On Friday afternoon, I am surprised to see my wife holding flowers outside of my office. She says, "Get your things - we're leaving for the weekend." I grab my bag enthusiastically, unsure of where we are headed. We pick up a coffee and Lindsay shares that we are off to the McKenzie River - a 90 mile tributary of the Willamette River in the Western Cascades - for the weekend to celebrate my 30th birthday. I can think of no better way to celebrate than spending a weekend in the woods hiking and evenings in a cozy cabin by the river eating delicious food with the best company.
We wake Saturday to partly cloudy skies and the impressive sound of the McKenzie River rushing by. For a minute I forget where I am and then a smile comes to my face as I remember. The weather forecast looks superb - high of mid-70s and partly sunny. Our plan for the day is to hike about four miles south along the river, passing Sahalie Falls and Koosah Falls, to the popular Blue Pool.
We leave for the trailhead early, hoping to beat the crowds who will undoubtedly visit the river later in the day. We find only a few other cars in the lot and a family taking selfies at Sahalie Falls.
We snap a quick photo of the falls and then are on our way down the trail. As we walk through the old growth forest along the river, I find myself traveling back in time.
Our first backpacking trip together (in fact, the first for each of us) was a three-day, two-night trek of the entire 26.5 mile McKenzie River Trail on Memorial Day weekend in 2014. We lucked out with the weather and enjoyed sunny skies and cool nights by the river. Surprisingly, we encountered only a few other hikers along the majority of the trail and saw no other backpackers. The trail is popular for mountain bikers and, not surprisingly, we saw dozens of college kids at the popular dry Tamolitch Falls/Blue Pool. But, other than that, we enjoyed relative solitude. We scored incredible campsites both nights, and thus began our love affair with backpacking.
Although we were barely a mile from an established highway on that trip in 2014 and were certainly never in the wilderness, knowing that everything we needed for three days was on our backs was invigorating, inspiring, grounding. This ignited within me a deep passion for backpacking. For me, the McKenzie River Trail is symbolic of embarking on new and unknown journeys - together.
Back to the present: we continue walking and I remember that this is one of my favorite sections of the trail - marked by old growth forest, green moss for days, and the river carving its way through a narrow valley.
Soon enough we can hear the roar of Koosah Falls ahead of us.
Koosah Falls
We stop at a viewpoint to take in the falls and are soon on our way. Shortly after passing the viewpoint, we notice a trail that cuts through the trees down to the river's edge. Last time we were here we missed this so we are excited to check it out. We climb down a steep embankment and find ourselves in a magical place.
The water here is a stunning blue
We continue on the trail and soon are upon the Carmen Reservoir. Just beyond the reservoir a very odd thing happens - the river disappears and goes underground. For three miles. The evidence that a river used to run here is still evident, but the river is gone. Apparently, a lava flow 1,600 years ago buried the riverbed. We enjoy solitude over the next few miles, encountering only a few other hikers. We cross the dry river over a number of log bridges and make our way through dense forest.
A little over an hour later, we are at the dry Tamolitch Falls, more commonly known as Blue Pool. The river resurfaces here in a spectacular pool. We enjoy a snack and a short rest in the sun. I know if my Dad or brother were here they'd hike down to the 40 degree pool for a swim.
Sun's reflection in Blue Pool
Lindsay enjoys the view
After a nice rest, we return the way we came.
After our hike, we head to the Terwilliger Hot Springs to relax and soak our tired legs. We spend the afternoon reading by the McKenzie and Lindsay prepares crab cakes for dinner. A day well spent.
Sunday morning, we feast on poached eggs and leftover crab cakes to sustain us on another hike. We drive back towards the McKenzie River Recreation Area and head east of the river on the McKenzie Pass Scenic Highway. The highway is a seasonal road so it is closed 2.25 miles short of the Proxy Falls Trailhead. We hike up the road at a quick pace and are at the trailhead within 45 minutes. The trail to the Upper and Lower falls is a short 1.5 mile loop. We hike to the Upper Falls first and I am completely in awe of what we find. The falls cascades down a boulder-filled slope as the sun makes its way through the trees. The water pools at the base of the falls and seems to disappear - there is no stream - it apparently just seeps through the porous lava bed into the ground.
I enjoy a few minutes of the falls before the sun bursts through the trees
We make our way to Lower Proxy Falls (more commonly known as Proxy Falls) and pass a lone backpacker who had set up camp on a ridge across from the falls. What a place to spend the night.
We hike down to the falls and I am surprised by how massive it is - one stream cascades 226 feet, breaking into two streams as it falls gracefully down the mossy basalt. My camera dies right as we approach the falls, but I don't care.
I put on my raincoat and stand as close to the base of the falls as I can get without getting completely soaked. I stand there for a few minutes. My heart is full.
“I felt like lying down by the side of the trail and remembering it all. The woods do that to you, they always look familiar, long lost, like the face of a long-dead relative, like an old dream, like a piece of forgotten song drifting across the water, most of all like golden eternities of past childhood or past manhood and all the living and the dying and the heartbreak that went on a million years ago and the clouds as they pass overhead seem to testify (by their own lonesome familiarity) to this feeling.”
Distance covered over the weekend: 14.5 miles / Elevation: not much