The head of Glen Leigh at Onondaga Falls, starting the steeper, more rugged eastern descent — with a strong caution about descending wet stone steps.
Alright — the forest opens back up, you hear water again, and here at the head of the eastern canyon is Onondaga Falls, the top of Glen Leigh. From here we go DOWN, and I want you to shift your whole mindset for this next stretch, because Glen Leigh is the steeper, rougher, wilder of the two branches — it packs eight waterfalls into a short, plunging drop, and you'll be going down it on wet stone steps.
Here's the thing about descending that a lot of people don't realize: going DOWN steep wet steps is more dangerous than going up them. On the way up, if you slip, you fall forward onto your hands. On the way down, if you slip, you fall backward or forward down a staircase of rock, and that's how the serious injuries happen. So slow way down. Turn sideways on the steepest steps if that feels steadier. Use the handrails. Keep one hand free — this is a bad place to be staring at your phone or juggling a camera. And take the descent in short, patient stages, stopping fully at each fall to look rather than looking while you move.
Do all that, and Glen Leigh will be the most thrilling part of the whole hike — a tight, dramatic gorge with a fall around every bend. Let's head down, carefully. Onondaga first, and then the falls come quick.
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0
