September Image of the Month, at last

I know you've all been waiting for this, but I'm glad I waited till I could see them on the studio monitor. There were some fine tweaks that needed to be done. 

What I really want to do is give you all three of Third Vault Falls in Fundy National Park. You'll see them all eventually. They are worth staying tuned for.

2nd Runner Up

Laverty Falls in Fundy National Park. There's two stories here. They've had the worst drought in 50 years, so there's hardly any water going over any of the waterfalls, compared to previous years. Some of the other waterfalls that we had hoped to see were dry. I chatted to a road crew on the way to a different waterfall, and was told that between the beavers and the drought, there was no water. Saved me a trip down a crappy road and a so-so hike.

The other story is a cautionary tale. Mrs Google led us badly astray. The right thing to do is drive into Fundy Park on the main road, turn off at the marked sign, park in the official parking lot complete with a washroom, and hike the 5K or so round trip to the falls. 

Mrs Google skirted the park, and took us down some dodgy back roads and left us at an ambiguous intersection in the middle of nowhere, with a complete lack of signs talking about Laverty Falls. We eventually followed the ambiguous signs to find the way out and ended up in Alma, at the south end of the park. 

Along the way we came across the most elusive covered bridge in the province, completely by accident. After lunch we went in the right way and found the falls. There was a young couple that showed up part way through, but they were really good about staying out of my shots. They were kind of hanging around waiting for me to finish. I am convinced they wanted photos of each other skinny dipping in the pool.

We chatted with the Parks Canada people on the way out, and they told us we were not the first people to be led astray like that, so we didn't feel so bad.

1st Runner Up

A harbour near Shediac. I was driving back after doing some exploring, and saw this view just before crossing the bridge. It was a total no brainer to do a U turn at the next intersection, drive back and make a dodgy left turn into a little boat launch beside the bridge. I hustled to set up, hoping the light and wind wouldn't change. I took a bunch of long exposures, amusing a guy sitting in his car to enjoy the view while eating lunch.

Image of the Month

Third Vault Falls.

It's about a 7.5 K return hike to the falls, and it's brutal in places. There's a couple of really steep stairs that are essentially ladders. At one point the trail runs along a mostly dry creek bed, complete with moss covered boulders. (I talked a bit about it here, if you missed it.) Even the 'good' or 'easy' part of the trail needs caution because the fallen leaves hid many tree roots and smaller rocks. 

I was extremely fortunate to have the falls to myself, with a couple other people showing up just as I was finishing. The walk back got hard, with me being extremely careful where I put my feet. I was exhausted after getting back to the car. I'm not sure which was most tiring, this hike, the death march out of Baker Brook Falls last year, or finishing Ironman Canada. It was worth it though!