Spring Break 2009 (Part 1)
Hot Springs Loop (3-22-09)
Spring break was marked by below-average temperatures and rain on all but two days - but I didn't let that change my plans. On the first Sunday, after Ali set off for backpacking in northern California, I headed east, intending to stop at Sahalie Falls and Cougar hot springs. Tombstone Pass on Hwy 20 was snow-packed, but with everyone driving slow it wasn't particularly stressful. Only the top ~10 miles had snow, with a low temperature of 29 degrees at the summit.
Plowed banks get REALLY tall in the Cascades!
Looking back over the pass summit.
Looking east. (This is not the Cascade summit - that is at Santiam Pass (4817 ft) 15 miles east of here.)
Sahalie Falls on the McKenzie River.
Deer Creek hot springs - beautiful but cold (~65 degrees) with all of the meltwater dripping into the pool.
Driving south on Hwy 126 near Belknap Springs
Heavy snow shower on the road to Cougar.
This large (~4 ft diameter) fir tree fell right across the springs in a winter storm, knocking over the clothes shelter.
Rider Creek Falls (on the trail to Cougar) after a snow shower.
Cougar Reservoir.
Looking north.