Buttermilk Falls in Peak Week

Someone told me awhile back that I should include videos on my nature blog. So here’s one: a pan of Buttermilk Falls, in Ithaca.

It might seem strange to film a waterfall. But it provides some context for the gallery that follows: brilliant sunlight and blue sky; vivid leaves; a sense of heights, depths, and distance; and the sound of water perpetually falling. By now, after hard rain a few days ago, there is probably more rushing water — and fewer leaves. We were grateful to be able to get there at the beginning of the week, on the perfect October day.

We hiked up the Gorge Trail — about a mile long, hugging the stream and ascending steeply (475′) up numerous stone staircases beside numerous waterfalls. (This video is taken beside the first one.) At the top, we crossed to the Rim Trail and walked back down through some woods, with little glimpses of the gorge through the trees from time to time. It’s a little more gradual, but you feel the relentless descent in the backs of the legs by the end.

Here’s one more: a view from within the shade of the gorge.