Sherlock Brook

The Mission

On this particular adventure the main goal was to see Fantum Falls in order to complete my goal of seeing the supposed “Top five waterfalls of HRM” according to a discoverhalifaxns.com article. But, to my surprise, Upper Musquodoboit actually has a lot of hidden waterfalls. Being the completionist that I am, of course, I couldn’t drive all the way up there just to see one waterfall. No, I had planned three for this trip. Sherlock Brook was the first stop on this Itinerary. Quite strategically planned, or so I thought. Fantum Falls was rumoured to be quite grand so I didn’t want Sherlock Brook to look less impressive in comparison. It was actually Sherlock Brook that turned out to be much more then we were expecting. The third waterfall on the docket, if time and energy would allow, would be Gleason Falls. With my friends/co-workers Randy and Mike we went off to see some pretty nice falls.

Getting There

Sherlock Brook is located in Upper Musquodoboit. Off of hwy 224 turn on to Caribou road. When you hit a ‘T’ turn left on Deckman road (dirt road), you are going to want to take the second right off of this road on to another unnamed, dirt road. Once you make it down the little hill, there will be a nice area that looks ripe for parking. I recommend you park here and walk the rest of the way down since this road gets a bit narrow. As long as you don’t mind grasshoppers… Map Here.

Grasshoppers, Frogs, and Dragonflies… Oh My!

The walk down to the brook was not uneventful. The dirt road had some very large pot holes that had filled with water pretty much becoming their own little ecosystems . The perfect environment for frogs and grasshoppers. They were absolutely everywhere! Tiny little froggers leaped from the tall grass lining the sides of the road and plopped right into the pool of muddy water. It’s little legs stretched out and it glided under the water full on froggy style. How majestic right? maybe…. if it weren’t for all the grasshoppers trying not to be shown up by the frogs… Every time a frog leaped out Mike would shout ‘oooh! A frog!” and get quite excited… I think Mike likes frogs. I really don’t mind frogs, but the grasshoppers could not stand the frogs getting all the attention. “Look at me! Look at me!” thats what the grasshoppers were saying as they took turns flinging themselves towards by face.

I would be walking along, strategically placed between Mike and Randy so that my sides would be protected from bugs springing out from the sides. This technique did not seem to work on the Grasshoppers though. BAM! they would just pop out in the middle of the road turn and leap. I would pick a side to dive to, hoping it was the opposite way of the grasshopper’s trajectory. They were having fun with this little game, so much fun in fact the dragonflies decided to jump in. They seemed to only want to play with me though…. and I really didn’t want to. Mike ended up walking directly in front of me the whole way and then it was pretty much fine… go figure.

All the while, Randy was just laughing his ass off… seriously they were only after me. So, you decide to do this trail, you will probably be absolutely fine. Plus once we made it to the bridge and started into the forest, following the brook down stream, there were no more bugs… thank goodness. And boy was this journey worth it.

Triplet Falls

Sherlock brook is a three in one experience. As you go downstream they get more and more impressive. Each waterfall provides a unique experience, a completely different look and feel.

The first fall you come upon starts with a small fall making its way around a large rock coupled with a series of cascades. This is a calm and peaceful section of the brook. The rocks across the brook were sparse here, but Randy was determined to make it across to the other side. He hopped across the rocks in his flip flop with the deftness of a panther. With Mike’s height it was not too difficult for him the large jump required, but there was no chance for me. Too short and a bit too clumsy I didn’t want to risk falling into the water so early on in the adventure.

Oh No! The Flip Flop!

I continued on downstream. I found a path through the forest along the rivers edge that seemed fairly beaten down. The second waterfall was awesome. The way the water had eroded the rocks was really cool. I made it down the bank to the bottom of the fall. Looking up I could see Randy standing at the top of the fall. He only had one flip flop on. I looked down…it was in the water! I was getting ready to heroically save the flip flop, but it didn’t get far before taking a swift left turn into a little hole in one of the large rocks. Randy took off his backpack and his other flip flop and looked down into the water below. “You aren’t going to jump in are you?” I yelled up. “It was a pretty sweet flip flop…” he replied and retreated into the forest. He returned a moment later bearing a large wooden branch that he hopefully just found on the ground. It was surprisingly long enough to extract the flip flop from the miniature cave that had swallowed it up. He was then able to quickly hook and pull it up. How suspenseful, I know, but rest assured everyone, that little flip flop made it home.

The Big Reveal

The final fall was down a little farther. Again I made it to the bottom with Mike while Randy was still hopping rocks and ending up on top. This was a really cool spot. The first two falls would have been more then enough to recommend this place to everyone I know, but this last one was icing on the cake. It even had a nice little rock in the middle of the river to plunk our buts on for a nice long view.

The Poor Little Caterpillar

We all sat for a while sitting on our rocks looking up at the majestic waterfall. What a peaceful and sunny afternoon. “AHHHHH!” Mike yelled. He pulled his shirt taut and flicked something into the water. “What the heck was that? ” we asked Mike. “There was something black and yellow on my back!” he replied. Mike was still a little jumpy around bugs that had any resemblance to wasps after our horrific encounter at Slaughenwhite Cascades. I looked down into the water and I saw a large fuzzy caterpillar slowly floating down the river… On that note, it was time to leave.

A Squishy Escape

Mike had the brilliant idea of taking a short cut back. Not often does the birds eye approach yield a very pleasant path, so I reluctantly agreed. Instead of following the river back to the main road we decided to hack our way straight through the forest. It was mostly ok until we hit the moss. Most of the forest floor this way was covered in this squishy green moss. Walking on it felt extremely disturbing…. it was really unpleasant. It gave you this unsettling feeling that you might just step in the wrong spot and be swallowed up in the mossy equivalent of quicksand. Absorbed into the earth floor and become one with mother nature…. needless to say we moved pretty damn quick to get the heck out of it. Especially Randy, who could feel the moss tickling at his toes with every step. We had almost made it, when we reached one final barrier. A ton of deadfall blocking any easy route to the main road. We forced our way through and once we made it to the road I almost embraced the nearest dragonfly. Never before did I believe moss could cause so much stress. Mike was then banned from picking our shortcuts for the rest of the trip.

The Verdict

A visit to Sherlock Brook Falls is sure to result in an adventure to remember. It is an amazing spot. It is absolutely worth the drive up from Halifax, a full adventure on its own. Three beautiful waterfalls for the work of one. It has stolen the first place prize for HRM waterfalls easily thus far.

Fantum Falls

Top HRM Falls – Part 5

The Final Mission

The final chapter of the mission to visit the top five waterfalls of the HRM according to discoverhalifaxns.com has come. After visiting Pockwock Falls, Slaughenwhite Cascades, Golden Brook Falls, and Miller Lake Falls the only one left was Fantum Falls (aka Phantom Falls). It was rated number 1, so with Pockwock Falls in the lead for top waterfall, out of the five suggested, I made my way to Fantum Falls with co-workers/friends Mike and Randy to see how it stacks up. Since it was estimated to be a short hike I also decided to stop by two other Falls in the area, Sherlock Brook and Gleason which I will make separate posts about.

Getting There

Fantum Falls is located in Upper Musquodoboit. This one actually shows up on google maps as “Phantom Falls” but the locals have put signs up naming it “Fantum Falls”. After driving down NS-336 through middle and then upper Musquodoboit take the first right after passing Dean Back Road on the left side (this is where Gleason Falls can be found). The turn off you want will look like a steep, down hill dirt road but you will only need to drive down it a few minutes and park by the first sign for Fantum Falls looking slightly creepy written in dripping white paint. The sign must have been written with the wood tacked on to the tree first since it looks like gravity took over the paint immediately after it was applied (Probably the desired effect, quite fitting for the name).

You can actually drive all the way up to the actual trail head but you would need four wheel drive since it gets pretty rough. I recommend walking the extra distance since the hike to the Falls is actually very short otherwise and hey, it’s more rewarding when you have to work for it. Once you park, walk in the direction of the sign to an old Gypsum mine. After that it will be a gradual ascend up the unpaved road to the trailhead. The trailhead has a small parking area next to it with a big stop sign flipped around reading “Fantum Falls”. The falls are only a short walk down this wooded trail.

The Big Reveal

The small wooden trail is only wide enough to walk single file and breaks out into a clearing where you can hear the rushing of the falls. There were a lot of trees blocking the first reveal, but we could tell it was pretty spectacular. These were the highest falls we’d seen in HRM yet, about 40 feet. Walking to the left you can get a good look from the top of the falls. A small wide fall shoots down the 40 foot drop. When we were there it was all funnelling down the right side of the falls. To get a better view of it we would need to make our way to the bottom of the falls.

A Treacherous Descent

Mike might have been content with the top and side view of the falls, but Randy and I were not. We wanted a better viewing point that would give us the full effect of the fall all together. We were up on a cliff and there seemed to be no easy way down. We walked a beaten down trail to the right of the main trail following it through brush and deadfall until it seemed to just end. We were still up really high and there was no where to descend safely so we backtracked. The safest looking area to descend is by the big spiky stump close tot he main trail. There is a poppy pinned to the tree next to it. Randy went first and I followed, Mike decided to sit this part out since it was particularly treacherous.

Most of the way I was sliding down on my butt pushing my legs out in front of me to decrease my velocity. I was bringing a lot of rocks down with me like a mini rock slide. A few narrowly missing Randy who had just made it to the bottom. I grabbed at whatever roots and half buried rocks within reach that looked strong enough to hold my weight. Finally I made it to the bottom, hands and butt covered in dirt… next time I would bring some rope. Once at the bottom there were only a few rocks we could precariously perch on to take a few pictures. The climb back up was a bit easier then the slide down. Randy made sure to wait until I made it to the top before attempting it not wanting to get knocked out by flying rocks from my mad scrambling technique.

The Verdict

Fantum Falls is an impressive sight especially in comparison to the other four falls seen in this series. There is no contest for Fantum Falls appearing number 1 on this list for pure size but size is not the only thing that makes a waterfall great. Fantum Falls is impressive but it lacks some major qualities every great waterfall spot should have.

1. Several great vantage points for viewing. You should be able to climb to the top, bottom, and find a spot that allows you to take in the entirety of the falls. Fantum falls had a few slippery rocks Randy was able to climb over with bare feet and get a look on top of the falls, but this was a fairly risky move and not recommended to most (me included). Getting to the bottom of the falls was also a bit risky. From the bottom you could not see the top part and from the top you could not easily see the entirety of the bottom part. There was no out cropping clear enough to get a nice view of the whole fall straight on. These falls do not make for easy viewing and they really make you work for it.
2. A comfy rock to plunk your butt on. Waterfalls are meant to be enjoyed, to stop and stare for a while. Fantum Falls was not being very inviting in this sense. all the rocks were slippery, spiky, or to short to sit on. The top section Randy climbed out on was too slippery and precarious to linger on and the bottom of the falls did not provide any relaxing rocks to sit on.

Fantum Falls is great but I just wish we didn’t need to use our imagination so much to piece the two views together. Although, I am definitely being extra critical to this fall since just before this one we found a magnificent set of waterfalls along Sherlock Brook (new post coming soon) that met all my criteria quite perfectly.

Final Rankings

So my version of the “Top Five Waterfalls of HRM” from only the five mentioned would be:

1. Fantum Falls
2. Pockwock Falls
3. Miller Lake Falls
4. Slaughenwhite Cascades
5. Golden Brook Falls

After visiting more HRM falls I will construct my own top five list. HAPPY HIKING!