Wilderness Diary



Late Fall 2001
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November 2001

Gleason Creek Canyon and Falls

  On a warm November day, Mike Rafferty, Orange Ross, Cosmo the dog, my wife Patty and I visited Gleason Creek Canyon and Falls. This is a little known location in the Ottawa National Forest that lies between Norwich Bluff and the town of Rockland. Tiny Gleason Creek cascades over a deep gash in the volcanic bluffs. In this photo we are at the top of the canyon. Historic Norwich Bluff is far in the upper left background. Mike checks the map to plan our descent into the gorge.

  Along the faint trail to the falls there is an long-abandoned mine adit. It is likely that little copper was found here, explaining its shallow length.

  The rest of the group proceded to the base of the falls while I lingered at the top to ponder and photograph the narrow channel that the creek courses through. At this point the vertical distance between us is about 35 feet.

  Here's a close view of the top of the falls. I Iike how the cascade begins quite wildly (for a small creek), and the way the murky pond below is reflecting the blue sky above.

  Another view of the top of the falls, this time looking up. Heavy moss blankets the jagged rock.

  This is it - Gleason Falls in its entirety. Just a tiny little creek tumbling down a huge gorge. But what an adventure getting there: negotiating a rocky and steep trail, squeezing through narrow gaps in the rock, and clinging precariously to the sides of the canyon to see this wonderful piece of topography.

  One last treat - for the geologists among us. The rock knob in back is the elusive Bohemia Conglomerate. It is a thin seam of sedimentary rock that intersperses the lava flows of the Portage Lake Series. I have looked for it many times and finally found it ar the base of Gleason Creek Canyon.
  The total depth of the Canyon is approximately 90 feet, from the top of the bluff to the location we are looking at here. Ascending the west cliff provides a good aerobic workout and brings you to a historic mining road that completes a loop back to the starting point at the end of a more recent logging road.

To Be Continued

	On a warm November day, Mike Rafferty, Orange Ross, Cosmo the dog, my wife Patty and I visited Gleason Creek Canyon and Falls. This is a little known location in the Ottawa National Forest that lies between Norwich Bluff and the town of Rockland. Tiny Gleason Creek cascades over a deep gash in the volcanic bluffs. In this photo we are at the top of the canyon. Historic Norwich Bluff is far in the upper left background. Mike checks the map to plan our descent into the gorge.
	Along the faint trail to the falls there is an long-abandoned mine adit. It is likely that little copper was found here, explaining its shallow length.
The rest of the group proceded to the base of the falls while I lingered at the top to ponder and photograph the narrow channel that the creek courses through. At this point the vertical distance between us is about 35 feet.
	Here's a close view of the top of the falls. I Iike how the cascade begins quite wildly (for a small creek), and the way the murky pond below is reflecting the blue sky above.
	Another view of the top of the falls, this time looking up. Heavy moss blankets the jagged rock.
This is it - Gleason Falls in its entirety. Just a tiny little creek tumbling down a huge gorge. But what an adventure getting there: negotiating a rocky and steep trail, squeezing through narrow gaps in the rock, and clinging precariously to the sides of the canyon to see this wonderful piece of topography.
	One last treat - for the geologists among us. The rock knob in back is the elusive Bohemia Conglomerate. It is a thin seam of sedimentary rock that intersperses the lava flows of the Portage Lake Series. I have looked for it many times and finally found it ar the base of Gleason Creek Canyon. The total depth of the Canyon is approximately 90 feet, from the top of the bluff to the location we are looking at here. Ascending the west cliff provides a good aerobic workout and brings you to a historic mining road that completes a loop back to the starting point at the end of a more recent logging road.