{"id":38832,"date":"2026-06-02T05:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goatbells.blog\/?p=38832"},"modified":"2026-06-02T07:07:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:07:20","slug":"flowers-a-bridge-and-a-disappearing-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goatbells.blog\/?p=38832","title":{"rendered":"Flowers, a Bridge, and a Disappearing river"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Central cascades snowpack remains historically low and suggests that early June could be the start of Willamette National Forest’s great mosquito gauntlet – a couple weeks early traditionally. If you have not experienced that gauntlet, don’t … find another hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I headed to Mckenzie River trail<\/a> to add the lower, wild section downriver from Koosah Falls to Deer Creek Road – some of this had been closed to fire and just reopened with new bridge; combined with the Clear Lake<\/a> hike recently, this wraps up the best parts of Mckenzie River trail both directions in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bald eagle flew downriver looking for breakfast as I started … a good omen. Typical cascade song birds were plentiful with most Merlin recordings tagging >10 species each time. Sadly, the peregrine falcons from a couple years ago were neither seen nor heard around the rock escarmpent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wildflowers are nearly over but still enough to catch your eye just right<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the way upriver, nobody was at Blue Pool … just me. On the return, there were 50 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upriver from Blue Pool, the river disappears into a bog and goes for almost 3 miles underground. Here’s what that ‘bog’ looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Blue Pool where the water surfaces forming a huge bowl of crystal clear blue water, the Mckenzie ‘restarts’ above ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streams enter the river the entire way, some old dried out streams still have bridges. Most bridges are the 1 log with a railing, but his bridge is unique – like a Redwoods bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing on those bridges provides different perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While hiking Mckenzie River trail may not give cascade mountain vistas, the Mckenzie River seldom disappoints – constantly singing in rapids and falls, and never the same. Those sections (few) when the river disappears, so do the other humans leaving the hiker with the birds and trees. This hike was probably a week too late to catch the wild rhody peak given the warm weather, wildflowers still sparkled along the path. But when a bald eagle meets me as i start walking the river, the Mckenzie was the perfect hike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Route<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Started at Deer Creek Road (this avoid the lower, downriver section thru the resort and cabins, as well as those few sections hugging Hwy 126), and went upriver past Blue Pool, and then further to Koosah Falls<\/a>. Then, back same way downriver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n