maybe give her a couple beers before the drive. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

On my way back from Moyie Falls, I called my wife back at the ranch to see if she or anyone else wanted to go with me quickly to Marysville Falls. My sister lives only a few minutes away from this 45 ft. high cascade in the middle of the town of Marysville. It is a short and easy walk to get to it. But we had to move very quickly. I could tell the sun was on the verge of coming out from hiding. The race was on. Could I get there in time? Doo doo doo doo.

Tara was the only one that wanted to come, so we drove into town, parked, and started down the trail. Actually, I ran ahead. I had only minutes, perhaps just seconds to take my photo of the waterfall.

At the overlook, the snow was deep, and I struggled to get my tripod set up in a stable position. Ugh! That sun is coming! I could not get it set. My wife arrived and offered to help, by holding the tripod in position while I took my photos. It seemed to work, but when I got home to examine my photos, I see that did not work as well as I thought. There was still movement from the tripod, and most of my photos did not turn out. I do thank her for trying to help, however. I took the best of the photos, and managed to work it enough to get it processed. It is okay, but I think it could be better.

The interesting thing about this waterfall is all the snow and ice around it. It is quite amazing. On the way back up the trail, we passed quite a few people coming down to see the falls. Now that the sun was out, I guess everyone thought it would be good to come down and see it (and photograph it in crappy lighting conditions I suppose). Anyway, it was a fun outing.

We returned to the house and after lunch, went to the arena to watch my niece Hannah in her figure skating practice. I keep telling her I want to see her do a triple lutz. She keeps laughing at me (she is ten). After this we went back home where my daughter got to ride one of the horses. My sister has two horses on their ranch. One of them is a bit crazy. My brother in law said, she may be pretty but her heart is black (like the color of her fur/hair – do horses have hair or fur?) We did not ride that one. The other horse is older but much nicer, and Nekoda got to ride her around for a bit. She was extremely happy afterwards. Flying on air. Later that night, however, she realized she really could not fly when she took a nasty fall while trying out their treadmill (unbeknownst to any of the adults in the house). Poor little girl, she looked like she had been through the washing machine (literally). Fortunately it was nothing more serious than scrapes and bruises, and other than this we had a great time visiting our family in Canada this Christmas season.

After spending Christmas at my folks’ place in Rossland BC, we drove over to the East Kootenays, to Cranbrook to visit my sister and family. They have two girls about the same age as our two kids, and it is always very special for the cousins to see each other. Their girl Mya said we are her favourite of all her many cousins. Take that Doerksen family! (kidding) Most of the time, we did not even see the four of them as they were all off somewhere playing together. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, I suppose.

Anyway on Friday after Christmas, I got up early to do a little hike. Unfortunately my dumb weather app got me up an hour too early. There is a one hour time difference between Rossland and Cranbrook, thus I thought it very odd that there would only be a five minute difference in sunrise time. But then again it didn’t seem right that sunrise would be after 8:30AM in Cranbrook either. Yeah right. Well at least there was a Tim Hortons in town where I could sit and wait until after 8:30 (and have a coffee and donut too of course).

My goal was Moyie Falls just south of Cranbrook. When we were last here in Autumn, I vaguely remember trying to get to this waterfall with Tara, but for some reason we never got there. I have no idea why. My memory is fleeting in old age. All I remember is that we drove up the dirt road from Lumberton, but I know we never even got close to the falls. Maybe we made a wrong turn somewhere? The thing of it is, even if we did not make a wrong turn, we probably could not have gotten to the waterfall anyway.

It is interesting that this road is plowed in the winter. Indeed, I found that many such logging roads in BC were plowed. It is odd. If this was California, there is no way in a cat’s meow the road would be plowed, though I wish it were different in California. It would open up some amazing winter recreational opportunities. Sigh.

Well I found the turnoff that I somehow missed the last time I was here, and started walking down the road to the Moyie River. I had my snowshoes on just in case I needed them, but I did not. The trail was well packed and well trodden. It seems to be a popular hike in the winter, but there was no one here this day (too close to sunrise? It is sure tough getting up at 8:30 eh). It is an easy trek down to the river, and from there the trail continues up stream to the falls. You cannot see or hear the waterfall. In fact, the river is so flat and so peaceful and meandering down here, you think there is no way there could be a waterfall. I was not really sure what to expect either, I thought there might be a 20 foot waterfall, but more likely it would be just 10 feet or even less. But as I rounded a corner, I could see it, and it was a dandy. Not just a 10 footer, but a 46 ft high beauty as the river drops over a hidden cliff in a tight gorge.

I could also see something else. This waterfall is not possible to get to without crossing the river. In the spring, I think it would be impossible. In the cold freezing winter though, it is different. Ice bridges allow passage across the river. I was a bit hesitant, but the path I was following was secure and strong. That extra spaghetti I ate at the Colander Restaurant was not enough to break this ice bridge. The path led over the river, then up the other side to the falls. A big snowy rock right in front of the waterfall I climbed up on top of, to enjoy the view and take my photographs. Notice also the old mine shaft beside the waterfall. It is a very fascinating and beautiful place.

It was about two years ago I first learned of this waterfall. It is Bear Creek Falls in Trail BC, so close to civilization and the city, and yet so remote at the same time. You won’t find this one posted or documented anywhere else. It is a locals only type of waterfall, but fortunately I am in the know with the locals. At that time I examined the descent from the road. It looked very steep and especially very brushy. It did not really even look possible and I did not make an attempt. However, then my mom told me that she and dad had gone down to the waterfall about 40+ years ago. It probably was much less brushy back then but the gauntlet was thrown down. I had to get to this waterfall now. No holding back.

This winter I finally had the chance. In winter it would be easier on the one hand because the brush would be covered by snow. But on the other hand it might be much more dangerous to traverse the cliffs in the snow. There was about two feet on the ground. I did not think it would be too feasible, but it was time to make a go of it anyway. No holding back, right? How steep can it really be anyway?

You can see the falls from the road (in winter) but this is private property and not the best place to descend to the creek anyway. I started further down the road where there is a parking pullout and the terrain is easier. A bit easier. The first part, though, starts off steep right away as you need to descend into a gully and cross it. After this though it was actually quite easy. I did not bring snowshoes thinking it would be too difficult to use them on the steep terrain. So I just trudged through the two feet of snow. There seemed to be a trail I was following but I could not tell for sure under the snow cover. There were lots of animal prints too from deer and other critters. Once you get closer to the waterfall the terrain gets much more cliffy. It was not really too bad but in the snow it could be dangerous. I did not really want to slide down the mountain into the creek far below me, though it could be exciting; however the snow was very solid and I had no worries. I could not see the waterfall yet as I traversed the mountain but I could see where it would be, hidden behind the cliff ahead of me. I finally got closer and could see the falls. Now the trouble would be how to get up close to it. It was a lot more brushy close to the falls and even in winter it was very difficult making my way up to the waterfall but after crawling under a log, sliding down some icy rocks, and doing the hokey pokey, I finally made it to the bottom, getting right down to creek level at the base of the falls. It is an absolutely gorgeous 63 ft high horsetail shaped waterfall. So very beautiful in the snow and ice. Bear Creek Falls is finally bagged. Take that mom! 🙂 Now I’ll have to see about getting back to this one in the spring sometime. Oh yeah bring it on.