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We
left Eugene Tuesday morning, bound for Crater Lake National Park. We had reservations for the tour boat to Wizard
Island Wednesday morning, but no other commitments. We decided to enjoy a leisurely drive through
the Umpqua National Forest and visit a few waterfalls along the way.
We
broke camp at Baker Bay and headed up into the mountains. Our first stop was Salt Creek Falls. This waterfall is over 300’ high, and right
off of a major road. It is a touristy
place, but worthwhile due to the attraction.
There are several overlooks along the rim of the cliff near the top of
the falls. From there, I followed a
trail down into the gorge. Signs at the
trailhead warned that the lower part of the trail had washed out and was
unsafe. I was skeptical, but when I
reached the damaged area it looked sketchy.
The spray was already noticeable, and the light wasn’t great for
photos. I decided against trying to
scramble down the steep, wet slope. The view
from just above the washout was great, and the spray was manageable. It would’ve been hopeless farther down.
From
there we drove straight to the Thiesen ?? View Campground on Diamond Lake. We’d made reservations in advance, but that
was probably unnecessary considering that the campground wasn’t crowded. We decided to sleep in our hammocks that
night, since we had to be up very early the next morning. We figured we could take the hammocks down a
lot faster than our tent. After setting
them up we had lunch at our campsite.
Then we headed out for an afternoon of exploring.
First
up was Lemolo Falls.
It was nearby, and it was near the top of my to-do list on this
trip. We followed a series of rapidly
deteriorating backroads. Finally we made a turn onto a road that was sporty due to
fallen trees. The trees had been cut to
clear the road, but we had to zigzag around protruding trunks and limbs. We came around a bend and I slammed on the
brakes, as there was a tree completely blocking the road. There were 6 or 8 more beyond that one, too. I debated walking from there, but we still
had more than a mile to go just to get to the trailhead. I backed up instead and tried another route
that looked like it connected on the map.
It didn’t. In fact, I doubt that
road ever existed. After some debate we
decided to go on to the next attraction.
Later we found out that there is another trail with easier access on the
far side of the river. However, that
trail leads to an overlook high above the river. Getting to the base requires hiking the road
we’d tried to drive. I decided that I
would try to do the hike that evening, when the light would be better for
photos.
From
there we drove to Watson Falls. Watson
Falls sounded nice, but it was really just on my agenda due to its proximity to
Toketee Falls.
Ironically, Watson Falls was my favorite of the day. The hike was fairly short, and Christy got
ahead of me when I stopped to photograph some flowers. I reached the end of the trail at an overlook
high up on the hillside with a nice side view of the falls. When I arrived, I spotted Christy down near
the base. How did she get down there?
I
backtracked to the point where the trail switchbacked
away from the creek. A goat path
continues upstream here. I followed it,
and found Christy a few minutes later on a giant boulder just downstream from
the base. I found a great vantage point for photos just
downstream from here. Watson Falls is
tall and elegant. It is on a low volume
stream, but it was raging during our visit, as snow was still melting in the
alpine area at the stream’s headwaters.
From
there we hiked back to the car and made the short drive to Toketee
Falls. This waterfall is extremely
popular, and the hike to the viewpoint is easy.
Along the way we passed a scramble path leading down to a small
waterfall and swimming hole in a narrow canyon.
After checking that out we continued on to the main overlook. The viewpoint is high up on the hillside,
well above the falls and its glorious blue swimming hole. Getting to the base from here would be an
adventure. I considered it, but it was a
sunny day and the light was terrible for photography.
We
returned to the car and headed up to Umpqua Hot Springs. I’d first heard about Umpqua Hot Springs that
morning, when an article about it popped up in my Facebook newsfeed. I was delighted when I discovered that it was
only a few miles from Toketee Falls. Thanks Facebook! We drove up the road towards it, and only had
a little trouble finding the parking area.
The directions in that same article had been a bit off, but I can’t
complain. Once we found the trailhead,
the hike was pretty simple. There was
one extremely steep stretch with lots of scree.
It led us up onto the hillside above the North Umpqua River. We found the hots springs a few minutes
later. The springs feature at least a
half dozen natural rock tubs that are fed by a single source. The tubs extend down the terraced hillside
towards the river. The uppermost tub is
the hottest, while the water cools as it descends. Nobody was actually in the uppermost pool,
presumably due to the temperature. There
is a system of hoses in place to redistribute the hot water to some of the
other tubs.
There
were a handful of other people there when we arrived. Someone was just leaving one of the nicer
tubs when we arrived, so we claimed it.
We enjoyed a cold beer, the hot water, and the soothing sounds of the
river rushing below us. This is my kind
of hot spring – no fee, no rules, and no crowds.
It
was getting kind of late when we left there.
I considered making another attempt at Lemolo
Falls, but that would mean missing sunset and the potential alpenglow on Mount Thiesen ??. It would also mean another late dinner, and we
had to get up at first light the next morning.
I conceded defeat on that one, and we headed back to camp. We grilled chicken for dinner and enjoyed a
nice fire. It got cold that night – in fact,
it was 37 degrees when we woke the next morning. I was a little chilled in my hammock, even in
a zero degree sleeping bag. Christy
fared much worse. Her bag is rated to 15
degrees, and she actually got up at one point and relocated to the car for the
rest of the night.
Back to Oregon.
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!