Punchbowl Falls

May 29th, 2011

Finally I've managed to bring you a view of Punchbowl Falls!  This is the third attempt to photograph these falls.  During the winter the view of the falls was obscure and covered in snow; and during the early going of spring the waterfall wasn't completely clear of the winter's snow and debris.

These falls are located on the route behind Pocahontas cabins, on the way to the hot springs (about 5- 7km from the start of the road).  Much like the other falls in the area, these falls are created from the melting snow from atop the mountains.

This waterfall is very distinctive of this glacier melt.  As shown in the picture, the water powered its way through the rock (over many years), and managed to create a bowl formation, where the water is collected.  After many years of this melt, the bowl opened up, and dropped another 1 meter of water to the now flowing stream below it. 

Thanks to these waterfalls the surrounding area is lush with green trees and vegetation.  You can see where (many years in the past) the vegetation was not as present, and the area was dominated by rock formation.  However, nowadays, the rock formation around the waterfalls is almost all the rock you see, as along the stream and up the hill aside the falls, are covered in green vegetation.

These waterfalls are beautiful, as they represent the melt from the mountains, in a near picture perfect formation.  However unless your willing to scale the mountain opposed to the falls, you'll miss out on this beauty.  The walkway allows for only a side angle view, which will not demonstrate the sheer beauty of the falls.  From this side angle it would be much similar to watching a hydro dam leak water.  However if you are willing to risk the mountain walk, in an unguarded vertical slope, you'll enjoy this view demonstrated above.

To experience the waterfalls from a safe side view, or from over top, it would be accessible to even the least experienced hikers.  The walkway is no more than 5 meters long, and bridges over the falls.  However to view this waterfall like how it is viewed in this picture, I would recommend a more experienced hiker, or someone willing to risk the walk along the mountainside.