What'll we do? Tuesday, 9/8/20

A somewhat convoluted beginning to our day, but it worked out fine. We'd decided to circumnavigate Crater Lake on the rim road today, but first we stopped at Rogue Gorge. Just a quick peek, no photos, because we wanted to return for more.  Surprising to us, the morning was a chilly 55°, so we donned windbreakers.  But, hey, because it's been abominably hot for weeks on end, the coolness was mighty welcome!  Our elevation at Farewell Bend C/G is roughly 3600', not much more than our elevation at home.  As we left the c/g, we saw lots of tree debris on the road from last night's wind.

The Rogue River below the Gorge.  Rippin' along!

Oh my!  On the way east to Crater Lake, we were truly stopped due to a fallen tree across Hwy 62. Apparently it was newly downed, too.  Last night’s 75 mph winds didn’t materialize (that we were aware of), but it was windy and it still is. The red pickup truck attempted and failed to move the tree by attaching nylon straps, and since no one seemed to have a chain saw to cut it up, we turned around and headed for Boundary waters, north on Hwy 230.  We passed one of those temporary signs that reported a highway closure (Hwy 138E) due to fire, but that wouldn't impact us today.  Keep in mind that we have no cell signal at the campground, so no info.

But first (we keep saying that), we spotted this sign and, since the falls was recommended by Sue, we pulled in and parked.  Smartie was the only car in the parking "lot."

A half-mile switchback trail down through the woods led us to these gorgeous falls.  Jimmy climbed higher to get close-ups of the water.  See him?  Otherwise, nothing more to the trail, so we climbed the half mile back to the car, passing another couple on their way down.  Everyone we see on trails are either masked or pull their shirts over their mouth/nose, or else step off the trail -- good trail etiquette. 

Stellar!

In the car, we continued on looking for signage indicating the Boundary waters.  Nothing.  Smartie shifted into lower gears to climb toward the 5415' summit, but still no sign.  We pulled into the Mazama Viewpoint ahead of the summit and accidentally spied the sign below (off the beaten path).  Deciphering it, I decided this must be the place!  I think the state people could put up a better sign, ya know?

With poles and sandwiches, we started out, not knowing if we were really on the right track or how long the trail might be.  Sue had warned me that the bulk of this trail would be in a burned out forest, and she was right. 

Dead standing.

A Douglas Squirrel inquired if we had any goodies.

Sorry dude ....

The dusty single track wound us through the blackened forest.  Rushing water was within eyesight and/or earshot 95% of the time, which we liked. It seemed as though much of the trail was created by slashing a path into a mountain slope, which meant one side was straight up and the other straight down … to the river. A couple of people passed us, but they turned back early on, saying they didn't know enough about the trail. We kept going, tho we didn’t exactly know where, either. We were looking for a meadow that led to the headwaters of the Rogue.

About the time we saw this sign, our dark humor began.  "We're gonna fall in the lake before we find the headwaters," "we're the only people out here, they'll find our bodies next year," and so on.   Silly, I know, but it's harmless fun.  When we were considering turning around, we met another couple coming toward us, and they said we were almost there.  Timely.  We kept going forward.  Far below, the stream rushed down, down, down.  Like a dream. 

Fireweed (of course).

This area was fun, seeing all the green growth on the logs in the river.  

Another cascade.

This grouse wanted me to take its pic.

Thanks for holding still!

Aha!  An honest-to-goodness real sign!

Maybe we expected to see water gushing from rocks, like the Sacramento River headwaters, but at this spring, water magically appeared where none had been before.  And all around it:  soooo green, with a few posies thrown in.  Quiet?  Oh yes.  No sound, till the spring water got a bit further on.  We were well pleased to see the spring, and gratified that we managed to find it.

Not even a gurgle as it eases downhill.

Strange.

Woohoo -- we did find Boundary springs, and were pretty sure we'd found the Headwaters of the Rogue. Hopeful, but not certain. Returning the way we came took a lot less time, and I don't think we saw another soul. Man-oh-man, we pulled into the c/g around 5pm, hungry and dusty and tired. My fitbit recorded 6.6 miles, 18,435 steps, and 44 floors! Whew! Like I said above, the day worked out just fine ... methinks we used it up!