ABIQUA
Every
summer Christy and I take a big trip somewhere exotic – usually in the western
U.S. Normally I plan out every detail of
these trips well in advance. Last year’s
trip to Alaska was a prime example. Due
to complicated logistics, almost every minute of every day was pre-planned.
This year was a little different. There
were a couple of reasons. First, I
wanted to have some flexibility with this trip.
Also, I was simply too busy in the months leading up to the trip to
spend that much time working out every detail.
This year, I planned some of the trip, particularly in the first two
weeks. After that, I left a lot of it
open. We’d wait and see what we wanted
to do as the trip evolved depending on conditions, our mood, weather, and whim. That isn’t to say that that we walked off the
plane without a clue what we wanted to do.
I put together a massive spreadsheet with loads of ideas – enough to
keep us busy for months. Each idea had a
link to a webpage with details, directions, maps, etc. I loaded the spreadsheet onto my phone so
that it would be easily accessible. When
we arrived in a new area, I would simply take a look at the options and we’d go
from there.
This
year we decided to return to the Pacific Northwest. We picked this area for several reasons. First, two of our best friends, Brian and
Jill, live near Seattle. We hadn’t seen
them in years and their oldest daughter had just graduated from high school. They’d also had a baby a year earlier. Meanwhile, one of Christy’s former students
and cross country runners, Kenyetta, was competing in
the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon the first weekend of July. If she did well, she would qualify for the
Olympics in Rio. Christy wanted to be
there to watch her compete. Oh, and Oregon
and Washington have beautiful mountains, incredible waterfalls, vast rain
forests, and the wildest beaches in the contiguous United States. Those factors may have entered into our
decision a little bit, too.
The
beginning of our trip ended up being a little complicated. Kenyetta’s first
race was on Friday afternoon. If she
advanced, the next would be on Saturday, with the finals on Monday. Due to work obligations, I couldn’t get there
until Saturday afternoon. Christy didn’t
want to miss any of the races. So, we
booked Christy’s flight to Portland for Thursday evening. She would get a hotel Thursday night and then
pick up the rental car on Friday morning.
She would then drive to Eugene and check into the campground at Baker
Bay County Park. I reserved that well in
advance, as it was a holiday weekend. After
Saturday’s race Christy would drive back to Portland and pick me up at the
airport. Simple, right?
There
was one additional complication. Renting
a car from the airport means paying a lot more in taxes. In Portland, it worked out to about $100 per
week, or $400 for the whole trip. So we
reserved a car from an off-airport location.
Christy would just have to take an Uber from the hotel to Avis to get
the car Friday morning. In an ironic twist,
our rental car, a Ford Fusion, had North Carolina plates. Go figure.
Believe
it or not, all of that went smoothly.
Christy even bought tickets for the Olympic Trials at a discount from
someone she met on the plane. My flights
were pleasant, and Christy picked me up at the Portland early Saturday
afternoon. The only downside was that Kenyetta had a disappointing race on Friday and didn’t
qualify for the semifinals.
My
original plan for Saturday afternoon was a brief visit to Cannon Beach and
Haystack Rock. We started in the
direction, but traffic was heavy and the drive was taking an eternity. The more I thought about it, the more I
realized that it was a terrible idea. We
would only have a few hours to spend there, and then there would be a long
drive to Eugene. Our first act of
improvisation was a U-turn on the outskirts of Portland. We headed back into town and decided to get a
beer. While Christy was driving Google
found a brewery, Groundbreaker, that is entirely
gluten-free. Christy was thrilled. She used to love beer, but has missed it ever
since she found out that she is allergic to gluten. Groundbreaker turned out to be a very
relaxing place. The beer was actually
good (it was the first gluten-free beer I’ve had that I enjoyed) and the pizza and
fish tacos were excellent.
The
time we killed at the brewery turned out to be quite strategic. On the way to Eugene we went a bit out of the
way to do a short hike to Abiqua Falls. This waterfall was at the top of my wish
list, but its location east of Salem, Oregon meant that the first day of the
trip would be the only convenient day to visit it. We made a long drive down a back road into
the middle of nowhere, and then started down a dirt road that I’d heard was
rough. The first mile was fine. Then we reached a large parking area with
lots of cars, and more cars parked on the shoulder of the road. According to my info, we were still a mile
from the trailhead. We saw some folks
walking up the road and asked them what it was like ahead. They said that we would never make it in our
rental car, so we parked there. We only
had to walk a mile on the road, and then the hike itself would be less than a
mile to the falls. It was well into the
evening, but we had plenty of daylight to work with.
We
passed hordes of people heading out. The
trail down was very steep in two places, but there were fixed ropes in places
to assist us. By the time we reached the
creek the canyon was in the shade. The
hike upstream from that point to the falls as actually a little tricky, with
some rocky sections and fallen trees to negotiate. Christy actually opted to wade in the creek
to avoid one particularly difficult section. By the time we reached the falls
everyone else had left and the light was perfect for photography. Our timing couldn’t have been better. I give all the credit to that second beer we
had at Groundbreaker.
Sometimes
when I visit a waterfall or other natural feature for the first time I take
photos from lots of different vantage points.
Not this time. As soon as I
arrived, I knew I wanted to shoot from the far side of the creek. From there I could include the creek and pool
in the foreground of my photos. Ultimately
that was the only place I took photos from.
Abiqua Falls is a beauty. It is a 100’ sheer drop into an amphitheater formed
by basalt columns. The property is owned
by the Abbey Foundation of Oregon, but it is open to the public. The Abbey Foundation of Oregon should
be commended for allowing public access.
The
hike out was quick. We stopped at Red
Robin in Salem for a late dinner, picked up a few groceries, and drove to our
campsite at Baker Bay outside of Eugene.
It was nearly midnight when we arrived, and I had been awake for about
21 straight hours!
MCKENZIE AND SILVER
We
had two full days in the Eugene area and no firm plans. On Sunday Christy decided to go mountain
biking. Her choice was a long ride on
the McKenzie River Trail. It sounded
like a world-class mountain biking ride featuring alpine lakes, swimming holes,
waterfalls, and a raging whitewater river.
She had flirted with the idea of shipping her bike out to Oregon for the
trip, but had ultimately decided against it.
Instead, she’d found a lodge near the end of the trail that rents bikes
and provides a shuttle service. She had
reserved a bike the previous afternoon.
We got a late start and she missed the shuttle, but that didn’t
matter. It was no problem for me to drop
her off.
The
rental was a bit expensive and the ride sounded like it was beyond my level of
skill and endurance. I decided to visit
Silver Falls State Park near Salem while Christy was riding. That park features an 8-mile loop hike that
passes 10 waterfalls! They aren’t little
cascades, either. Five of them are over
90’ high, and most of them are on large streams. Four of them have caverns or grottos behind
them, too. Although the park is very
popular and it was a holiday weekend, the destination was too compelling to
pass up.
We
had our first setback during breakfast.
The coffee I’d grabbed at the store the night before was whole bean
coffee. Oops. We stopped at Dutch Brothers Coffee outside
of Eugene on our way to the McKenzie River.
Since it was our first visit there, our coffee was free! I’m still not sure why I didn’t order a
latte.
The
drive from Baker Bay to the McKenzie River Mountain Resort took an hour. Once there, Christy got outfitted with a
bike. We eventually got it in the rental
car and I drove her up to the starting point near Clear Lake. I made sure she was all set before I
left. Although the trail is fairly close
to a major road most of the time, she was still fully committed. There was no cell service along there,
either.
From
there I drove straight to Silver Falls State Park. It was around noon when I arrived, and the
park was packed! I paid the $5 entrance
fee and eventually found a place to park and started my hike. A mellow walk through the woods led past the
brink of Winter Falls. Winter Falls is
one of the 10 on the loop, but it is seasonal.
There was just a trickle of water splashing over the cliff. Fortunately the other 9 waterfalls were more
impressive.
First
up was North Falls, which is on the North Fork of the Silver River. It is downstream from Upper North Falls and
upstream from Middle North Falls and Lower North Falls. At this point you are probably thinking that
this area could use more creative names.
I can’t argue with that. At least
the waterfalls on the North Fork are easy to distinguish from the waterfalls on
the South Fork. It is pretty easy to
keep South Falls and Lower South Falls straight.
First
up was North Falls. The initial view was
from across the canyon, and it gave a great overview of it. After that first peek thick forest hid it from
view. When I reached the creek I
completely failed to realize that Upper North Falls was upstream. I headed downstream toward North Falls, not
realizing my mistake. At the end of the
hike I drove back over to another trailhead and made the quick walk up to Upper
North Falls. If I’m doing the Trail of
Ten Falls, I’m going to visit all 10!
A
steep descent brought me to North Falls.
It drops 136’, and the trail passes behind the waterfall through an
immense cavern. I stopped there for
lunch and enjoyed the view out through the veil of water. This waterfall reminded me of a bigger
version of Dry Falls near Highlands.
Most
of the hike was extremely busy, and this area was no exception. I was expecting that though, as the hiking is
easy, the park is just outside of Oregon’s capital, and it was a holiday
weekend. Dodging traffic was tedious at
times, but it was nice to see so many people out enjoying nature.
After
lunch I headed downstream. I passed Twin
Falls, which is fairly small and hard to view.
A bit farther down is Middle North Falls. This one is a like a somewhat smaller version
of North Falls, though it is still 100’ high.
The trail passes behind this one, too, though there is no massive cavern
like at North Falls. Middle North Falls
is quite scenic, and it was one of my favorites from the day.
Downstream
from there is Drake Falls, which is also fairly small. A short walk up a spur trail then took me to
Double Falls. This one is on a low
volume stream, but at 178’ high, it is still quite impressive. Back on the main trail I quickly arrived at
Lower North Falls. This one is also
rather difficult to view due to numerous trees between the falls and the trail.
From
there the trail climbs up and away from the North Fork and traverses over to
the South Fork. A short distance
upstream on the South Fork is Lower South Falls. This one is impressive, but the light there
was terrible for viewing and photography.
It was a sunny day, and the poor light and crowds were not conducive to
photography.
From
there it isn’t far to South Falls. South
Falls is probably the most famous waterfall in the park, and for good
reason. It is a 177” freefall, and it is
a beauty. Like North Falls, there is a
cavern behind it that is easily accessible.
While the light had been terrible at Lower South Falls, it was actually
decent here. My best photos of the day
were of South Falls, and I was glad I’d saved it for last.
From
there a short hike returned me to my car.
It was a long drive back to the McKenzie River Mountain Resort. Along the way I got a text from Christy
saying that she was way behind schedule.
The ride turned out to be much more difficult than expected. When I reached the resort she wasn’t
there. I thought about driving up the
highway to look for her, as she had to ride several miles on the road from the
end of the trail back to the resort.
Based on her text though, I figured she would arrive at any minute. I ended up waiting almost 30 minutes, and she
pulled in shortly before dark. It was
another late night returning to the campground for us, and this time we cooked
dinner when we got back! Fortunately we
had a rather relaxing day planned for Monday.
Back to Oregon.
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!