A Tale Of Two Streams

One last day.  Two streams.  Two hikes.

After lounging around the cabin until late morning, we left the CR-V in the resort’s parking lot, moseyed down the Metolius and followed it downstream for a mile. For the first fifteen or twenty minutes we passed summer homes that border the western bank of the river below the bridge that connects the resort to the general store.  The rest of the way it was wild and scenic riverside scenery until we reached the next bridge and a campground north of the resort.

The trail winds through Ponderosa Pines.  Although it’s nearly mid-August wildflowers still bloom along this stretch of the river and butterflies were feasting on clover nectar. 
The river gradient is not too great so there isn’t much downhill and uphill on this easy walk. It’s shady most of the way and a gentle breeze made it a comfortable mid-day stroll.

At the next bridge we met a couple from Portland who were camping on the other side of the river.  The wife had been coming here for nearly 50 years and said she had a photo taken at the campground when she was just a year old.
 
On the way back we stopped to chat with a father and son pair of fishermen.  They told us that the river water was quite cold (the son had been wading in the river near the bridge and said his feet felt like they were frozen).  The Metolius is a fly-fishing only, catch-and-release river, so even if you can get more than a nibble from the local trout, you have to toss them back.

After a late lunch back at our cabin, we hopped in the car and drove a few miles to the west for our last hike of the day.  It was a two-mile roundtrip walk along a dusty trail that parallels Jack Creek, one of several streams that flow east and merge with the Metolius.

The temperature was supposed to reach the mid-to-upper 80’s today, but it didn’t seem to have gotten much over 80, if that high.  Shade along this boring trail kept us reasonably cool as we ascended the watershed for a mile until we reached the headwaters which, like those of the Metolius, spring from the bottom of a steep hillside.

When we got back to the campground where the trail began we were surprised to see so many empty campsites on a Friday evening in summer especially since Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, and Portland are only two to three hours away by car.  It’s very “un-California” here.

It’s Friday Pizza Night at our cabin as we enjoy or third night in a row “dining in.”  We’ve got satellite TV and hope there will be a good “Pizza Night” movie on A&E, TNT, or TCM.