Nature 2002

A major part of SUUSI is the nature program. This program sponsers nature programs and hikes, as well as the Big Five SUUSI sports: canoeing, tubing, kayaking, rappelling, and caving. Exploring the majestic beauty of the Blue Ridge is one of SUUSI's highlights. I chose this year to go to two water hikes: Upper Cascades and Dismal Falls. I had originally signed up for a trip to the Cascades waterfall; however, a five-inch rain the previous night flooded roads and possibly the Cascades trail the night before, and so the hike was cancelled. Instead we combined with another existing hike to Dismal Falls; still, when we rode out to the Falls, we saw evidences of a flood: hay bales near the road, people squeegeing thing up, a car on a river bank and so forth. Click on the images to enlarge them.

	On Wednesday I went on the Upper Cascades hike. We hiked through the same path that we used to get to the Triple Slog hike, but we arrived at the end or top of that hike instead, at a sizable waterfall. This waterfall was big enough to be impressive but small enough to climb it, like I did in 2000. But I didn't this time, but at least one person went down to the pool and swam a bit.
	This is another view of the falls.
	On Friday I went on the Dismal Falls hike. It started with a couple of good-looking horses. The trail went to some woods, and at one place we had to ford a stream, where we helped each other hold on so we could make it without falling down and getting wet.
	After a mile of hiking we got to a falls that had been swollen by the tremendous rain the night before. We got on our swimsuits and went out to the falls. You mayhave heard of hot tubbing. This was cold tubbing, with the waterfall providing the squirting. We all got up into the falls and get the water cascade down on us.
	I then swam around in the pool with an underwater camera in my hand. I asked another swimmer to take a picture of me in the water, and this is the result, showing me in the pool in front of the roaring cascade.

Water Fun