The beag and I decided to tear it up and see all-the-things on the McKenzie River Trail a few weeks back. It was the first rainy day in I can't even remember how long. If your head is up your butt and you don't know, Oregon is turning into California. Drought. No snow on our mountains. Fires everywhere. Receded rivers. All that stuff.
And just so you know I'm serious about the fires everywhere, I present exhibits A and B, taken in route on the way through Silver Falls.
And just so you know I'm serious about the fires everywhere, I present exhibits A and B, taken in route on the way through Silver Falls.
First stop once we got through the smoke was the dispersed camping off of Deer Creek by Bigelow Hot Springs. The prime spots are right by the river and across from the short path to the hot spring, but we didn't arrive until close to 9 so those were obviously all taken. After mistakenly driving down the gravel road for several miles, we got turned back around and located the rest of the spots. Know this, you hit gravel and you have gone too far. We found a huge, cleared area with not a soul in sight located across the bridge from the spring. It would have been ideal for a large group that wants to hang together and not spread out...you could easily have fit 8 tents comfortably.
Find directions to Deer Creek Rd and Bigelow Hot Spring here.
Find directions to Deer Creek Rd and Bigelow Hot Spring here.
Tupes and I woke up early-ish and headed straight to the hot spring to warm-up. The only other people awake were the cutest little family in the history of the world, and they insisted that I share the spring with them...which I'm sure they promptly regretted. They were having a cute conversation about why the spring smells like sulfur, and the dad was being science-y and discussing the periodic table or something. In the middle of the lesson the kiddo looked at me quizzically and I shook me head and whispered, "troll farts."
It DOES smell like troll farts though. Now, I have been to a lot of hot springs in Oregon, and this is my new favorite, here's why:
1) It was clean
2) I was not propositioned to do drugs in the parking area
3) It came with an adorable family that acted as welcome wagon and without whose help I would never have located it
4) It was small and secluded
5) It backs up to the river so you can listen to the water and if you're lucky, watch a fly fisherman making beautiful arcs (look really carefully and you can spot him)
And 6) some romantic individual had left little tea light candles strewn about the place.
It's got ambiance people! I had the small hot spring to myself for about an hour while Tupelo stared at me impatiently and whined after the world's-cutest-family abandoned me. As an aside, I was typing this into my phone a while ago and it autocorrected to Bigelo Whore Springs...which is catchy, no?
Next on our agenda was Tamolitch Pool.
1) It was clean
2) I was not propositioned to do drugs in the parking area
3) It came with an adorable family that acted as welcome wagon and without whose help I would never have located it
4) It was small and secluded
5) It backs up to the river so you can listen to the water and if you're lucky, watch a fly fisherman making beautiful arcs (look really carefully and you can spot him)
And 6) some romantic individual had left little tea light candles strewn about the place.
It's got ambiance people! I had the small hot spring to myself for about an hour while Tupelo stared at me impatiently and whined after the world's-cutest-family abandoned me. As an aside, I was typing this into my phone a while ago and it autocorrected to Bigelo Whore Springs...which is catchy, no?
Next on our agenda was Tamolitch Pool.
Now, let me tell you about how dumb I can be. I researched this beforehand, like I always do, the trail to the area that is, because the cell service is hit or miss out in the wilderness. It is described as old growth forest...hemlock blah...lava field...blah...beautifulness whatever. So, can you tell me why I shot straight up a logging/gravel road for several miles right past the trail head? Nope, me either. And I kept thinking, "this is the ugliest trail ever." The good news is, Tupelo jogged for the first time in months because, as you can imagine, when I discovered my mistake I was in a hurry to remedy this misadventure. A two-mile cussing fit and downhill jog later we were right back where we needed to be. And the trail was just as it had been described...path meandering through forest and through lava beds to a little pond.
From the trail, you can peer over a cliff to the pool below. You can also hear people screaming as they plunge into the 40 degree water. My first thought, "so there's a way down!"
If you scamper along the rim to the opposite side of the pool there is a steep embankment of rocks and dirt that you can slip and slide your way down to the edge of the water. This was preferable to rock climbing my way down a cliff face. If you have a dog in tow, you will have to pick it up and place it on top of ledges and boulders while it passively-aggressively sighs at you, after it has already judged you regarding the impromptu 4 mile jaunt.
But tada!!! So worth the effort. There were a ton of friendly folks challenging each other to take a dip. It was a cold day, and I did not want to tempt hypothermia or muscle cramping when we had so much yet to see. I submerged my ankles and knees, ingested a quick lunch and then we were right back up the hillside, jogging our way outta the wilderness.
Now seems like a really great time for an aside on hiking etiquette. I know this may seem commonsensical, but people, if you are in a group of more than, oh, let's say 9 just to be generous, please allow a single hiker and her dog to pass instead of taking up the entire narrow trail, forcing the hiker and dog off to wait patiently while you and your entire tour of super slow walkers pass. I can't even count how many times this happened. I must just look like a really nice person. Seriously though? So there we were, plodding along and being forced off the trail at regular intervals, scraping ankles and knees on pumice stones in the lava field...almost twisting ankles and such. Just to recap, the larger group should always make space for the smaller group. It is an unwritten rule. You also pull off the path to let faster people go around you. And, this trail gets really busy after noon. Had I not taken that super fun detour earlier in the day I would've been clear of the traffic.
Next stop, the falls.
Now seems like a really great time for an aside on hiking etiquette. I know this may seem commonsensical, but people, if you are in a group of more than, oh, let's say 9 just to be generous, please allow a single hiker and her dog to pass instead of taking up the entire narrow trail, forcing the hiker and dog off to wait patiently while you and your entire tour of super slow walkers pass. I can't even count how many times this happened. I must just look like a really nice person. Seriously though? So there we were, plodding along and being forced off the trail at regular intervals, scraping ankles and knees on pumice stones in the lava field...almost twisting ankles and such. Just to recap, the larger group should always make space for the smaller group. It is an unwritten rule. You also pull off the path to let faster people go around you. And, this trail gets really busy after noon. Had I not taken that super fun detour earlier in the day I would've been clear of the traffic.
Next stop, the falls.
I was so surprised that all of this amazingness was jam-packed into 26 miles of trail. There is a small parking area that allows access to both Sahalie and Koosah Falls. There are loops that allow you to go all the way around, and the trail will lead down and past the Blue Hole. It would be perfect for a backpacking trip.
I tied the dog up against the side of the falls so I could clamBor to the top for better pics...when I returned to her no less than 2 minutes later that dummy had attempted to scale the rock wall like a goat and was perched on the side of the cliff with a few anxious onlookers frantically observing the scene. Here's what you need to know about Tupes Tupes. She is actually the smartest dog and the most neurotic dog I have ever met. She is cat-like in her movements and balance, and does not fall. She can get herself into some predicaments, but when she gets stuck she always waits for her human. Now, these people had no way of knowing this, and I felt pretty bad about terrifying them. They were really excited when I untied her and got her back on level ground. Nice, sweet people. Selfish, picturing-taking dog owner.
I tied the dog up against the side of the falls so I could clamBor to the top for better pics...when I returned to her no less than 2 minutes later that dummy had attempted to scale the rock wall like a goat and was perched on the side of the cliff with a few anxious onlookers frantically observing the scene. Here's what you need to know about Tupes Tupes. She is actually the smartest dog and the most neurotic dog I have ever met. She is cat-like in her movements and balance, and does not fall. She can get herself into some predicaments, but when she gets stuck she always waits for her human. Now, these people had no way of knowing this, and I felt pretty bad about terrifying them. They were really excited when I untied her and got her back on level ground. Nice, sweet people. Selfish, picturing-taking dog owner.
Now, I have to confess that we totally didn't do the loop. I was concerned that I had pushed the dog too far with the jogging so we did a quick peak at Koosah Falls and headed back to the car. Well, maybe not that quickly.
We enjoyed the trail, some bizarre trees, and stopped for a cuddle.
And a photo shoot. Please enjoy the procession of pictures leading up to the last frame. You can see that she is increasingly amused....
You're welcome.