Wells Gray Park - a waterfall paradise.

Helmcken Falls, Wells Gray Provincial Park.
Who can pass by a waterfall, especially one with a significant drop, and not take a moment to enjoy its splendor?  Our senses are nearly overwhelmed with the sensations they elicit.  Thundering torrents of water cascading over a steep precipice, clouds of water vapour spuing forth from the cauldron below, and on a sunny day, the tell-tale rainbow that tops off the experience.  The rarity of these majestic wonders causes even more sway as the opportunity to gaze upon them is hardly a daily occurrence.

If you are feeling waterfall deprived, a condition most of us are in after a long spring and winter of intense confinement, then I have just the prescription for you.  Wells Gray Provincial Park.  About an hour northeast of Kamloops its way is heralded by the hamlet of Clearwater, BC.  Just north of this lovely town is the entrance to Wells Gray.  This park is renowned for its waterfalls.  There are, in fact, 41 of them, and that's just the ones that have a name.  I don't know if they ran out of names or if the rest of them haven't been duly explored.

There is another amazing thing about WGPP.  In 2018 a cave system was discovered there, having the largest mouth of any cave in all of Canada.  Since it is covered by snow most of the year its existence has been hidden.  So, why would I mention a cave when the theme is waterfalls?  Well, it is kind of an inverted waterfall.  It turns out the void in the earth goes some 450 feet down with a river toppling into it releasing an expulsion of water vapour in the process.  Neither the cave or the waterfall has been named as of yet, making you wonder about other unnamed discoveries there are yet to be made in the area.  You can read more about the cave here.

So, when you turn the shower on or shoot water from the end of your hose and stare at the gravity-driven cataract, do not feel that you are alone in your awe.  Clearly, you have been waterfall deprived, and the only solution (literally and figuratively) is to go find a named waterfall.  If you want real adventure, find one that is unnamed and dub it with some kingly moniker.  The best place to do this, of course, is Wells Gray Provincial Park.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen.

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