This is was a simple outing, but it was a lot of fun. One of those beautiful, arctic days. It was +15F, a lot warmer than a couple days ago. Five of us went. Kenny Shapiro, Beatrice Buckholz, Keith Andrews, Arnie Ashenfelter and myself, Ramon.
About halfway to Dorothy Creek we have to cross Banner Creek. This can be a nightmarish place, but there has been so much snow this winter that it's all filled in.
This is the spot that last year Kenny shouted: "Don't go there!" And to his dismay, we went there.
Arriving at Leonhard Seppala's cabin, we look back on the trail. Notice the animal tracks.
Normally, this place is not easy to reach by snowmachine. There are lots of willows, holes, ditches and other gotchas. But the deep snow this year made it a snap.
We arrived at the Leonhard Seppala cabin up on the Miocene Ditch line. Reputedly he spent some summers and winters here and is is where Togo is buried. Other people claim otherwise. The truth is lost in the sands of time and the swirling snows.
We head out and continue. 8 ft of snow, those sparse willows are just the tips of big bushes.
More and thicker willows give an indication of what we can run into.
This is the Waterfall at Dorothy Creek. The drop is about 20 to 30 feet, but not only is the waterfall frozen solid; the whole gorge is filled with snow. Thus, the very drop only a few feet.
This is a better view of the falls; and notice that there is a snow cave behind the falls. Some care had to be taken not trip into it.
Now it gets exciting! Keith decides to leap, and he lands ok and scoots down the steep drop. We all had visions of disaster, but it worked out ok.
I tried it next, but nobody bothered to take my picture. :-(
The face of the falls is steep, but ... if the Slednecks can do it, so can we.
That black thing under the dude is the cave under and behind Dorothy itself.
As a rule we come here by ATV every year. We can park about a mile below the falls, and hike in. Or above the falls, only 200 yards, but a really steep hike!
The falls is upriver, out of sight. The dilapidated remains are of one of the Miocene Ditch line siphons. Its purpose was to take water across the Dorothy creek canyon.
Ramon moves along on his 300 Tundra across the top of Dexter Pass. Anvil Mountain is in the background. There is not much vegetation up in this part of the Country!