Bash Bish Falls

Every year I try to visit at least one waterfall that is out of state. If you've read previous posts here you've seen some of the falls I've been to. Well, here's the latest one and it was a workout to boot!

Bash Bish Falls in Mt. Washington, Ma. was where we went this year. And this time Taunya couldn't make it so it was KC, me, Bunny and Stacey (who is a virgin hiker no longer!).
It's about an hour and a half to get there if you don't get lost or sidetracked by any of the antique shops along the way. The town of Stockbridge and Great Barrington seemed to have the most shops in their towns. Unfortunately we got a later start than we had planned so we didn't have time to shop. The falls are located on the border of Ma. and Ct and very close to NY....also known as the Berkshires.

I thought the name of the falls was very unusual so I looked it up to see if there is a story that goes along with it. And there was! If I remember correctly here is the story.

Bash Bish is the name of a beautiful Indian maiden (don't all the stories start off this way?). Well in our language she would be named White Swan; Bash Bish is the Indian version. She married a brave (don't recall his name) and he eventually left her for another woman because White Swan couldn't have any children. She was very distraught and went to the falls because they were peaceful. While there she heard her mother calling her from under the falls where she lived. (I know, how can she live under the falls?) She was over come with joy and jumped into the water to go to her mother. She was never seen again. Meanwhile her husband (the nameless rat) was searching for her. He came to the falls just as she was jumping in so he jumped in also. He was killed and his body was found later down stream but her body was never found. They say if you listen very carefully you can still hear her mother calling to White Swan.

Now here's what I think really happened. White Swan's husband was cheating on her but in Indian culture it was considered acceptable to take more than one wife and especially if the first wife couldn't have children. White Swan felt useless according to everything she'd been taught plus she probably felt unloved and so she decided to kill herself by throwing herself into the falls. Her husband (still a nameless rat even in this version) felt guilty or perhaps he still actually loved her, went looking for her at the falls. He sees her jump in and thinking he can save her, he jumps in too. The force of the water is too much for both of them and they both die. Probably both bodies were washed down stream but it sounds more romantic if her body isn't found....leaving the superstitious to believe that she has truly gone to be with her mother. There is also the point that the legend says the mother lived under the falls. Could this mean that she is already dead and by White Swan going to her it meant she was going to take her own life? We will never know. And for the record, I didn't hear anything but the falls while I was there.

The hike down to the falls was not difficult at all. The first view of the falls was spectacular but of course I had to get closer. I ended up spending quite a bit of time climbing over boulders; down embankments; using large tree roots as handles and even larger stones for steps. It was the hardest workout I've had in a long time and worth every tired muscle it produced. I actually amazed myself that I was able to do some of the stuff I did and get to spots that a sane person would have ignored. But I found that if you are careful where and how you go, think about the maneuver before you do it, and use common sense to realize your limits, it's really not that hard. Of course there are spots there (cliffs really) that would no doubt kill a person if they fell. That was always in the back of my head too. (don't do anything stupid..you are too far away from a hospital).

I fully expected to somehow fall into the water at some point. Luckily I didn't, but KC did. Her foot slipped on a wet rock and with a tiny squeal she was knee deep in water. This resulted in nothing worse than wet feet and soggy footprints left on the rocks for awhile. The water was cold as I would expect it to be in Spring time. But the mist coming off the falls was so refreshing!
When I headed downstream a little I found what looked to be a cave and I heard a little cheer go up in my head. This could be interesting! Maybe a bear lives in there. Maybe weasels live in there. I was like a little kid running amuck in a candy store with all the possibilities running through my head. I advanced very carefully and took pictures as I went. My head was also telling me to get a shot of whatever it is that may attack me so they will know what killed me. (quite gruesome but also practical?). As it turned out the cave was too shallow for any large creature to live there but it could possibly house a medium sized animal that needed a hiding place for a while. It was more of a deep ledge than anything and I was disappointed. It wasn't until I got home that I remembered reading that this area is known to have rattle snakes living there. (and me without a snake bite kit!)

Eventually it was time to go and we all decided to take the "short cut" back up the hill. Well that short cut was indeed shorter than the original route we took to come down but it was also at least 3 times harder...at least for me. Stacey and KC didn't seem to have any trouble with it. I suppose that's where the difference in our ages comes into play! Both of them are at least 20 something years younger than me. THEY made it look easy and they were out of sight before I knew it. Bunny and I stopped to rest several times (Bunny was keeping me company most of those times, she didn't have as hard a time as I did) and continued lumbering up the hill (at times gasping for breath) and didn't see them again until we reached the parking lot. I was shaking with muscle fatigue by the time I got there and ready to just lay on the ground! But after all the climbing I'd done on the rocks and up and down the cliffs I shouldn't have been surprised. It does distress me to feel that weak. (I had flashbacks to my Mother trying to keep up with us "kids" last year when we took her to a lobster fest.) It's like a slap in the face when your brain feels like it's 20 something and your body doesn't agree with it.

After lunch I was completely recovered. Probably should have eaten before hiking the falls. You'd think I'd know that by now but I'm sure that was part of the 20 something mentality that kicked in when we got there. The ride home was boring for Stacey. She was driving. I dozed off in the back seat and when I woke I found that everyone but Stacey was asleep! Aha! I'm not the only one that was worn out by the hike!! Poor Stacey had to stay awake. There is no auto-pilot on her car.
So here's the pictures I took of the falls and the surrounding area. I had to pick and choose which ones to use because I actually took about 90 shots! I hope you enjoy them.