Problem-Solving

First day of another heatwave: the choice was simple: a creek!
A hanging swamp led us to a side creek and then to the creek of interest! The shade was welcome!

We were soon at the first obstacle: a small waterfall! No way to bypass, we deployed a hand line. I was the first one to descend and landed into a submerged hole and got wet all over! I was now refreshed!
The second waterfall/obstacle followed. The drop was higher and the ferns hid the rock face. After some discussion, we decided to go around and slide along the steep slope down to the creek with a landline. We were now in a nice rainforest among the coachwoods. The area was seldom visited as evidenced by the pristine moss covering the rocks, trees and logs. A large mossy log caught my attention: the tree must have fallen down a long time ago: the canopy and branches were long gone, probably carried by the water.

I knew that a third more substantial waterfall was coming. Fortunately there were possible exits on both sides of the creek. The first section of the waterfall was easy enough to handle although slow. The obvious ledge to the left led nowhere and the drop was too high for a landline. There was an unpromising ledge on the right side and this one delivered! We were down on the forest floor below the waterfall and in known territory!

We stopped and relaxed by the creek. We had covered some 500 m in two hours but it had been fun to do some problem-solving together on how best to go down these waterfalls! It was time to get out to avoid the heat of the afternoon!
We passed by the amazing roots of a coachwood hugging a small cliff. The creek opened up; we climbed out and followed a ridge back to the cars! To be continued!