Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Crossing the Spring at Hahatonka

Don and Maxine Kifer crossing Hahatonka spring (circa 1976)

Where the people are standing on the left edge is now the bottom of the stairs at the spring.  In this photo the mouth of the spring is just out of frame on the left.  Before Hahatonka became a state park this was the only way to reach the castle from the south side of the spring lake.  It was a great place to swim and play.  Some of the more adventurous would even jump off the cliff into the mouth of the spring.  A somewhat tricky and dangerous stunt, but quite the experience I can attest.  The spring area has been allowed go feral and the topography has changed dramatically since this photo was taken, but back then it was an easy, albeit breathtakingly cold, crossing.