The drive to the hiking spot is sometimes almost as fun as the hike for me. The hike that I'm on today is about an hour east of Eugene along Oregon Highway 126. If you haven't been to Oregon, most people live in the Willamette Valley, and to go east or west anywhere, you have to drive through mountains. This drive takes me into the Cascade Mountain Range. The road itself twists and turns following the McKenzie River. It reminds me of the times we traveled with my parents and my dad always wanted to take the long and curvy scenic route. There are numerous small waterfalls coming down the cliffs alongside the road. In my home state, there would definitely be a spot to stop and check them out. It must be because they are so numerous in this state, but there's no place to stop, and one can only get quick glimpses of them. The road passes numerous small towns situated along the Mckenzie River, and many cabins and homes on the banks of the river. The river is a very popular one for kayakers, rafters and fishermen. Even though its rainy today, I see quite a few people enjoying the river as I drive by.
I take my dog, Cooper, with me on most of my hikes. He loves new smells and new sights, so going on these hikes make him very excited and happy. He's a small rat terrier, and for some odd reason, people think he's too small to be hiking. I can hear the Sahalie Falls right away from the parking lot. I walk a few hundred feet and there they are. The cool thing about the Mckenzie River to me is that its only 90 miles long. It flows out of Clear Lake, and then into the Willamette River in Eugene. The river starts flowing underground a little bit after the Koosah Falls, and than reappears above ground at the Blue Pool. It flows underground through lava tubes, where the lava on top cooled first and hardened, leaving the lava underneath to keep flowing.
Sahalie Falls is breathtaking, it is one big powerful waterfall, and I can see why so many people come to see it. After checking the map near the falls, I decide to hike further east to Clear Lake, instead of going west to Koosah Falls. Clear Lake was created with volcanic activity, and the water that feeds into it flows through underground caverns for up to 20 years before making it to the lake. Because of how and where the lake was formed, the lake is very clear, hence the name, but there is also a strand of trees submerged 100 feet below the water that were killed when the lake was formed. The real adventurous can scuba dive and see the trees for themselves.
I'm absolutely enthralled by all this. Growing up in the Midwest, volcanoes seemed like some foreign far away thing that I would never really see. Now here I am in Oregon, where volcanoes shaped and continue to shape so much of the state. A river flowing in lava tubes? The 12 year old in me is amazed. After the brief sojourn to the lake, I head back to Sahalie Falls, and continue west to Koosah Falls. These falls are a short walk down the the path from Sahalie Falls. Along the way, I stop to view the McKenzie from numerous vantage points. I can't believe how blue and clear the water is. I guess I'm just used to the muddy bottom rivers back home. Its still weird to me being able to see the bottom here so easily. Koosah Falls isn't as close to the path, but the vantage point of the falls gets me a nice view. I am content and happy that I hiked through the rain today to see these wonderful falls and this wonderful river.
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