Dave,
Thanks so much for the update regarding the waterfall section of the website. Your comments about the Five Cascades being "ridiculously dangerous" are "dead-on" correct. I can personally vouch for that. Back in the fall of 2009, I hiked to the base of the Five Cascades after a heavy rain and took the photo below. My full "adventure" is posted in the "Hiking" section of the website for anyone who cares to read it.
The hike was much more grueling and dangerous than I imagined. The surfaces of most rocks were as slippery as ice and the near vertical landscape near the base of the falls made any kind of exploration exceedingly difficult.
In the photo below, you can see all 5 falls, plus Shelving Rock. Tritan Cave is out of sight to the left. I somehow made it up to the top of the ledge by Shelving Rock, but quickly discarded any idea of walking out on it (in spite of photos taken in the 1800's showing photographers with their tripod set up on the rock). Shelving Rock slopes down towards the falls and the surface has a bright shine, implying a very slippery surface.
My photo below is a bit deceiving since I used a wide angle lens to capture all 5 falls. The wide angle lens compressed the height, making the falls look much "flatter" than they really are. In reality, they are appoximately 400 feet high from the base to the summit.
I am hoping to join Mike and resume our exploration of Buttermilk Falls as soon as things settle down at work. Mike and I are also "pondering" a hike to the base of the Five Cascades. If anyone decides to try for the Five Cascades, I cannot implore you enough NOT to go alone! And also, please remember to bring a FULL change of clothes if you explore any waterfalls. You will likely be soaked to the skin by the time you get back to your car!
Rich
2009-1029-FiveCascades-01-1-Fix.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.