It seems that despite the advanced weather forecast for the area we were visiting for a week, we would be enjoying hot, not merely warm weather, after all. And the incessant rain we were advised could be expected did not materialize at all. We had packed mostly cold-weather clothing for our trip, relying on the accuracy of that weather forecast, consulted up to the time of departure.

Instead, what occurred is that a hot-weather system moved into the area and lingered, after the first day of heavy rain. Sunny and partially sunny skies, and temperatures that soared to 96 degrees. Just as well that when hiking through a forest cooler temperatures tend to prevail, partially thanks to the cooling effect of the green canopy overhead where sunlight permeates only indirectly. And partly because of the mountain streams cooling the atmosphere as they tumble down the mountain slopes and into the forests below.

Our destination for Friday, the fourth day of our trip to the Waterville Valley was to head to the Kancamagus highway and make for Sabbaday Falls. The Kancamagus highway is a beautiful route, taking one to great heights from which surrounding mountains appear prominent and promising; we climbed many of them in our younger days, with our-then teen-age children.

As we drove along we could see that many of the trailheads to the mountain hikes were flush with parked vehicles, along the sides of the highway itself. We anticipated that since there appeared to be so many outdoor enthusiasts clamouring to be a temporary part of nature in early June we might find it difficult to get a limited parking spot in the parking lot for the falls, but we did manage to find a spot among the others likely as eager as us to feast our eyes on yet another magnificent force of nature.

The short trek up to the falls is a moderate, steady uphill, with forest on either side comprised of yellow birch and hemlocks, maples and oaks, with the usual understory of moose maple and dogwood; a pretty environment. with the Sabbaday stream running alongside the trail; actually vice-versa.

A left-leaning path soon leads away from the main trail and this takes us to the beautiful little pool below the three-tiered, powerful waterfall. Negotiating the rocks the intrepid photographer can come fairly close to the waterfall, sufficiently so as to enable taking full photos of the drama playing out when coursing water meets granite rockfaces; endless time and the power of water eventually eroding the rock to conform to the water's chosen course.

It is a magnificent sight; the volume of water fed by streams running off the mountains impressive beyond description. The spray has a mighty broad reach, refreshingly cool on a hot late-spring day. A series of rustic wooden steps and platforms takes one up, alongside the waterfall which can be sighted from a multitude of perspectives until reaching the top of the waterfall itself.

There is a long trail that goes beyond the falls accessed through an initial switchback which we and our youngest son took many years ago. We weren't too impressed with the quality of the trail's sights, finding it too open for our liking however, and never returned. But the magnificence of the falls themselves draw us back year after year, for easy accessibility to a wonder of nature.