Naramata Waterfall Hike

Naramata Waterfall Hike

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.

― John Muir

On A Dreary Rainy Day,

It Is Vital To Force Oneself Into The Woods To Explore

Going into the wilderness is a necessity, especially when it’s raining—take a dreary, boring day indoors and move it into the wilderness; suddenly life becomes a natural obstacle course of fun and exciting challenges.

On a rainy Sunday in May, I decided to hike to Naramata Waterfall (about a ten minute drive from Penticton) with my family and my sister Miranda’s family (minus two who chose to stay home).

The hike was an adventure: super steep slopes, narrow paths along cliff’s edge and rushing spring creeks to cross. My bother in-law, John, made a few impromptu log bridges strong enough to cross; however, both of my feet managed to become totally submersed anyway!

 

My wild life sightings included many black widow dens and a brilliant green hummingbird, whose feathers matched the fresh spring foliage and also the moss covered rocks. I brought my waterproof camera along; hence, this is why the pics have water droplets on them

 

 

I have a phobia about cliffs–this sometimes surfaces when I alpine ski too—on occasion, I  have a panic attack when there’s a sharp turn on cliff’s edge and I can’t see what’s up ahead. However, somehow, I manage to find myself on the slipperiest, steepest, narrowest cliff’s-edge hikes despite my best efforts to avoid such hikes!

Though, I have faith in myself: I just read* that Cory Richards, the latest (American male) to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen and reach the top, had to be rescued off Everest due to a panic attack in 2012.

*(adventureblog.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/25/snapchatting-everest-a-bittersweet-end-for-social-media-savvy-climbers/)

 

Naramata Falls are spectacular: high, with a multitude tiers. The spring is the perfect time to see the falls in their magnificent strength; however, this means that the creek is raging and is difficult to cross and requires one to make a bridge (or use the log bridges John constructed).