Upper falls
From the lower falls the trail bends north and begins to climb more aggressively. I pass several small seeping springs; long-ago hikers have left a series of flat limestone stepping stones to keep you out of the marshy seeps. Today the springs are buzzing with small mountain hornets. I move quickly. Beside the seeps the ferns are beginning to yellow, but the watercress is still green. The trail ducks back into a tunnel of aspen and dogwood maples, then bends south and climbs to the upper waterfall.