Category: Blackwater Falls State Park, WV

Elakala Falls in Blackwater Falls State Park

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Someone told us to go to Elakala Falls, so we did. It’s a short, but treacherous, slippery walk down to the pretty falls. Another photography workshop was scattered all over the rocks, their mentor moving around to help each.

The Elakala Falls are a series of four waterfalls of Shays Run[2] as it descends into the Blackwater Canyon in West Virginia. They are within Blackwater Falls State Park[3] and are quite popular among photographers, with the ease of access for the first waterfall, and the relatively low traffic of the other waterfalls in the series.[4]: 219  The first of the series of waterfalls is 35 feet (11 m) in height and is easily accessible from park trails. It is the second most popular waterfall in the park.[1] From the official Elakala trail there is a bridge over the top of the first waterfall offering easy access and views.[4]: 219  The remaining three waterfalls of the series are progressively more difficult to access, and have no official marked trails to them.[1] The gorge is nearly 200 feet deep at this section accounting for the difficulty of the descent to the lower waterfalls of the series. From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elakala_Falls.

Blackwater Falls State Park

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

Located in the Allegheny Mountains of Tucker County, Blackwater Falls State Park is named for the amber waters of Blackwater Falls, a 57-foot cascade tinted by the tannic acid of fallen hemlock and red spruce needles. The falls, along with a few of the park’s other features like Elakala Falls, Lindy Point and Pendleton Point Overlook, are some of the state’s most photographed spots. Visitors can enjoy the scenic views year-round by taking the steps to the falls or using viewing platforms. The park has 20 miles of hiking trails, the longest sledding magic carpet on the East Coast in the winter, a comfortable lodge and more. (from https://wvstateparks.com/park/blackwater-falls-state-park/)

We stopped in the lodge to check into a 3-bedroom cabin, complete with a nice kitchen, two bathrooms, a laundry room and a deck out back with a fire pit surrounded by logs for seating. There is a lot to see in this park, and as you can see, we had already done a lot on this second day of the workshop. Still, Mark found time to show us his routing for downloading and backing up his images. Then there was a bit on processing images, but more was to come later. This was a part I was very interested. He also showed us how to clean our sensors. I have three Nikon cameras, and one I had given up on because of the big blob I get on the images, but we cleaned that right up 😊.

Lodge getting new Pella windows
Cabin, Blackwater Falls SP
From the bridge over the Blackwater River

At sunset we went to Lindy Point, a beautiful spot overlooking Blackwater Canyon.

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