Thursday morning we headed back to Highway 126 and travelled east about 15
miles to hike two portions of the McKenzie River National Recreation
Trail. The first section took us on a 4
mile round trip to Tamolitch or Blue Pool.
Tamolitch is a gorgeous breathtakingly blue pool of water that emerges
from lava tubes and underground caverns beneath the McKenzie River. 1500 years ago lava flows crossed the
McKenzie river and blocked part of the river bed changing the course. Above the Blue Pool, the McKenzie River
disappears into the porous lava rock underground and then it resurfaces at
Tamolitch.
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| Tamolitch (Blue Pool) |
Our stay in the Willamette Forest brought a welcome change from the windy
and cool weather at the coast. The sun
warmed our bones and we were hiking in shorts, something we haven’t done in
several weeks. We ate our lunch beside the quiet navy blue pool of cold water and
drank in the coolness of the air. It
felt great.
Next we hopped in the car and drove to our second leg of the
McKenzie River National Recreation Trail, a 3 mile loop hike to two waterfalls,
Koomah and Sahalie. This trail was shadier and again the air was cooled by the
cold McKenzie River and the nearness of the two falls. The loop trail allowed us to hike up one side
of the two falls, cross the river and then hike back down on the other side of
the falls. It was just beautiful to get
two views of the falls.
Koosah Falls
Sahalie Falls
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