The McKenzie River Trailhead to the Blue Pool in the Willamette National Forest was my adventure this afternoon.
This was, by far, my absolute favorite hike of the trip. Favorite. Hands down. No question. No hesitation. I'll remember this hike for the rest of my life.
This hike was EPIC! If you've read my PNW posts you'll notice I say that...a lot. But seriously. I was so blown away by this hike. I loved it. LOVED IT. I'd go back and do it again. Albeit I'd start in the morning so I could take more time. I started in the afternoon right before a rain storm. Not the greatest circumstances.
But anyway, here's my story of this magical and gorgeous hike.
I stopped at the McKenzie River Ranger Station and talked to a guide. I also bought a waterproof map of the area with trails marked. I find that when I’m hiking I feel safer if I have a map, if for some reason, I get lost. Not that I really worry about that but you never know so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
The ranger pointed me in the direction of the McKenzie River Trailhead. He said, since I had a time limit, I should walk that 4 mile round trip as it’s a hiker favorite. I figured I had enough time to hike that trail before the storm came in so I went that route.
It was about 45 degrees outside and it seemed cold so I put on my under armour pants and shirt, then my hiking shirt, my vest and my raincoat. I also had on wool socks and my hiking boots. Oh and my Twins stocking hat. I figured it’s better to dress in layers because you can always take them off. (Turns out I was right. I ended up getting hot and taking some of it off.)
There were 2 groups starting out ahead of me. 1 was a woman and man probably in their 40’s and a group of girls. One with a baby on her back.
I was glad to see others on this trail because hiking alone is dangerous so knowing that there are other people hiking the trail with you is comforting. If something happens it won’t be long before they find you.
At the start of my hike.
As I started out on the trail it was fairly easy. The narrow road was packed nicely with some rocks poking out. The river was beautiful, clear with huge boulders and dead trees covered in moss and grass. I stopped at least a dozen times to get pictures.
You start going downhill a bit passing over these bridges made of logs usually covering a small stream or part of the river.
To your right is the McKenzie River.
You weave back and forth across the river a couple of times which, for me, was a lot of fun. I love the wooden bridges made out of real logs and not square cut wood. It's rustic and realistic.
I love seeing these downed trees with roots exposed because you really start seeing how much a root system can spread underground.
In order to get this picture I balanced my camera on a down log with a piece of dead bark underneath it to prop it up. You get creative when you're by yourself. :)
Notice the trail? Doesn't look as easy anymore, does it? Nope, no sir-ee, it doesn't. Starting to get slightly more difficult. rocks, tree roots, mud, boulders, moss, lichens....
I'm not complaining, because it's all a part of the journey and the fun. I'm just pointing out the terrain changes. P.S. There is an old lava flow through here so the rock is very porous and easy to walk on. You don't slip.
I stopped a couple of times to walk down to the river and get some pictures. I probably could have walked across it, it wasn't too deep but I didn't have the right gear.
Notice how clear it is. You can see every single rock in the water.
This was part of my path down to the river.
Now the river starts to thin out a bit and I weave across it a few times.
I kept thinking, “God this is beautiful. The colors are so incredibly vivid. It’s like a technicolor movie.”
Movies like Tinkerbell and what Dreams May Come and Avatar and any movie that has a majestic forest background must have walked this path for their inspiration. It’s amazing. Crystal clear rushing water. Bright bright emerald green colors. Reddish colored trees. Moss. Lichens, Ferns, Plants galore. Part of me thought is this really real? It’s insane. It’s sick. It’s unbelievable. Why have I never heard of this before.
I decided that if fairies were real they would live in this beautiful forest.
I really truly love the covered rocks. It makes it so magical and ethereal.
Back over another bridge. Tred carefully though. The bridge was wet and it was raining so it was a tad bit slippery.
As I walked the road got rougher, muddier and more difficult. I started climbing up hills picking my way around water-filled mud puddles and lava rocks. Sometimes I had to climb off the path onto dead logs with moss growing on them or tip-toe along a rock path beside the mud pits. It was pretty tedious work and my legs were getting a workout.
After about a half mile I put my camera away because I got into a very difficult section where I needed to pay attention constantly. In fact, I stopped looking at my surroundings and just paid attention to the road ahead of me. There were rocks and tree roots everywhere and I was scared of tripping and falling, slipping, twisting my ankle or breaking something. I didn’t want to have my mind on trying to save my camera should any of those things occur.
Occasionally I noticed a hiker-made path going to the river and I would stop to take a break and check out the scenery. It was epic. I’m so glad I decided to take the hour and a half drive to this Forest and walk this path. It was work. No doubt about it but it was worth it. Worth every minute.
At about the mile mark I ran into a family. They moved off to the side, they had dogs, and let me pass. I stopped to talk to them quick. They told me that the blue pool was about another mile ahead of me. I thought, holy cow, I’ve been at this for almost an hour and I haven’t even gotten to the mile mark. This isn’t going to work. So I double-timed, albeit carefully, the rest of the way. I didn’t want to be on this trail when it got dark. It was raining at this point and I wanted to make sure I made good enough time to get there and get back. The slow-going path was making my “good time” idea a moot point.
With my new plan in mind I made the second mile, even though it was harder, within 30 minutes.
When I got there the other two groups of hikers in front of me were surveying the blue pool. You are looking at it from above. I couldn’t believe the woman with the kid on her back made it that far without any mud on her shoes. That couldn’t have been easy. Granted I had a backpack on but it didn’t weight the 50 pounds that the kid her on her back probably weighed.
This hike was a workout. It's an intermediate trail but the end is so incredibly worth it. You definitely earn the view at the end. The blue pool is incredible but it's a "hike" to get there.
The blue pool was gorgeous. EPIC! It was a true blue hue yet you could still see everything in the pool. It was crazy. I’ve never seen a lake that color or that clear. Insane. I just stood there staring at it. Trying to take it all in. Trying to figure out how deep I thought it was.
I thought about how it would be cool to jump off the cliff down into the pool, assuming it was deep enough that I wouldn’t break my neck or be paralyzed.
The man and woman group was down at the bottom right next to the pool. I yelled, “How did you get down there?” They yelled back and gestured, “Go around swirling their finger.” I stood there for a few more minutes taking pictures and observing then decided to attempt to make my way around the pool and down. It wasn’t easy. There was a path but it didn’t go around so I tried following a hiker-path that worried me some because I lost site of the pool so I made my way back to the edge of the pool by the rocks and watched as those two made their way back up. As they did I could see the woman’s pink coat. I met up with them halfway and chatted with them about how they got down there. I took just a second and decided to try it even though it was really dangerous.
As I got about halfway I stopped, thought for a second, and turned right back around. It was TOO dangerous. I wasn’t on a true path, in fact there wasn’t really one at all. I was walking over large slippery boulders wet with rain and moss and I kept slipping. There weren’t very good handholds and all I could think about is “I’m going to break my ankle in this mess and nobody will find me because I’m way off the path (even though I’m wearing this ridiculously LOUD orange raincoat). I’m turning the heck around and getting back to the real path.” I felt like a chicken and it seemed like a waste to go halfway and not finish because I really wanted to see the view from next to the pool but decided the risk was far too great. I was alone and didn’t know of anyone coming behind me that could find me so I nixed that idea and made my way back to the path and started the 2 miles back to my car.
Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed my adventure. If you'd like to read more about my Pacific Northwest Road Trip click here.
Have a great day!
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