Above are the first two cataracts of Elakala Falls on Shays Run at Blackwater Falls State Park. Two more cataracts (even more beautiful) descend into the canyon below, but they’re only accessible after a fair amount of ballsy bushwhacking through rhododendron and hemlock thickets and perilous navigation over imposing sandstone boulders and outcroppings, which I would never do by myself. With Bear Grylls maybe. The falls are just part of the package, of course. Everything about this place - from the tortured root systems clinging to the moss-covered boulders to the rhododendron dramatically cascading from the sheer sandstone walls - is alive with an ancient and powerful self-awareness, extending back eons to the planet’s very origins. The geological history of the world is written into this rock, and it’s a story well worth getting to know.
