Between storms I went to visit the Coal Creek Waterfall.  With all the rain we had it surely would have a spectacular flow. During the summer it was a trickle so I wanted to see how it looked now. As you can see it was a gusher.

I could hear her before I even saw her and then one rounds the trails corner and there she is in the distance.

As you get closer the bridge across the creek comes in to view. Some other nature lovers give you a good perspective on the size of the area.

Up onto the wooden bridge I went. From there I got this nice shot of the two falls. First the creek shoots off the top of the rock-wall and then it pours over the boulder. She is a pretty thing when you concentrate on the falls itself.

It was time to eat lunch after I mucked around a bit.  I went back up the trail and crawled up into the forest. There I found a flat and fairly dry spot under a large cedar tree. I could see and hear the falls from there plus anyone coming thru the trail would probably not see me. Here is a little shot of my view while I ate my ham sandwich.

That is the falls for you. But don’t go!!  I have two other topics to share with you about my visit.

The forest is not just the living trees that you see. It is a cosmos of the living and the remains of their ancestors.  Today’s forest is here at Cougar Mountain Park is certainly not old-growth. Some of the trees are approaching that age since they for some reason were passed up but the granddaddies of these trees were either logged a hundred years ago or fell naturally before man arrived.

Behind my lunch spot were a few mammoth old stumps and downed logs.  I am talking about a log that is huge laying on the hill-side. Next to that is a pretty huge stump. Since cedar has a slow rot rate they are here to show us what was.

This got me thinking about all the stumps around the falls and the logs lying around like littered tinker-toys. See how in this picture you have the two stumps. You can tell they were logged vs a natural end by the straight cut top and foot hold holes on the sides.

This next stump is across the bridge and it gives a clear view of how logging before chain saws was done. Plus these were big trees so they cut footholds to either stand in or put planking to stand on. Then they used a big manual saw and cut the tree down.

Now that we have looked at the stumps let us move to the logs lying around. Around the falls were several larger trunks. Here is the one that lays close to the bottom of the first falls but behind the pool on the bank.

What a magnificent tree it must have been when she lived. I could not triangulate her stump so maybe years ago she was pushed down the creek and over the falls.  That would be a ton of water to do that. or was she one of the cut trees and the men who fell them gave up getting them out of the wilderness?

More logs are around this special place to entice my imagination. Here is one that was laying over the ground where the trail was pushed through. The builders just cut through her and give us a glimpse at her size and how she is preserved for us.

Then we have the really big log that is by the bridge. This log is so big that the side trail to get up closer to the falls one has to skirt her up a slippery muddy round about. Guess one could climb over but it would be a bit of an up and over.  The photo does not give you a true feel for size, but know it came to my thighs when I walked around her.

Now my imagination went looking for the stump of this gigantic old growth tree trunk. I think I found it but then who would really know.  Here are two photos of that stump. She is a beauty!

Last as I left there was this stump of a really really big tree that was cut down long ago. What is left of her was taller and wider than I am tall.

Now I leave you with the second cool thing I found at the falls. It was a wildlife moment. As I was standing on the bridge a small squirrel or chipmunk appeared at the creek on a log. Then he proceeded to run and jump across to the other side. He moved so fast he is a blur on my photos.  I have circled him so you can see his progress in the three photos.  Enjoy!!