Two Falls Hikes in the Mohawk Valley

On Friday, August 27, 2021, we tried to find an activity for this (very warm) sunny day.  We had bicycled yesterday, and decided to defer another bike ride until early next week.  Paddling wasn't quite on the list because we haven't found a lake we're excited about yet, and David might not be fully 100%, even though he's feeling normal.  That meant a hike.

We decided we'd like to do a couple of forest hikes, and waterfalls would be nice.  We found them and off we went.

We headed north toward the Mohawk River, somewhere between I-90 to the north and US 20 to the south, and area that might variously be described as "Mohawk River Valley" or "Central New York."  The two waterfall destinations weren't far from each other.  One was Canajoharie (or Wintergreen) Falls in Wintergreen Park, not far from Canajoharie, New York.  The other was Yatesville Falls, in Yatesville Falls State Forest, near Rural Grove, New York.

Up we drove toward Canajoharie.  On the way, as we drove a country road past a small farm, we spotted a bird standing in the road.  We slowed down.  The bird did not move.  We approached - it did not move again.  We drove up BESIDE the bird and looked down on it; no move.  Finally, Kathy grabbed the camera and took a photo of the little one.  It appeared to be a banded pigeon.  We hoped that it was a family pet, because it just wouldn't get away from our Jeep, idling next to it in the middle of that country road:

We finally drove off, hoping for the best for that strange little bird and its (hopefully) human family.

Not long after that strange encounter, we arrived at Wintergreen Park, where we headed out to find a waterfall.  We were fully masked because David might still be Covid positive.

We first hiked along the cliff that paralleled and overlooked Canajoharie Creek but found no waterfall.  We did find a local woman who was enjoying the trail.  Because of the Covid risk that David might still pose, we masked up.  That may have been a mistake.  The woman tore into us, stating her certainty that we had been brainwashed by the government.  She went on that she and her "entire family" had not been vaccinated, had already "all" had Covid and recovered, and she saw no reason for a mask.  We assured her that we were masking up out of our own concern and not because of any governmental overreach.  She, and we, went our respective ways.

This reminded us that we were in rural New York with all of its cultural baggage.  But our thoughts returned to the trail and finding the waterfall.  We hiked back to the original trailhead and down a park road, where we eventually reached the level of the stream.  An old log cabin converted to restrooms perched above what had once clearly been a campground, and below a complex that looked like it still is used for group camping, with bunkrooms and a dining hall.

We reached the stream and enjoyed the view upstream:

Not having yet found the waterfall, and now being unsure we ever would, we decided to stop at a shady picnic table and have our picnic lunch:

Afterward, we retraced our steps downstream to where we found ledges creating a succession of micro-falls in the stream:

We decided this must be the falls, so we paused and took a photo to memorialize the spot:

One big consolation on the hike was Kathy's discovery of YET MORE THIMBLEBERRIES!  (See recent blog posts.)  We picked and munched a few as we returned to the Jeep, then turned the wheel to find our second waterfall.

It was only several miles away, and Dusty started jumping with joy to discover that the road into Yatesville Falls State Forest, because it would be a chance to go 4-wheelin' on a gravel and mud forest road!

This visit proved not to be a hike at all.  We parked and, as we walked back to an observation deck, caught our first sight of Yatesville Falls, from directly above the precipice:

This whetted our appetite to get a better view, so we hustled over the the observation deck.  It offered a clearer view of the falls.   More interestingly, next to the observation deck was a rope cable that had been strung down a steep cliffside path to permit hikers to work their way down to streamside.  David volunteered to try the cable descent:

His lower position did offer another view of the falls, which was grand:

You can't appreciate the full impact of the falls unless you see it in motion and hear it, so here we offer you a video of impressive Yatesville Falls.  Enjoy it and know that we have plans for other outdoor adventures in the coming days.