Fay Falls

On the same day I visited Pulpit falls (from my last post) I went to Fay Falls in Walpole. It’s a haul for me to trek all the way over there, so a two-for-one was definitely the plan. It meant I couldn’t really explore much beyond the falls, but at least I know where they are and won’t spend too much time looking for them and bushwhacking. There is a trail leading near to Fay falls, but it doesn’t go all the way. Basically you find the brook and listen, then follow the sound of the water.

The gorge for Fay falls is really steep and long and so I had to switchback my way down into it. When I got to the bottom I was a ways downstream from the falls themselves, but the rock formations and the water’s tortured path were pretty interesting. I wish I could have spent more time down there, but it was slow going, I hadn’t actually seen the falls yet and I was pretty sure it would rain any second.

So here they are –

Aren’t they grand? I was shooting from on top of a couple of huge boulders right at the pool there. Unfortunately there is also the wreckage of a dead tree down there, making for a really disordered foreground and a big obstacle to shoot around. I made the best of it though.

Strangely, the water here is not tannic like most other brooks in southern NH. I know what causes water to be tannic (organic compounds in leaves and other detritus leech out of the water and stain it, just like the tannins in tea do), but I don’t know why one brook is tannic and another, maybe within a mile, isn’t. Since it’s a relative rarity in this area, I think I’ll be back to it and explore down the gorge a bit.

Anyway, just after I shot this, the rain started in earnest so I hiked up and out of the gorge back to the car. Good timing overall and I have a couple new places to explore further. Not too shabby.