Jeff and I had been working hard around the farm. Jeff was motivated by his upcoming surgery. He wanted to get all the chores done before he went under the knife. I was motivated by trying to keep up with Jeff. So we cleaned and he mowed and we put away the outdoor furniture and garden art. It was sad to say goodbye to the bouncy chairs and fountain for the winter. On the previous Saturday and Sunday we painted the big beam and all the runners under the deck. Even Freddy got in the act by soaking up some of the paint that we dripped. He wanted to lay down directly under our ladders. I also planted about half of the 180 bulbs I bought. By the time the chores were done, we were more than ready for a break.
So I planned an adventure. I had Friday off and I wanted to hike to some waterfalls. My research showed the best place to do that was the North Umpqua River. I booked a room for two nights at a B and B/Lodge in Idleyld (about 25 miles East of Roseburg). We left at about 9 on Friday, secure in the knowledge that home and pets would be taken care of by our nephew, Nick. As soon as we turned east from Roseburg, I knew that we had made the right decision. The river was.....well, words escape me. The water was turquoise blue, the leaves turning gold, brown, red and russet contrasting with the deep green of the conifers, the weather dry, and the hillsides that incandescent green that happens after the first fall rains in the Willamette Valley. Stunningly gorgeous!
We got to the IdleYld Lodge and were checked in by our congenial host, Ron. The lodge had a main dining room with a huge rock fireplace, a game room with two pool tables and 4 rooms for rent that comprised the Bed of the B and B. We got room #3 at the end of the hall. Not a fancy room, but more than adequate. Ron offered to make us lunches and we ordered turkey sandwiches with all the accompaniments and got on the road again. We decided to drive to the waterfall trails that were furthest away. We drove up the North Umpqua about 40 miles to the trailhead for Tokatee Falls. A supposedly easy hike of about a mile awaited us.
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| The book describing the waterfall hikes. |
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| Trailhead at Tokatee Falls |
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| Aqueduct from Tokatee Resevior constructed in 1949 (and springing some leaks) |
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| Ready to go |
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| The site was "closed" but the trail was open. |
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| North Umpqua River |
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| Check out that beautiful blue water, the wonderful autumn colors! |
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| Stunning Fall foliage |
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| Tokatee Falls |
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| Lunch on the viewing platform |
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| The trail is rated "easy" except for all the steps up and down! |
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We ate our lunch on the bench of the viewing platform while enjoying the sight and sound of millions of gallons of water pouring over the precipice. After that respite, we trudged back over the steps, up and down, reached the parking lot, took a breather, and went in search of waterfall number two for the day......Watson Falls.
Watson Falls is the second tallest waterfall in Oregon after Multnomah Falls. The trailhead was only two miles from the Tokatee trailhead. You could actually see the top of the falls from the parking lot. The trail was a loop up one side of Watson Creek and down the other. The trail up was "medium difficulty" due to the mostly uphill terrain and some roots and rocks to traverse. There was an amazing zigzag wooden bridge over Watson Creek and then a great view of the waterfall, but we didn't go to the base of the falls.......too steep. We enjoyed the view and took the sharply downhill trail back to the parking lot.
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| Poster for Watson falls |
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| Rocky Watson Creek--made a lovely sound to accompany the hike. |
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| Watson Falls |
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| The zigzag bridge |
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| Watson Falls from as close-up as we wanted to venture |
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| The creek below the falls, green, green moss |
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| The trail going down, down, down |
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| And down some more. |
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By the time we got back to the parking area, we were pretty tired. Ok, we were totally pooped. We thought about continuing the 18 miles up Hiway 138 to Diamond Lake, but decided to save that trip for another time. We enjoyed the long drive back to Idlewyld. The sight of the North Umpqua river winding it's way through the valley was so beautiful, that every turn made us catch our breaths.
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| Every corner brought new vistas of beauty |
We returned to the Lodge and had a nice rest before dinner. We were served in the dining room and dinner was great. Then we had a few games of pool before calling it a night.
The next day, we got up, had breakfast in the dining room and headed up 138 again to find another waterfall. Knowing the Duck game was on at 1:00 got us out the door pretty early. We found the trailhead to Susan Creek Falls just a few miles up the road. This trail is handicapped accessible and we enjoyed the smooth and fairly flat walk of .8 mile.
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| The Susan Creek sign. There is also a picnic area on the N. Umpqua and a campground. |
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| Nice flat easy trail. |
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| Jeff views the falls |
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| Susan Creek Falls |
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| Looking downstream. |
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| So cool, mossy and sweet smelling |
We really had a hard time leaving it was so lovely. But the Duck game beckoned and we soon made our way back to the trailhead. We watched the Ducks beat Washington in the game room with snacks, and pool games during halftime. After a rest, we had dinner and looked for a place to watch the Beaver game since it wasn't available at the lodge. We found a bar a couple of miles down the hiway and settled in to play video poker and watch the Beavs eventually beat WSU. A great day for a hike and winning football games.
Sunday dawned cold and sunny. After breakfast and saying goodbye to our host, we drove one mile to the trailhead for our last waterfall of the trip. We went to the Tioga section of the Umpqua River Trail. This trail actually goes for 76 miles from this point, up the river to it's beginning on the shoulders of Mt. Theilson. But we only had to walk .2 mile to view Deadline Falls. It's only 8 ft. high, but in spring and fall you can view salmon jumping to go up the river. We didn't see any salmon, but the mist rising from the falls in the morning sunshine lit me up!
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| The mist rises from Deadline Falls |
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| Looking downriver |
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| Closeup of Deadline Falls--but no salmon. |
After that little hike (and it was really cold!) we drove to Roseburg and then south to Canyonville. After losing some, and winning some and having lunch at 7 Feathers, we headed home to find that Nick had done a great job taking care of the homestead.
It was so nice to get away, and truthfully, I have hardly ever seen such beautiful scenery. More than once I exclaimed out loud "Can this get anymore beautiful?" and then around the next corner, it did! If you haven't been there, you have to put it on your bucket list. I can't wait to go back sometime with the camper and complete even more hikes.
Jeff here...I just have to say there is not much I can add to what Kat had to say. It was one of those weekends where if I had the means to write the script, I couldn't have done any better! Magical, wonderful, amazing! Thank you Kat for being such a good travel agent.
