Winter Water Fall
Shannon Falls
Dec.28.2006

After 3 or so years of talking about the idea my brother and I finally took his two children to see the Brackendale eagles. Each year between 3,000 and 4,000 bald and golden eagles spend the winter months feeding on the salmon that run up the Squamish River just 45 minutes or so north of Vancouver. That many birds together, especially given their position on the food chain (at the top) is anything but a flock. A tribe of eagles seems more fitting.

Walking through a forest sprinkled all around with eagles is pretty spectacular and contrary to popular belief these beautiful raptors are anything but solitary. As you'll quickly discover during chilly winter days they love to snuggle up beside each other and chat. The sound of eagles chirping about how freakin' cold it is!! is a pretty unique experience.

However, as awesome as that moment in time is it's not the subject of this blog.

I was hoping that the stills and video footage of the eagles would be blog-worthy but, sigh, such was not the case. We did see loads of eagles but in picking the touristy spot rather than my secret spot of years past it was all, ... well, .... sort of touristy.

In a few years the kids will be savvy enough to handle a bit of hiking. Until then I'll deffer to safety and will happily settle for touristy.

On the way back from Brackendale we took a quick detour just south of Squamish to show the kids Shannon Falls. Shannon Falls is the third highest water fall in British Columbia and for 365 days per year is equally as spectacular as the eagles. During the summer months, if you ignore the various "You have got to be out of your mind!!1" warning signs you can hike to the base of the falls itself. The photo opportunities at the ground zero of a 335 meter / 1,100 foot water are, needless to say, pretty incredible. However it's a hike best attempted during the summer. During the spring the occasional 20 meter long log will drop down onto the base and during the winter it's just too damn cold and slippery for city dwellers such as myself to attempt.

Access to the falls is wheel chair friendly and the provincial government (thinking ahead to the winter Olympics in 2010) is improving this particular slice of perfection with some serious upgrades.

My advice for the best view is to see the falls in the early afternoon during the summer. At that point the sun will be perfectly positioned to better accentuate the beauty of the water worn rock and, if you have the guts, you can hike closer than you should.

As an added bonus the Shannon Falls park also acts as a nice on-ramp to the Squamish Chiefs trail system. This year for sure. Me, the first Squamish Chief peak, digital camera, ... paradise.

For those who need "more" than the artistic splash of stills here's some video candy. Scoot to the end for the link to Stage6 and the better resolution 720p semi-Hi-Def DivX version.

---