Jon Wisniewski and I took a day to do some photography this past Monday. We discussed the possibilities of shooting, but were a bit dismayed by the forecast which was mostly sunny! For those of you who aren’t in the know, mostly sunny and waterfall photography don’t mix well, so we were kind of reluctant to head out.
We decided to leave Sunday night after Jon got off work around 12:30AM. Our first stop was Haw Creek, where we thought we might be able to get some star trail photos over the waterfall, however upon arrival the fog and clouds were too thick to even see a star, so we decided to do a bit of light painting.
The light painting didn’t turn out as planned; our meager flashlights did not put off enough light to make any decent exposures, so we headed for the Compton Trailhead instead.
We arrived at the parking area around 3:30AM and got some sleep before heading down into the canyon around 6:00AM. The sun was rising, and we were happy to see a ton of clouds overhead, it turned out to be a pretty decent day for photography.
Compton Falls
Compton Falls
Compton Falls – Whitaker Creek
Compton Falls – Cascade Downstream
Whitaker Creek Drainage
Compton Falls
I had the white-balance off on this one or something, it’s way bluer than the rest, but I think it gives it a tropical feel; as if the waterfall itself didn’t already give it a tropical feel! =)
Compton Falls
After Compton Falls, we headed towards Thunder Canyon, stopping at Hedges Pouroff on the way.
Hedges Pouroff Overlook
The above pano can be viewed larger in the panos section!
Hedges Pouroff
After Hedges Pouroff, we made the difficult drive on Erbie Road, which by the way is NOT for the faint of heart; especially considering the “4wd Vehicle ONLY” sign at the beginning. I remembered this road being pretty washed and rutted out, but my memories were pleasant compared to its current state. After all the rain the road turned into a huge mud pit! Fun for me, considering I just purchased a set of new tires and a lift for my Jeep. I hadn’t really put it to the test just yet, but this road for sure did that for me.
Jon had mentioned his civic could have made it most of the way, until we reached the muddy part, where he quickly changed his mind! I wish I could have taken photos of the Jeep in the mud and the 4ft water crossing we did after the Thunder Canyon hike, but I don’t think Jon or I wanted to stop during or after making it through either of those obstacles. I will say the Jeep performed exactly as it should and not once was I uncomfortable with the muddy road or the Cecil Creek crossing.
Once we made it through the bad part of the road, we stopped at our next destination the Cecil Cove Loop, which contains Thunder Canyon where a really unique waterfall is located; Thunder Canyon Falls.
Enjoy the shots.
Thunder Canyon Falls
Thunder Canyon Falls
Thunder Canyon
Can be viewed larger in the panos section!
Thunder Canyon
Thanks for viewing and take care!
The Maps
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I didn’t forget about doing this on my most recent trips, but I’ve been having a problem lately updating them! They finally worked out the errors and I’m now able to upload the maps again.
Compton Falls
I didn’t GPS the Jeep so we got a bit off track on the way back, whoops! Probably hiked a bit extra, but we needed the exercise anyways, sorry Jon!
View Compton Falls in a larger map
Compton Falls Hike Stats
Time Started: Mon May 17 05:52:39 CDT 2010
Time Taken: 02:54:35
Moving Time: 00:30:16
Distance: 2.29 mph
Average Speed: 4.54 mph
Max Speed: 7.25 mph
Elevation Gain: 908 ft
Min Elevation: 1708 ft
Max Elevation: 2236 ft
Thunder Canyon Falls
View Thunder Canyon in a larger map
Thunder Canyon Hike Stats
Time Started: Mon May 17 10:18:47 CDT 2010
Time Taken: 03:17:35
Moving Time: 00:49:29
Distance: 3.8mi
Average Speed: 4.61 mph
Max Speed: 6.69 mph
Elevation Gain: 1662 ft
Min Elevation: 807 ft
Max Elevation: 1365 ft
EPIC!!!
Very nice series. It made my day to view it.
[...] Photography by Zack Andrews – Compton Falls & Thunder Canyon Falls. [...]
wow man …. those r greaaaaat pics …..
I really wish you’d update this more. You take great pictures. I really like the very last shot and the one of that epic tree. All the waterfall shots are great too!
Beautiful series of images Zack. I have never shot thunder canyon nice job on all of them.
Great photographs Zach! To get to Thunder Canyon Falls have you tried going via Broadwater Hollow? The hike may be a little longer but you can photograph Broadwater Hollow and I think its road may be better than Erbie Road. I have been to Compton Falls a couple of times, where do you climb down to get the shots from the bottom?
Thanks,
Brian
When I got home and looked at the map I realized the proximity of Broadwater Hollow to Thunder Canyon. However, I feel that the hike in from the Cecil Cove Loop is probably the easiest way to get there, on foot anyways. The drive in may be treacherous, but that’s the reason I built my Jeep the way I did it, and I was never once worried about the conditions. Others will most definitely find it easier coming in from Broadwater! Even so, the hike down from Broadwater may be an interesting one and you might even find a few more waterfalls along the way. When the water isn’t so high, you could definitely make an easy trip from north of Jasper on Highway 7, but the Erbie Road will most likely always be the way it is, they do not maintain it at all. During dryer conditions it will be rutted but the ground will be solid, so you’d just need a vehicle with a lot of clearance underneath!
To get down to Compton falls you just follow a small trail on the road side of the creek down a ways and then you come to a hill that is easily traversed to get to the creek at the bottom. The hike along the top of the ridge there is pretty steep and slippery during wet conditions, but that’s the nature of waterfall hunting anyways! Always be careful! =)