Click on the numbers to continue your self-guided tour
10. Main Look out
Here is the main view of the waterfall and the log slide. You can see the depth of the drop and the razor sharp edges of the rocks. Imagine the damage that these rocks would cause to precious 60ft lengths of timber that six men had spent an entire day cutting and squaring. This is why the waterfall was once a major obstacle to the log drive. This is why George Bryson built the 3000 ft (915m) wooden log slide, which was later replaced in 1923 with the 300ft (91.5m) concrete slide that you see here today.
If you look closely along the rock wall, you should see a hanging chain and three metal rings, (the rings are 6'or 2m apart) these are the remaining remnants of the original wooden slide.
On the left shore, just below the log slide, you can see marble metamorphosed limestone which originated at the edge of an ancient sea more than one billion years ago. Note its mortar-like texture, due to the presence of a wide variety of minerals and rock fragments. Examples of straight gneiss are seen along the pathways. These rocks are metamorphosed granite and shale which also originated at the same geological time. Their ribbon-like appearance results from alternating bands of gray-white quartz and pink feldspar.
