North Umpqua Region, Oregon
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Three Waterfalls North Umpqua Region, Oregon |
April 18, 2017
Gary and I have traveled a long way to photograph some waterfalls. Constrained by existing reservations for lodging and whatnot, we have come despite the likelihood of a lot of rain during our trip. We'll just have to deal with it.
Up first on the Oregon docket is the North Umpqua River Recreation Area east of
Roseburg. We stop first in the little community of Glide, at a feature touted
as the only place in the world where two rivers merge head-on:
Colliding Rivers — Little River on the bottom, North Umpqua on the top
Depicting the old Indian village
The morning lighting is very nice
At our first trailhead, an old wooden diversion pipe still is in use.
The pipe is leaking
On the trail
Oregon Grape
Tree Lungwort
Just a teaser
And there is is. Oh, my!
Toketee Falls, 40' + 80'
A kayaker made a name for himself by plunging over those falls and surviving. I saw the video. His lunacy was less than half the record height, however.
I had not previously seen water plunging right over the
tops of some multi-sided basalt columns.
Spectacular
The next destination, just a few minutes distant, necessitates a moderately steep climb.
Reminiscent of New Zealand
Purple Deadnettle
Skunk Cabbage
More Lungwort fungi
Dwarf Oregon-grape
Getting closer
Watson Falls, 293' — 2nd highest in Oregon
The hours seem to have passed by quickly. There is time for just one more walk today.
This trail is wheelchair-accessible
Gary and I don't get far, however, before being waylaid by a plethora of trailside wildflowers. What a display!
Snow Queen
Oregon Fawn Lily
Western Trillium
also a Western Trillium
Violet
Calypso Orchid
A woman hiker identifies the orchid for us, claiming that it is endangered in Oregon; yet it is not. That variety, also known as Fairy Slipper, actually is rather common.
Even the leaves are interesting
Susan Creek Falls, 50'
The trail continues across the creek to another vantage point.
Gary sets up the big camera
The view downstream
§: What a great series of short walks this was! The
reward-to-effort ratio was exceptional. Also, the weather gods cooperated
by not sending down any rain until we had gotten back into the car for the return
trip. Inexplicably, there were very few hikers out today.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Flowers |  |
| Solitude | |
