Though it was tough, we left the Oregon Coast to go inland to Oakridge. We spent four great days hanging out with Arleen’s friends Pat and Don and exploring this outdoors paradise. We could hang out here for awhile. There are hundreds of miles of trails, good fishing in numerous streams and lakes, kayaking, and even a little ski area I could get to know intimately. The climate is moderate and the area is beautiful.
The campground was right on the river. We had full hook ups, wi-fi, and a good cell phone signal…perfect! The raging river was right outside our front window and lulled us to sleep each night.
The Willamette River outside our front window
Arleen met Pat and Don when she rented their little house in North Pole, Alaska about 15 years ago. They adopted Arleen like they have many other fortunate folks along the way. Their hospitality was outstanding and appreciated. Don shared his knowledge of the local area and Pat shared her amazing seafood chowder and apple pie. I enjoyed fishing the Willamette River right outside their back door. And Arleen enjoyed a nice, hot bubble bath in their comfortable tub.
We went on two hikes. It was hard choosing just a couple of short routes from the hundreds of miles of trails in the area. Oakridge bills itself as the “Mountain Bike Capitol of the Northwest” and we could see why. You could spend years riding the trails without repeating any of them. The trail map we have rates the trails as “easy”, “intermediate”, “advanced”, “expert”, just like ski trails. All of the trails are open to hikers and many of them are open to horses. You just have to keep your eyes and ears open for others folks on the trail.
Our first hike was along the North Fork of the Middle Fork Willamette River. We parked in Westfir and walked across the “Office” covered bridge. The colorful red bridge is the longest covered bridge in Oregon. There is something very appealing and alluring about these bridges. It was a pleasure to slowly walk through it. We walked about two miles along the river. The clear water was nearly always in view and the river provided a pleasant rushing sound backdrop. The fall colors were revving up. The yellows and oranges contrasted beautifully with the pine and fir trees. In the trail were a couple of large piles of seed filled bear poop that put us on alert. We looked for chanterelle mushrooms, but they were impossible to find amongst all of the brightly colored leaves.
Our second hike was up Aubrey Mountain just east of Oakridge. It was 5 miles round trip and included about 1500 feet of climbing to the nearly 3000 foot top. The weather was dreary with the temperature around 40F and occasional rain. The aerobic workout on the way up kept us warm, but we got chilled a little each time we slowed down. We hoped to find a pound or two of mushrooms but only managed to find a few. There were areas that looked great for shrooms. Somebody else probably beat us to them! Near the top was a grove of young maple trees tucked under tall pines. Their delicate yellow leaves were very pretty and really stood out under the dark canopy. We had been warned a couple of times about cougars in the area. We didn’t see any sign of them, but something eerie happened. Twice on our way down, there were picked mushrooms in the middle of the trail. We would have noticed them on the way up…they were obvious. We didn’t see or hear anyone else the entire time. It was a bit spooky. Our theory is that someone else was on the mountain, found the mushrooms, put them in the trail, and planned to pick them up on the way down. We kept two of them and should thank the mysterious mushroom stalker… or Sasquatch?
We enjoyed a soak in a hot springs on Salt Creek. The air temperature was about 40F and it was raining. It didn’t matter as long as we stayed in the warm water. The water temperature varied considerably from too hot to luke warm. We’d stirred it up and stayed very comfortable.
Salt Creek Falls was very impressive. It’s the second tallest waterfall in Oregon. The water cascades 286 feet into a pretty moss and fern filled bowl. There was about 3 inches of fresh snow covering the trees making it even more photogenic.
I found a beaver chewed stick for my four-legged friend. He could barely get the large stick in his mouth. It was also water-logged and quite heavy. It didn’t stop him though…
I fished the river near the campground and at Pat and Don’s house. It was a miniscule sampling of the many miles of river in the area. I managed to catch one small cutthroat trout. Don told me stories of 18-22 inch rainbow and cutthroat trout swimming in his backyard. Someday I’ll confirm it myself!
Thanks again to Pat and Don! It might be a few years, but we’ll be back. Next we return to the coast. We will spend a week at Umpqua State Park near Reedsport and Winchester Bay. We’ll play in the Dunes and thoroughly explore the lighthouse in our back yard.
See the rainbow?
Is Salt Creek salty at all, or is that just the name of it?
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