Prepare yourself for an epic, weekend-long Oregon adventure. There is a little bit of something for everyone. Swimming in rivers. Camping, both free and at a legitimate campground. Hot springs. Searching for treasure. Oh, and being threatened by a man with a rifle.
I have visited this area and blogged about it before. The Blue Hole hike is nearby, and Sahalie and Koosah Falls. The entire McKenzie River Trail is magnificent and can be backpacked.
I have visited this area and blogged about it before. The Blue Hole hike is nearby, and Sahalie and Koosah Falls. The entire McKenzie River Trail is magnificent and can be backpacked.
We left PDX late on a Friday night which is amateur hour. I couldn't get off work early. I-5 was a nightmare and we didn't get there until after dark, but there were plenty of spots just down the gravel road before the bridge to the hot springs. One of these days, maybe I'll actually get one of the super sweet spots on the river, but we settled for the remaining site. The area where I had camped last year was almost unrecognizable due to downed trees. It has a hot mess up in there. It didn't stop some lonely soul from camping in the spot...he left evidence of his presence with a sign and empty water jugs. In fact, he must have moved in...there were so many empty gallons. Last year it was a giant clearing and would have been perfect for a large group. As it is now, there are about 4 spots that are usable down the gravel drive and then about another 4 by the river across the road from Bigelow Hot Springs.
We hit the hot water first thing Saturday morning. The spring was lovely as usual. It is only accessible in the summer months...otherwise the river eats it up. The hot spring empties towards the back of the cave, so beware of scalding areas. There was a gentleman inhabiting the hot spring when we arrived, so we politely kept quiet as he seemed to be meditating. About 5 minutes into enjoying the warm water I started to hear a chainsaw like noise. I thought, "Oh good, there are clearing the large campsite..." Then I realized that the noise was coming from directly behind us. Hippy- meditation-man had begun throat humming and it was reverberating like crazy in the small space. After 10 minutes of this he exited the tub, and of course he was nudie. So be prepared. This site doesn't charge and is not regulated, so keep the water away from your mouth. Also, expect throat-humming and possible nakedness.
Someone painted hearts on some of the stones and there were a few tea lights scattered about. I still don't know how I feel about people painting on stones and branches. I have done it, but generally on small material or things that we will be burning. I think I like it, but then I imagine people doing that around Oregon and start to think of it like graffiti. I'm torn.
We hit the hot water first thing Saturday morning. The spring was lovely as usual. It is only accessible in the summer months...otherwise the river eats it up. The hot spring empties towards the back of the cave, so beware of scalding areas. There was a gentleman inhabiting the hot spring when we arrived, so we politely kept quiet as he seemed to be meditating. About 5 minutes into enjoying the warm water I started to hear a chainsaw like noise. I thought, "Oh good, there are clearing the large campsite..." Then I realized that the noise was coming from directly behind us. Hippy- meditation-man had begun throat humming and it was reverberating like crazy in the small space. After 10 minutes of this he exited the tub, and of course he was nudie. So be prepared. This site doesn't charge and is not regulated, so keep the water away from your mouth. Also, expect throat-humming and possible nakedness.
Someone painted hearts on some of the stones and there were a few tea lights scattered about. I still don't know how I feel about people painting on stones and branches. I have done it, but generally on small material or things that we will be burning. I think I like it, but then I imagine people doing that around Oregon and start to think of it like graffiti. I'm torn.
Our next adventure was heading out in search of Quartz points. Now, I have mentioned the Rockhounding Oregon book before...it is my rock bible. Lars was on my shit list after this escapade. First, all of his GPS directions were at least .2 off. Now, you don't think this is a big deal, until you are in the middle of nowhere with no GPS or cell service, and there are 10 million tiny unmarked roads to nowhere. You can't get to the Poorman Mine, or the Infinity Mine because the roads are closed. By the Poorman mine is another site that is marked with a "claim" sign. We drove back down the way we came, parked, and began to explore the area.
We had noticed a truck parked with a bizarre sign several random roads back. It had a note on it informing us that there was video recording happening. We thought some random dude must be paranoid that his truck would be stolen so he just puts the sign up in the window. Nah, that wasn't the case.
We had gotten out of the car and I had just leashed the dog when we were met by a man with a rifle on a 4 wheeler. Now, I am used to de-escalating situations and realized that my 6'5 companion can appear pretty threatening, so, I of course did all of the talking. I was informed that this man had a claim on property at least 100 ft down the road from where we were, but I don't argue with guns, so I asked him if he knew any places to go. He responded that he could totally tell us about some places where we "wouldn't get in trouble"/shot. We got in the car pretty fast and headed down the mountain several dirt roads and turns later. Yahtzee.
We had noticed a truck parked with a bizarre sign several random roads back. It had a note on it informing us that there was video recording happening. We thought some random dude must be paranoid that his truck would be stolen so he just puts the sign up in the window. Nah, that wasn't the case.
We had gotten out of the car and I had just leashed the dog when we were met by a man with a rifle on a 4 wheeler. Now, I am used to de-escalating situations and realized that my 6'5 companion can appear pretty threatening, so, I of course did all of the talking. I was informed that this man had a claim on property at least 100 ft down the road from where we were, but I don't argue with guns, so I asked him if he knew any places to go. He responded that he could totally tell us about some places where we "wouldn't get in trouble"/shot. We got in the car pretty fast and headed down the mountain several dirt roads and turns later. Yahtzee.
Tons of quartz points litter the roads up here. Rifle-toting-man, who in all actuality is probably bothered by tons of people, actually steered us in the right direction and even told us that most of what we would be finding would be particles that fell off of the trucks headed down Gold Hill from the mines.
I got all crafty and turned these little buggers into some threader earrings. I love them and wear them almost everyday. There is something really satisfying, and pretty crunchy, about gathering stones and then making them into jewelry. It may be my new favorite thing.
Summertime in Oregon really is the best. Wildflowers, rolling hills of tress, sunshine, and butterflies. We found an open campsite at Cougar Reservoir which is located less than a mile from Teriwilliger Hot Springs.
I have not included any pics of the hot springs because this one is super nudie...and photos would be rude. I will disclose that I actually went topless and felt like Charlotte ala Sex in the City. I'm all like, "just act casual." Of course I face planted and almost drowned in scalding hot water.
The Cougar Reservoir was super low this year. In past years there has been a dreamy lagoon with a waterfall that you can swim to and then hit the hot springs afterward. They are hopeful that next year the dam will not malfunction and this area will be restored. The springs themselves are under new ownership, which is a good thing. It costs $6 per person. The guy manning the booth told me that the police had to come fish a drunkard with a handle of whiskey out of the spring earlier in the summer. I was really glad things were more subdued when we went. I wouldn't suggest bringing kiddos to the area. They have a tie-off area for dogs. The beags barked for about 15 min which signaled that it was time to go.
The great thing is that there is river access close to the campsites. We got a little crazy and did a shrimp boil over the campfire for dinner. I mean, when date night is camping what are you gonna do? Perhaps I will blog about my fav camping dinners...
On the way back to PDX the boo and I stopped by the Holleywood Ranch for some petrified wood hounding. The place was completely deserted when we arrived, and I called the number posted to ensure that we weren't trespassing. The nice fella let us know to go ahead and hound for petrified wood, and to call him when we were done. There were some really interested cows nearby. The owners do a good job of turning over the fields so that you can find good material. We got a bit dirty, and got some cool rocks. There used to be a site nearby where you could find Holley blue agates, but it has been blocked by a timber company which sucks. The ranch is open from day light to sun down and you pay $1.50 per lb. It's a pretty good deal. Happy hounding!