Impossible (2get2) Falls

Ok, so i had this bright idea to shoot Mystic Falls with some ice and snow to spice it up (i would have named this 'Mystic' if i had actually made it to the falls...). From the sparse reports on the web, sounded like a short and slightly challenging bushwack up the creek...should be a piece of cake i thought

Well, after a solid hour of crawling over icy rocks, climbing over and under huge blow-downs, and crossing the icy creek 5 times in rapids up to my knees in spots, i finally got to a point where it was like navigating a minefield, and i stood there for 20 minutes trying to decide whether it was worth risking serious injury to continue upstream...my survival instinct prevailed and i very reluctantly threw in the towel

I consoled myself on the way out by taking some shots of the creek.

Can anyone who has been to Mystic give me a clue how close i was to the falls? This is just before i turned around, the canyon was getting real narrow here and the only way forward was either up the icy rocks in center, or through the snow-covered logs on the left (the minefield) There was another cascade in the back that you can't really see in this shot.
NEVERMIND...see post below...

At least the sunrise at Sunshine was pretty...
to quote Arnold--I will be back!!

Stan....sounds like you have some Mountain Man in your genes...reading your account made chills go down my spine. I'm sure they were going down more than just your spine! At any rate the cascade is a fine shot in and of itself. Good work and be careful.
Joe Rogers

Nice comps, Stan but the creek shots like pretty blue - no white on my monitor. Of course, that could just be my monitor.

Uh, those first two look like falls to me Glad your gene kicked in before we lost our resident weatherman!

Edward Weston said "Anything more than 500 yds from the car just isn't
photogenic.
Maybe this applies to sloshing up steep mountain streams in the winter.
Glad you survived and your survival gene kick in, I wonder why it took 20 minutes.

That's not Sunshine, that's Wilson Peak, with Gladstone peeking out on the left. Sunshine is out of frame to the left.

Thanks Todd--im aware of that, this was taken from Sunshine campground (hence at Sunshine )

Boy, that second one sure does not look inviting. I'm often up for a nice, miserable bushwhack, but sometimes you just have to admit that you're having no fun at all, not to mention flirting with injury. That first one is pretty nice, the thin sheet of water over the boulder is really attractive, and the blue seems apt. And I like that nice subtle light in the third.

Oops!

The conditions def. look challenging, and going here in the winter I would pretty much be prepared to get waist deep in water. Sure does look like a LOT of debris in there. Not to add insult to injury, but based on your second photo and your comment that "the canyon was getting real narrow...", I would say the falls were just past the "minefield." It's usually much easier to bushwhack up on the left on that section, as the creek has many deceivingly deep pools on the right hand side. Glad you made it out in one piece

Thanks, Jared--i was pretty sure i was close; it's tempting to make a second attempt cause really the only thing that held me back was that i wasn't prepared for all the wading--i had Goretex boots but i really needed waders or something cause my feet were half frozen when i gave up!

UGGGGHHHHH! Ok, i just consulted a map (gee, that might have been a good move in the first place ) and i now realize that i went UP THE WRONG STINKIN CREEK!
Ok, so just file this under 'most boneheaded things done in pursuit of a lousy photograph'
I guess that explains why i didnt see the slightest sign of a trail...
On the plus side, i think i just captured a shot of a portion of the south fork that has probably never been photographed before, and probably never will be again...

Yep, you are a pioneer! When I looked at the first 2 photos, I didn't recognize a single thing and figured you took the wrong trail...oooops! But these are nice captures anyway and the blue doesn't bother me.

Nice ones Stan ..

Stan, you are a trailblazer in more ways than one!

Todd,
Please try to use more emoticons in your posts!

Sincerely,
The Management