Sahalie and Koosah Falls

With eyes bleary and ears still ringing after the previous night's concert by The Deer, Jay and I slid out of the car and began lacing up our boots at Carmen Reservoir. Early morning drives to trailheads preceded by late nights of loud music, followed in turn by the labor and toil of hiking: this being semi-retired sure is hard work!

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
- Albert Camus -

On the McKenzie River Highway are a couple of parking lots that allow the car crowd to take a short walk to overlooks of spectacular Sahalie and Koosah Falls. The parking lots are way too small to handle the thundering hordes of visitors and cars parked along the highway are an all too common sight, especially on a nice day. However, if one (or two, in this case) were to hike the McKenzie River Trail on the opposite side of the river, one (or two) can take in the views of the thundering cascades and still retain the illusion of having the place to one's self (or two's selves?). As an added bonus, several miles of beautiful McKenzie River can be enjoyed on a genuine dirt path (the trails on opposite side of the river are paved). As an added added bonus, fall is an incredible time to hike on the McKenzie River Trail, due to the colorful show put on by the vine maples growing rampantly by the river. 

"No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
as I have seen in one autumnal face."
- John Donne -

Overhead was a clear blue sky as we set foot on the trail, yet the temperature was mild and just perfect for hiking. Sunlight filtered through the forest, illuminating the maple leaves which were colored somewhere between yellow and green. Songbirds chirped musically in the branches and my soul was filled with general all-around happiness. And all this from the first step onto the path! It's nice to appreciate one's (or two's) surroundings but one (or two) needs to get moving if any distance is to be covered.

“And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled
themselves to sleep and autumn was awakened.”
- Raquel Franco -

Once in the forest, Jay and I were soon busy taking photographs of every colorful leaf, or so it seemed. Obviously, our pace was going to be quite slow as each photograph had be shown to the other hiker and much bragging about cameras commenced. Jay's camera could take awesome panoramic photos but I could take those exquisitely slow shots of the river. While the subject was vigorously debated, this is my blog so I say I had the better camera and took the better photographs. 

Koosah Falls thunder next to the trail

In less than a half-mile or so, a loud roar permeated through the forest, our first clue that we were about to reach Koosah Falls, still thunderingly impressive despite the relatively low water volume in the river after a dry summer. We scrambled off-trail down to a viewpoint atop a cliff with a dizzying view straight down to the splash pool. Mist from the falls filled up the canyon below, and the walls were covered with green moss thriving in the perpetual damp.

The clarity of the McKenzie River was amazing

The source of the McKenzie River is the Great Spring above Clear Lake. At the spring, the McKenzie bubbles up out of the ground, filtered and purified by miles of lava soil as the river emerges after its underground journey. We were just several miles downstream of the McKenzie's fount, and we had ample opportunity to observe the stunning clarity of the water. There were a number of pools, each tinted a dark sapphire blue with green moss growing at the edges. Did I mention already that our pace was slow due to the near constant photography going on?

Somewhere over the rainbow

A short hike from Koosah Falls brought us to Sahalie Falls, equally impressive. In fact, Sahalie Falls might get the nod for Most Beautiful Waterfall of the Day, if only for the fact that a rainbow was glowing brightly in the mist in the splash basin. Again, we bushwhacked down to a precarious overlook and admired the falls while taking photographs thereof.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the Earth
seeking the successive autumns."
- George Eliot -

Now that there were no more falls to hike to, we focused our attention on the more subtle aspects of the McKenzie River Trail. Actually, the subtle aspects were not all that subtle as every colorful leaf called out to both of us "Hey, take my picture!" We obliged and as previously stated, our progress was slower than that of a slug with a limp.

Nature's bubble bath

Lest we get bored with the autumn finery on the vine maples (and we weren't), the McKenzie River also commanded our attention. The trail ran above a number of pools and rapids where the river leaped and bounded over large boulders and drop-offs. One pool was fed by a photogenic cascade and was well aerated with bubbles from the splashing cascade. We didn't opt for a quick bubble bath though, it was sufficient enough just to sit for a couple of minutes and contemplate the beauty in the river.

"The trees are about to show us how
lovely it is to let the dead things go."
- Unknown -

After a couple of miles, the trail crossed over the river on a stout wooden bridge and then the McKenzie was temporarily left behind as the route crossed the McKenzie Highway and headed overland to Clear Lake. The woods were pleasant as the shadows lengthened in the afternoon sun. When we reached scenic Clear Lake, we also began ro run into a lot of fellow hikers, as the crystalline lake is a fairly popular weekend destination.

Watercolor painting

At Clear Lake Resort, it was decision time. We wanted to continue hiking around the lake for an 11'ish mile hike but it was getting late in the day. We did the math and figured out that we'd be returning in the dark so our choice was pretty much made for us: we'd head back the way we came, for a respectable eight-miler of a hike.

"Ooh...leaves"
- Richard O'Neill -

For variety, we returned on the well used trails on the highway side of the river. Ah, the feel of asphalt under our boots! Yes, the trail was paved in places and the river viewpoints were fenced and railed to discourage off-trail exploration of the falls. Jay and I bushwhacked anyway to the top of Sahalie Falls for a look-see. Yeeh, the view was dizzying as the falls thundered very close and one errant misstep would deliver hikers to the splash basin in a hurry. While we were there, a couple came by for a look and the dude got on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. She said "yes" in case anybody was wondering, you  just can't say "no" at the top of Sahalie Falls.

The McKenzie River, as the daylight faded

When we had hiked earlier on the McKenzie River Trail, the day had been nice and sunny. But now, the sun had slid behind the canyon walls and it was getting to be both dark and cold. But that's what ISO settings on the camera are for and we still continued to bushwhack down to the river for shots of the turbulent white water where the river careened down the canyon. Oh, and there were those two waterfall thingies too; we availed ourselves of the strategically sited (and railed too, darn it) viewpoints to admire and photograph the roaring cascades of Sahalie and Koosah Falls.

Cascade on the McKenzie 

We returned to the trailhead at Carmen Reservoir at pretty much sunset, fully sated from a scenic hike on a perfect day. For more photographs of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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Clear Lake

"Now, let me make one thing perfectly clear..." I may be dating myself by quoting Richard Nixon but the irony is that Richard Nixon's downfall was that he did not make things perfectly clear when he should have. But, if there is one thing perfectly clear in this world, it is Clear Lake. The lake is fed by an underground river that is filtered by miles and miles of porous lava, leaving the lake's waters clearer, purer, and more pristine than any presidential cover-up could ever hope to be.

Warm, but not yet hot

This was late June and it was hot, but not as hot as it was going to get in a few days hence. The temperature topped out somewhere in the high 90's which is plenty warm when exercising under a blazing sun. However, on the west side of Clear Lake, the trail was wonderfully shaded by tall trees, warding off some of that high-90's heat.

Columbia windflower was a common sight

I'm also glad to report the mosquitoes were virtually non-existent. We had more snowfall than normal this last winter; I've been expecting an onslaught of insectile vampiritude with the advent of melting snow. Spring was in full song, what with the forest carpeted with Columbia windflower, lupine, huckleberry. and queen's cup all abloom. Both Fish Lake Creek and Ikenick Creek were flowing fast and clear with spring runoff, and the forest was filled with the musical tinkling of the streams. So, with spring going at it the way it was, I'm not sure why no mosquitoes but hey, I'll take it. 

What, you were expecting a bikini photo?

Other hikers were out and about, too, I ran into one young lady hiking in a bikini. Because I looked into her eyes the entire time I chatted with her, I didn't really notice the bikini was a Pink Mink product manufactured in Bangladesh, with orange, white, and yellow polka dots on a brown background;, and also sporting a white frill edged in red and brown stripes with little yellow daisies having green centers in between the stripes. I also ran into a guy hiking barefoot, he said he just felt more comfortable hiking shoeless. Yikes. Later in the hike, I would run into him in the middle of the jagged lava fields, as we had each hiked around the lake in opposite directions. The slacker had his shoes on too, apparently hiking barefoot through sharp and jagged rocks is not all that comfortable.

Fish Lake Creek

The basic loop around Clear Lake is fairly short, being just over 5 miles long. So, for some extra mileage, at Fish Lake Creek I made a left turn onto the McKenzie River Trail with the intent of hiking a couple of miles to Fish Lake. This section of the McKenzie River Trail was a pleasant amble through lovely shaded forest with the rushing creek always heard and occasionally seen just off trail.

Just gotta love those vine maples

And now a word about the vine maples. The ubiquitous vine maples were all leafed out and a virtual galaxy of seven-pointed leaves were lit up by the sun while I enjoyed the deep shade underneath. The trail had that green illumination from the light of a million little green stars and my progress was slow as I obsessively photographed the glowing canopy.  

Just a gorgeous day for a hike

A short mile of hiking brought me to the Upper McKenzie River Trailhead and I walked down a gravel road to the McKenzie Highway. My planned (if you can call it that!) route to Fish Lake required a cross-country bushwhack from the highway. However, the harsh reality was that I was confronted with a rushing creek, thick brush, and water in a standing marsh; all between me and hidden Fish Lake. Just call me defeated; it was back to the trailhead for me.

Swimming hole on Fish Lake Creek

The McKenzie River Trail officially begins at the upper trailhead and the iconic trail is famed as a mountain bike ride. Accordingly, there was a group of bikers lazing in the shade, eating lunch and chatting animatedly. My ears perked up, because they were speaking my other native language. Turned out they were from Guanajuato, Mexico and were on a mountain biking vacation in the Pacific Northwest. 

First clear look at Clear Lake

At the north end of Clear Lake, the lake finally made an appearance and the tips of Belknap Crater, the Three Sisters, and Mount Washington all made brief cameo appearances over the far end of the lake. Clear Lake is the source of the McKenzie River, which comes up out of the ground, fully formed, at the Great Spring. Filtered by porous lava soils, the water is as pure and as clear as Richard Nixon was not. The water also comes up a uniform 36 degrees all year so the lake never freezes over during winter.

"Let me make one thing perfectly clear..."

The Great Spring would be cool enough as simply being the source of the McKenzie River, but oh, that blue color! The spring, besides being remarkably clear, is a deep sapphire hue, probably in relation to both the purity and the minerals from the lava soil. Clear Lake inherits the clarity of the spring and I daresay you could drop a dime in the middle of the lake and be able to tell whether it comes up heads or tails on the bottom of the lake.

Clear Lake, perfectly clear

Now on the east side of the lake, it was time to say goodbye to the cool shade and experience the heat that can only be experienced when hiking on a hot day in acres of black lava rock. These lava flows emanate from Mount Washington and the sunlight ricocheting on all the dark rock made it feel like it was 150 degrees. On the plus side, great views of the lake were to be had as there was no forest to get in the way.

King of Clear Lake

There was a tall snag with ghostly fingers reaching up to the blue sky; it seemed photogenic so I pointed the camera at it. But wait a minute, what is that thing on top that I was looking at through the viewfinder? It was a bald eagle, looking all regal like he was the self-proclaimed King of Clear Lake. It's always a thrill to see one of these magnificent creatures in the wild, and I had no one to share the experience with. But at that moment, a hiking couple came up the trail and I pantomimed "shhh..." and then pointed up to the tree. They saw the eagle and made silent hand-claps in my direction, that was my good deed for the day.

Where Clear Lake ends and the McKenzie River starts

Just as I was really beginning to hate the hot sun, the trail dropped back into the forest and rounded the south end of Clear Lake. A stout footbridge crossed over the lake's outlet, also known as the McKenzie River. It was amazing to watch the water flow of the river and realize that same flow (plus a creek or two) came from the Great Spring.

CCC Shelter at the trailhead

By now, it was late afternoon, and the sun slanted through the trees while the shadows lengthened. And best of all, the temperature was dropping, making the hiking eminently pleasant. Arrival at the rustic CCC shelter, now a picnic area, wrapped up this hike which wound up being mostly a pleasant heat-beater on warm sunny day.

The trail sliced through all the greenery

In closing, Richard Nixon once said "Let me make one thing perfectly clear..." Now, he could very well have been referring to Clear Lake but the full quote is "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I wouldn't want to wake up next to a lady pipefitter". Way harsh, and in defense of all my lady pipefitter friends, Nixon wasn't a very nice man and the truth of that little factoid is as clear as the clear waters of Clear Lake.

I only took several thousand vine maple photographs

For more pictures of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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