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The Waterfall At Humphrey's Creek |
The morning after we spent the day at Lakelse Lake, Mark, our self
appointed tour guide, called and invited us up to Humphrey's Creek.
He told us that there was a nice place to picnic and that we could
do a little swimming. What Mark didn't tell us was that Humphrey's
was a fast moving mountain stream in a narrow gorge. We met Dustin
and when we arrived at Humphrey's we could hear the thundering of
the waterfall. This picture is a shot of the waterfall as it plunges
into the gorge, then the creek turns 90 degrees and continues down
the mountain. We walked along the creek at the top of the gorge
picking blueberries, looking at the picturesque creek and seeing
nowhere suitable to swim.
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Chris Jumping Off The Cliff |
Mark pointed out a spot a few meters down from the waterfall where
he said he and his friends jump into the river. The drop looked
to be 12-15 meters, into a pool, with sheer cliffs on both sides.
The gorge was so narrow that if you got a running start you would
probably jump and bounce off the opposite wall on the way down.
It initially appeared that we were lucky in that someone had cut
the rope used to climb back up out of the gorge. We thought we had
a legitimate excuse for cowardly refusing to jump, but Mark refused
to let us down. In a typical show of Northern BC bravado, Mark and
Dustin went back to the waterfall, climbed across a log that was
suspended above the abyss, and retrieved a rope dangling from the
opposite side of the canyon. Upon their triumphant return we knew
we were screwed; the city boy tourists had to jump. Nicole's parents
refused to look as she and Todd jumped into the frigid waters. Chris
was next, and after his initial hesitation, stepped off the ledge.
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Aren Jumping Into The Pool |
Aren had been swimming in a pool further down the creek, but when
he heard that we were jumping, he ran back up and joined us. Without
hesitation he flung himself off the cliff and into the cold waters.
. Aren jumped from the high point just behind the person sitting
on the cliff top in the blue shirt. Mark and Dustin stood below
and snapped photos as everyone jumped. Both Aren and Chris, excitement
flowing from their first jump, jumped a second time.
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Mom And Taffy Watch The Jumpers |
Above, the rest of the group watched as we overcame our terror and flung ourselves into the water. The initial step from the cliff was the toughest, but once you overcame that fear, it was easy to do again. But from the top, it sure looked like it was a long way down.
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Mark Helping Aren Climb The Rope To Safety |
In this picture Mark is helping Aren climb back up the cliff. Without the rope it would have been very difficult to get back up. We probably would have had to ride the rapids down the stream to a quieter pool with no surrounding cliffs. Dustin, by accident, tried this route when the creek washed him away in the strong current as he tried to cross to the rope.
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Picnic At The Jumping Bridge |
The picnic area at Humphrey's was swarming with black flies, so Mark took us to the Jumping Bridge to eat lunch. We saved the jump from the bridge for next summer when Ryan visits. Ryan should be able to pull at least a double back flip off this bridge.
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