Wang Wusheng, Small pines and far mountains, taken at Peak Lying on the Clouds November 1984, 7 A.M., from Celestial Realm: The Yellow Mountains of China
And we made it! Now just a short climb, and then sliding down, down, down into the blue/green pool below. A very COLD pool! But it’s so fun you only notice it’s cold the first time. Yeah, that’s it! That means you have to swim out, climb back up, and do it again and you’ll feel warmer. Honest!
Thanks so much for coming along with me on this hike over the last few days. In reality, it only took us a little over an hour to get up there and an hour back. Maybe a little less to get back because I wasn’t annoying my hiking buddy, stopping to take photos every few steps.
If you’re in the Lander area, I highly recommend this hike in Sink’s Canyon. If you intend to slide and swim, summer and early Fall is the best time. See you on the slide! =]:)
It reminds me of a tropical rain forest. It’s so lush and green here, and it’s almost impossible to see through the foliage. I wonder what could be on the other side? Could we be nearing the end of our little trip up the mountain?
It’s a narrow bridge, but a sturdy one. It’s a pleasure to walk on, and I like the sound my hiking boots make as I take each step. I can hear people laughing somewhere ahead, and the waterfalls bathe the atmosphere with ions and a soundtrack of soothing sounds. =]:)
Still making progress along the trail to the waterfall, but I had to stop to look at this tree full of secret messages. Oh, the stories this tree could tell. It can’t talk though, so you just have to read it instead! =]:)
We’ve made it to the lower part of the falls. Is there anything as refreshing as the sound of rolling, churning water? How can you not smile while looking at a waterfall?So why are we so attracted to waterfalls? I have a theory. The human mind is very good at picking out patterns, and we use them to make decisions. We see and unconsciously use patterns all day long, and connect them to other patterns, and so on.
At first glance, we might think we see patterns in a waterfall, or even in the waves of the ocean, and soon our brains are trying to find and use these patterns to make connections. If you look at a waterfall, though, you soon realize it is impossible to predict which way the water will flow next, but your brain keeps trying to find patterns anyway, but it never will. This probably puts your mind at ease and into a meditative, free-flowing state. This makes us feel happy.
Oh heck, forget all that nonsense. Waterfalls are just pretty to look at!
Tomorrow I will do another post as we get closer to the sliding waterfall. =]:)
As we get closer to the waterfalls, we decided to stop here for a while to take in that amazing sky and the scent of wildflowers. Okay, and maybe to rest a bit too. The air is filled with the sounds of birds, some gathering and getting ready to fly south for the winter, others busily preparing for the colder temperatures to come.On this day, though, you’d never know it was Autumn, but for the yellowing leaves on the trees. The sun was warm, which was good because we planned on sliding down the waterfall into the clear, green/blue pool below.
Tomorrow I’ll post the next part of our journey up the mountain. =]:)
Dunes pictured are at elevation of around 3000 metres (~9850 feet) above sea level, located in western part of the Himalaya Mountains.
Steep valley walls that stick out about 1000–2000 metres (3280–6560 feet) above the valley floor create a narrow corridor. This corridor captures major air mass movements which blow around the sands on the valley floor that eventually make up dunes.
Arch-shaped patters are sand layers within old dunes that have partially eroded. The erosion has exposed the internal structure revealing how the dune was constructed.
