Big Water

tonyturley

Legend
Location
Scott Depot, WV, USA
Name
Tony
I took a bike ride along Mill Creek near Ansted, WV today. The terrain and the creek are impressive, and I've read that people actually kayak Mill Creek, which I find to be absolutely bonkers, as it plunges almost 1,000 feet in elevation its last 2 miles, and is filled with boulders ranging from table-size to house-size. With all of the rain we've had recently, it was stronger than I've ever seen. One can usually walk well out into the creek channel on a bare rock shelf in #3, but the current was vicious today. #3 is looking directly at the top of #4, a plunge of 25 feet, with large rocks just below the surface of the water. There has been a fatality at these falls.

Several times I have climbed down into the ravine to photo this waterfall from below, but not today. Not only was the water considerably deeper, but both paths down to the base of the falls were very wet and there had been a rock slide on one. The other path looked like it could give at any time, so I turned around. This sequence covers a short distance of about 1/2 mile ending at the falls. X-T1 + XF 18mm.

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About a mile upstream from the big falls, there's an old mill on a bluff, situated between twin waterfalls. Here it is with the bigger of the two waterfalls, later in the day after all the fog had burned away.

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I like them all. What a great location. A person could fiddle around there all day messing with filters and such.

Sweet. That would be top notch also for some FUJI VIDEO!

The audio would be quite relaxing. I have not messed around with shooting VIDEO at all from my Fuji, but your subject matter would be worthy of the effort for that.
 
I like them all. What a great location. A person could fiddle around there all day messing with filters and such.

Sweet. That would be top notch also for some FUJI VIDEO!

The audio would be quite relaxing. I have not messed around with shooting VIDEO at all from my Fuji, but your subject matter would be worthy of the effort for that.
I have done a bit of video with both the X-E1 and X-T1. Quality was adequate, but I think I could have done better if I had studied up on the settings more.

You're right about Mill Creek. Its final 2 miles are wild and even forbidding. Even at low flow, the sound of the water is mesmerizing, but at higher flow like Saturday, it is a constant roar. There were several very impressive rock formations and waterfalls that could be seen from up on the trails, but one would have to have the skills of Bear Grylls to safely get down to creek level. Mill Creek is just one of numerous southern WV creeks with similar terrain. The New River Gorge is beautiful and some spots draw a lot of people, but one has to be vigilant and keep one's wits when navigating the trails around the big waterfalls.
 
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