Semi-Wild!

A Ray of Sunshine! McKenzie River, Oregon.

Our latest adventure was not an exploration of earth’s wildest places. Not even close!

Yes, we needed to endure mosquito bites (one) and sunburn, but there was no drama attached to this journey. No floods, heavy snow… not even rain until we were almost home. We actually had sunny warm weather. It was, to be honest, downright civilized.

A few health issues (hopefully almost gone) had kept me at home for the past several months, and I really needed to get away. My wife Stephanie needed that as well, maybe (probably) due to putting up with me for that same timeframe.

Upstream! McKenzie River, Oregon.

The question was where to go?

When I first moved to the Pacific Northwest, I learned that while rain can sometimes dampen your enthusiasm, it also brings rainbows, flowers, and snow in the mountains. And rain charges up nearby river systems necessary for fish, agriculture, drinking water, paddling, and, if you are like me, for beauty and a sense of well-being. You just need to look for the upside. Spring, rain, northwest! It was a no-brainer – we were off to chase waterfalls and spend our week seeking gradient and flowing rivers!

"I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding."

John O'Donohue, Irish poet and philosopher.

Koosah Falls! McKenzie River, Oregon.

Living in Washington State, we are in waterfall heaven with nearly 3,000 catalogued falls, one of the highest concentrations of waterfalls in the United States. Many are located in the Olympic, Mt. Rainier or North Cascades National Parks, but even our local Whatcom Creek, about two miles from our home, has just magnificent, cascading drops.

But we were looking to get away for a while, with a not too close and not too far destination. We headed for Oregon.

McKenzie River Flow! Oregon.

Oregon may have fewer falls than Washington (roughly 200 named), but many of them are located in close proximity. Great for a quick getaway. The Columbia Gorge and Silver Falls, Oregon’s largest state park are good examples. Having been to the Gorge many times we started our trip at Silver Falls and the Trail of Ten Waterfalls. There was enough water to make each waterfall spectacular, and the surrounding trees and moss provided the perfect frame for photographs. We even saw a small bear along the road on our first evening. Black bears are common in Oregon, but rarely seen. The ranger at the park had never seen one and was super-jealous.

Upper Molalla River, Oregon.

And while Oregon has fewer waterfalls, it has more river miles than Washington State (over 110,994). Both states have beautiful, outstanding rivers, but Oregon has over 2,300 miles of protected waterways and leads the nation with sixty-eight federally designated Wild & Scenic Rivers.

Silver Falls State Park! South Silver Creek. Oregon.

So we spent much of our time exploring some of these river systems. The goal was to find waterfalls but more importantly to just spend time beside the river. Rivers have played such a big role in both my life and Stephanie’s that having a full week to just drive and hike along rivers, camera in hand, was just really special. We started with a quick trip to Beaver Creek Falls north of Portland (where I found my limits to hiking right now – too steep for my first hike). Then to the South Fork of Silver Creek and the Molalla River, with its headwaters in the Cascade Range and the Table Rock Wilderness, both of which are part of the Pudding River Watershed and eventually wind their way to the Willamette. A bit further south, we followed the McKensie River and the McKensie River National Recreation Trail to view Sahalie and Koosah Falls (“Heaven” and “Sky” in the Chinook language).

Landing Zone! South Silver Creek. Oregon.

Maybe not earth’s wildest places, but the rivers we visited during this week, especially in the upper headwaters of the Molalla and McKensie, were wild in the way of rivers. Clean, free-flowing riffles, cataracts, waterfalls; translucent blue and green pools and eddies; aerated, white, and turbulent rapids. Water moving downhill, enclosed within the ferns, mosses, and trees of the dense, fir-heavy Cascade forest. Back now at home, we can still close our eyes and see, smell, and hear the rushing waters carrying pressures and anxiety away.

Middle North Falls! Silver Falls State Park. Oregon.

Silver Creek, Molalla, McKensie, all are formed from basalt and obsidian volcanic rock that creates exceptionally clear water – standing on the river’s edge, just a few steps from the rushing water, we were able to see the swirling colors and textures of sand and rock along the bottom. Just wonderful.

When I dream of the wildest rivers, I think of Tibet’s Yarlung Zangbo or Peru’s Colca and Catahuasi Canyons. Deep, intense, untouched wilderness that I may never get the opportunity to visit. Or Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon, British Columbia’s Stikine, Alaska’s Yukon, places I have been and that are equally wild and beautiful.

These Oregon rivers, all within a few hours of Portland, are not that level of wild. But on a weekday, early in the season, before the crowds of recreation users and tourist's arrive, we were able to stand alongside the river and feel, if just for a moment, that promise of wild that every river brings!

We are wishing you the peace, serenity (and thrill) of rivers and flowing waters!

"The river is everywhere at once, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the rapids, in the sea, in the mountains, everywhere at once, and there is only the present time for it, not the shadow of the past."

Hermann Hesse, "Siddhartha."