As Vicki and I drove upstream along the McKenzie River we visited Bigelow Hot Spring and two large waterfalls, Sahalie Falls and Koosah Falls, on our way to cross back over to the east side of the Cascades at Santiam Pass.
All we knew about Bigelow Hot Spring was its location on the map, so we crossed the river on a side road and found a parking spot. The location appeared to be just downstream of the bridge, so we followed the fishermen’s path along the edge of the river, which was flowing quite strong and wide in mid-June 2023. It had been a good Winter for rain and snow in the Oregon Cascades.
We saw a young man at what had to be the spring. He was tossing stones out of a pool of water, creating a rim around the bowl. We introduced ourselves. He said that he hung out there regularly, and that the river was now low enough to work on the pool, which had refilled with river rocks during high water. This pool, however, was merely the outer, cool pool for the main hot spring, which was partly underneath the clifflike bank of the river, deep in the shade of some trees. We examined it. The water was a bit cloudy, as is typical with hot springs, and was being fed from the bank, with droplets falling down from above. A faint steam rose from the surface. We didn’t enter the water but we did test it, and it was plenty warm. It was quite the idyllic spot.
We didn’t stay there very long, as we weren’t really dressed for bathing. Or undressed, as the case may be, We wished him luck and hiked back to the car.
Next stop: Sahalie Falls. We parked in the official roadside lot and headed upstream on a paved walkway toward the falls. We could hear the booming from a distance. And then it came into view. All of the water of the McKenzie River was launching out with a tremendous roar onto the riverbed below. Impressive! Mist rose up as the falling water created its own breeze.
I was glad that we arrived after noon, as the lighting would have been horrible in the morning. I took far too many photos and videos as we continued up the path. Eventually, the trail climbed around to a point just above the falls. Along the way, we found the spot where the rainbow appeared in the mist. Nice! We also reached a place where we could only see the lip of the falls from above. This is the least satisfying position for viewing a waterfall, yet we always check them out from there anyway, if we have a chance. You might think we’d learn. But no.
We noticed that there was a trail leading downstream to another waterfall, Koosah Falls. This sounded like a good excuse to take another dayhike! Until we read a description indicating that the trail itself was quite steep, and consisted of many steps. Vicki’s knees clamored for attention: “No!” they vehemently insisted. “This is a bad idea.” Vicki agreed with them. So we got back in the car and drove down the road a short distance to the official parking lot. Then we walked along the high bank of the river on the smooth pathway to the waterfall. Google says that it was 70 feet tall, which seems about right. We had fun taking photos and videos, and even got another tourist to take our picture. We don’t get that chance very often. We would have been happy to hang out there all day, as we love waterfalls. But we couldn’t stay forever.
Our big plan was to head east over Santiam Pass, back to the opposite side of the Oregon Cascades. Then we would head further north toward the next big volcano, Mount Hood. We drove north, then turned right, leaving the McKenzie River behind us, and headed for the pass. As we neared it, we saw a campground and lake on the left. Our tummies told us that we were long overdue to eat lunch. So we pulled into the Lost Lake Campground. It was totally empty that day, so we picked a spot with a picnic table and took a relaxing lunch break. We even got to see a family of Canadian Geese! It was fun to watch the little ones swimming along with mom and dad.
My other goal for the day was to visit the Pacific Crest Trail trailhead at Santiam Pass. Ever since I stopped my thru hike last month, I’ve been longing for the backpacking life, and thus far Vicki and I managed to stop at nearly every PCT road crossing we could find along the way. In this part of Central Oregon, the trial spent most of its time within vast Wilderness Areas, where no wheels or motors are allowed. For me, this was yet another chance to walk the trail, even if it was only for a short distance.
By this time it was midafternoon, so we headed further east to US 97, then north once again. We wanted to get as close to Mount Hood as possible. Along the way, Vicki made reservations for tomorrow morning’s Breakfast Buffet at Timberline Lodge, which is known for having the “best breakfast on the PCT” so I was assured of visiting the trail again soon.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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