Ice falls

This past weekend Theo and I hiked to two different ice falls, right here in the confines of St. Paul.  One place is reached by a just 10 minute walk after parking just off of the interstate.  You walk through some sunny woods til you come across this frozen creek sneaking out from between two rock faces.  Follow the creek up a few minutes and you come to this dead end with a lovely frozen waterfall.  It's really quite a beautiful place. On our last trip there, we were lucky to come across 4 lovely young ice climbers.  The right kind of ice climbers.  Ones who wear helmets and goggles and have all the right equipment and procedures.  They recognized the four boys I was with as the next generation of ice climbers and were very willing to let us stay and watch.  It was impressive.

The other location is a bit more treacherous to get to, but still only 10 minutes from a major road.  Another walk through quiet woods brings you to the top of the falls. To get to the bottom you could repel, should you have the right equipment.  We chose to slide down a muddy slope.  Once we get into the woods, Theo becomes quite the daredevil, jumping creeks, bounding down slopes, but something keeps him upright.  It's a joy to trundle along behind him.  Except when he scares the crap out of me by dangling over a rocky bluff.