Northwest Waterfall Survey
- McCoy Creek Falls (waterfallsnorthwest.com)
While I’d long known of a tall cascading waterfall near the headwaters of McCoy Creek, I hadn’t really given second thought to the small ravine near the mouth of the creek as it breaks into the Skykomish Valley. However, after receiving word from some fellow local hikers that a sizable waterfall was just ¼ mile upstream, I was sold. The results were surprisingly unexpected. While the falls weren’t quite as large as I was originally led to believe, the formation was much different than I had pictured. McCoy Creek plunges through an old mill dam of some sort and then fans out over a chunky bedrock face before contracting back to a narrow stream at the base of the 45 foot falls. Unfortunately several trees block clear views from the side of the road, but with a little hazardous scrambling I was able to attain a good viewpoint. With a rope and a revisit, I hope to eventually get all the way to the base for better photos.
- Dissociative (Wikipedia)
Dissociatives, colloquially dissos, are a subclass of hallucinogens which distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of such action, dissociatives are unique in that they do so in such a way that they produce hallucinogenic effects, which may include dissociation, a general decrease in sensory experience, hallucinations, dream-like states or anesthesia. Despite most dissociatives’ main mechanism of action being tied to NMDA receptor antagonism, some of these substances, which are nonselective in action and affect the dopamine and/or opioid systems, may be capable of inducing more direct and repeatable euphoria or symptoms which are more akin to the effects of typical “hard drugs” or common drugs of abuse. This is likely why dissociatives are considered to be addictive with a fair to moderate potential for abuse, unlike psychedelics. Despite some dissociatives, such as phencyclidine (PCP) possessing stimulating properties, most dissociatives seem to have a general depressant effect and can produce sedation, respiratory depression, nausea, disorientation, analgesia, anesthesia, ataxia, cognitive and memory impairment as well as amnesia.