So, before the prespring thaw I thought I would see Brandywine Falls from the bottom of the gorge. She never disappoints. The hike was extremely icy, but it could have been worse. The flow was a little higher than I would have anticipated, but again it has been over 33 degrees for two days.
This hike raised my blood pressure more than yesterday!
Unknown variables can get a person hurt and possibly worse depending on the situation. I have been creek crawling in the winter time because I love the solitude.
I know there
are a belligerent of variables that can go wrong in a heartbeat.
I have spent
my entire life in the woods, on a body of water, or somewhere in between.
It’s up to
you to stay safe and constantly remember every time you venture outside you run
the risk of getting hurt.
I have
chosen Paine Creek here in Leroy Township, Ohio for several reason. When its at
normal flow her deepest hole is 5 feet deep, but those are at the shale waterfalls.
Every where else its 2 to 3 feet max depth.
This is not
to say you can’t get hurt, but it is to say you would have to be doing
something really stupid to do so.
I used my hiking
sticks as probes looking for hollow ice and of thin ice. I looked for pockets of
air in the ice as I hiked. I found most of them, but as you can see in one video
my foot went down 24” through the first layer of ice. Then as it traveled
through the 24” deep air pocket my foot then landed on the other layer of ice.
I could hear
the water running under my foot and I did not know how deep the water was. I
saw this as a major issue. I did not go much farther because until this moment
I had not had this problem.
I gathered my
composure looked at the ice falls then turned around and retraced my steps to
call it a day! It was an arduous 2.4 miles in the deep snow and the ice was
well ice lol.
I was hoping the center channel was open in the creek then I ws going to hike 6 miles. I get-er done another time.