Monday, May 23, 2011

Sweden Creek Falls

When we got up to the Centerpoint Trailhead, it was cloudy with a light drizzle coming down. In other words, it was perfect conditions for some waterfall photography. There are several amazing waterfalls nearby, but we decided to pay a visit to Sweden Creek Falls, which is located only a few miles north of Boxley Valley.

I had been up at Sweden Creek Falls a few months ago, but it was in the dead of winter and there wasn't much water going over the falls. I was eager to see the falls now that it's spring. And we both hoped that the falls would have a decent amount of water going over them, since it had rained there a few days before.

We parked at the trailhead and began the hike. It's only a 1.8 mile long hike to the falls and back. This was relatively easy compared to the three miles we had just hiked heading back uphill to the Centerpoint Trailhead. Well, it was easy except that my legs were already starting to get sore from the previous hike.

The trail runs downhill along an old road, and passes by an abandoned home. From there the trail drops down and runs along the base of a bluff. Shortly after that, you reach the falls. I think both Zack and I were happy to see that the falls were running quite well.

And the falls are awesome - they are over 80 feet tall. The only problem with this spot is that it is tricky to get a good picture there. Trees line the trail, which makes it hard to get a good unimpeded view of the falls. This shot was taken after crossing the creek and then heading up the side of the bluff, over slick rocks.
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After taking a few pictures, I crossed the creek and went back to the trail. This was taken along the opposite bluffline from the previous shot. The area was covered with a thick layer of ferns.
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And then we started back towards the trailhead. But first I stopped one last time for a shot of the falls, seen through the dense screen of trees that surround the waterfall.
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We made it back up the hill to Zack's Jeep, and started back towards the main road. Along the way we stopped at this old truck, left to rust in the woods.
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I have gotten a few different pictures of this particular truck over the years. This was taken at my last visit, on March 13:
Fixer-Upper

And then another visit, back in November of 2007:
Fixer-upper

From there we opted to visit another waterfall on the way home. This is a waterfall that wouldn't require any long hikes to visit. In fact, it was one that you could actually drive up to (or actually, drive under) the falls.

1 comment:

Adam Allegro said...

These pictures are awesome!! I am heading to Sweden this weekend and would like to do some waterfall photography. I am flying into Goteburg and plan on driving south (some other things I want to see there). Any recommendations??? You can check my site out if you want, http://catchthejiffy.com. Thanks!!