"The Flume Falls"

The Tsútswecw Flume Trail is located in south-central, beautiful British Columbia, near to what’s known as the world’s famous "Adams River Sockeye Salmon Run". There are two flume trails, "The Lower Flume Trail", which meanders along Adams River and "The Upper Flume Trail", which loops up and around Bear Creek. Always wanting some exercise, we hiked the upper trail. At the trail’s entrance we stopped to read an information board that explained why this was called “The Flume Trail”. It explained that this trail parallels an old flume and that a flume was a V-shaped wooden trough that, when filled with water, were used to transport logs are from the upper mountain slopes to the valley bottom. 11 miles of flumes were built, all by hand, in the early 1900’s. As we entered the historic trail it got notably damp, and suddenly the forest was very lush, with green moss covering the hillsides around us. The trail ascended almost immediately, and as we climbed we noticed the moss covered remnants of the old flumes scattered on the ground around us. It wasn’t long before the trail was covered in ice and snow, however we were prepared and quickly slipped on our snow cleats. So much better! At the very top of our climb the trail turned back and we entered a gorge. We crossed Bear Creek, a number of times, on well-constructed wooden bridges. It was so beautiful, I remember how blessed I felt; having had a hip replacement only 9 months before. “What an amazing treasure”, I said. The canyon walls were covered with a thriving, vibrant green moss, trees were strewn everywhere and the water carved edges of the creek echoed the sounds of the rushing water; I was in my glory! Then, after a few switchbacks, we came upon yet another surprising view! From up above, we looked down on waterfall; a bridge crossed it at its base. It was very picturesque. I thought I could get a great shot of it however the view was obstructed because of all the wind blown trees. Oh well, but you can imagine how excited I was when, from there, the trail meandered along with the creek. I knew I’d get an even better shot here! I only had my iPhone with me on this hike but I knew I'd be back and I could use these shots as studies. I went back a week later and because of my studies I knew where to position myself. This shot was taken with my Sony ILCE-7RM2 SLR, mounted on a tripod. I took so many great shots of this scene; it truly was a fantastic and memorable day!