Climbing Trips
 Potholes - Summer 2001
Thanks to Ritwik's togetherness, he got around to composing the Potholes trip report well before I did, making it easier for me! :-) If you pay attention to the POC messageboard you'll note that this trip report IS Ritwik's with my pictures inserted where appropriate and my additional thoughts indicated in italics.
Last weekend Roj, Tracy, Randy, Brian, Shelly, Ebru and I went to a the "Potholes Nature Preserve" It is about an hours drive - quite an interesting little nook. You hike up the creek (Fall Creek) for about 200-300 metres, and on the way, there are abrupt drop offs about 3-4 ft deep (the Potholes). Apparently, created in the soft sandstone by eddying water ("Eddies in the continuum" folks - any Douglas Adams fans here).
Randy Roj Tracey
Roj Tracey
After the potholes, the creek was just a few inches deep, until we got to a small waterfall, where the water was waist deep.
group at waterfall
We lazed around, body "dammed" the waterfall, splashed one another (the water was quite cold).
group below waterfall
Brian moved some stones to let some stagnating water out until he came upon a snake sleeping in the rocks. Randy did some scientific experiments in splashology with some large rocks from the bottom of the pool.
Rando
We left at about 1.30pm, just as the parking lot was getting crowded. We then went to Portland arch - which is a small sandstone arch created (?) by the creek running by it. We played havoc on the local ecosystem by frisbeeing in the creek - the water spiders could probably anticipate our heavy tread from the movements in the water, but they have not (yet) evolved defences against the silent killer - a whirling disk coming out of the heavens, no rhyme or reason, and Sam is dead. A proposed game of Creek Bed Ultimate Frisbee didn't take off due to the prevailing torpidity.
We got back to Lafayette around 5.30pm, had a barbeque at Brian's place, watched Grosse Point Blank (actually the boys watched the John Cusack grapple with existential issues (similar to those that occupied Sam's relatives (remember Sam - the slain water spider)) in an action comedy/ serious romance, while the girls slept -- might I add, simply because the movie needs a kick in the butt to get going; but because it's slow, sleep is much more luring than watching a movie as painful as pulling teeth!).