A Soggy Hike to Abiqua Falls

Saturday April 1st dawned overcast with only a 10% chance of rain.  In Oregon that meant it was raining within the hour.  Not a heavy rain, but a heavy mist that saturated everything.

When the weather is poor we typically stay off the bikes, pedal powered and motorized.

We opted to go for a hike to Abiqua Falls.  A few folks that Troubadour works with had mentioned it, so we thought we'd go see. It is located east of Salem just outside of the metropolis of Scotts Mills,  population 357.  Abiqua Falls is a 71 mile (114 km) drive from Corvallis.

Also by the falls is the Crooked Finger OHV area.  Luckily we took a right turn into the OHV area to see if they had restroom facilities (they didn't).  Turns out this was the correct route to the falls and we almost missed the turn.

Rumor had it that the last two miles of road to the trailhead needed to be hiked because it was a one-lane rough forestry road best traversed by Jeeps and 4x4 pickups. We found out a good driver and a Subaru can make it as well - thanks Troubadour.  Although I do admit to closing my eyes a few times; there was only one really rough section and then it wasn't too bad the rest of the way.

(Almost to the trailhead and the road smoothed out a little)

We arrived at the trailhead.  Although there were no signs, there were other vehicles parked on the side of the road.  We stopped, put on our rain jackets and had a quick snack to sustain us. It was about 2 pm and we hadn't had any lunch. We also set up our trekking poles.  Last year we splurged and bought ourselves each a set of Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork trekking poles from REI. This would be our first outing with them.  Typically we forget them at home.

The trailhead at the parking area was quite steep so we walked a little further down the road to a wider trail.

(A wider start to the trail)

Pretty soon it narrowed and started to descend.

(Looking back up at where we'd been)

(Looking down at where we needed to go)

From where Troubadour is standing in the photo above, you couldn't really get down the cliff, so we back tracked a little and found the main route down.  Boy were we glad we had those trekking poles. The reviews on the hike were not wrong, it was quite a steep descent to the river. There were even ropes strung from the trees to help folks repel down and climb up the embankment.  We took a few photos when we reached the river.

(Troubadour on a trek, notice how steep the embankment)

(Me taking pictures of the river, photo by Troubadour)

(The Trillium were blooming along the path)

From where we arrived at the river we had two options.  Take the rocky path along the shore or a goat trail a little higher up the bank.  Troubadour opted to test my mettle a little and chose the goat trail.  We followed that along for a little ways, did I mention how much I loved those trekking poles.  About half way to the falls I was worried with how high we were climbing and how small the footholds were.  If I wasn't so scared of falling I would have taken a picture. When the fear of death and/or taking a tumble down the hillside cast a shadow on the beauty of the scenery, I opted to very carefully make my way down to the trail at the shoreline.

Down at the river we took a few pictures of the trail.  Doing the limbo every so often to get under the fallen trees makes for a good work out.

(Fallen tree we just scrambled under)

(More of the path up ahead)

(Stopping for more pictures)

(Troubadour in the picture for reference of the scope of cliffs above us)

The sound of the falls were getting louder and louder so we knew we were getting close, but the anticipation still didn't even do the falls justice when I first peeked around the rocks. There among the basalt cliffs was Abiqua Falls.

(Abiqua Falls, Marion County, Oregon)

(And of course a selfie - Troubadour & Trobairitz)

(The mist coming off the falls makes for gorgeous greenery)

(Abiqua Falls)

While I was taking the above picture Troubadour looked up and noticed that all the mist was condensing on the foliage on the cliffs above and dropping in large droplets of water.  The droplets appeared to be moving in slow motion and you could reach out and catch them in your hand.  That is what Troubadour is doing in the picture below.

(Troubadour catching water droplets - my favorite photo of the day)

I attempted to catch a few myself.  While it was way cool and we were laughing and smiling like children, I didn't try it for too long.  I was more worried about my balance on the slippery rocks and falling ass over tea kettle into the water.

(Me admiring the Falls - photo by Troubadour)

(One last peek at Abiqua Falls)

Our jackets were getting pretty soaked from the mist and it was chilly out at only 48˚F (8.8˚C) so we decided to head back. This time we opted to take the rocky shore route the entire way until we reached the trail up the embankment.  It was slow going but we were glad to have the trekking poles and in some cases I used the poles and the rope concurrently.

(Rope in one hand, trekking pole the other - the struggle was real)

It didn't seem to take us as long to climb back out.  We were huffing and puffing a bit but weren't too sore thanks to the trekking poles  Normally our knees would be sore, but this time only our hips a little bit.  Once back to the car we took off our rain jackets and snacked on some apples. Sufficiently rested we got back in the Subaru and started driving towards the main road. Troubadour stopped at one of the OHV staging areas (where quads had been tearing it up earlier) and played in the Subaru a little.  I took pictures from a  safe distance.

(Troubadour in a dirty Subaru)

It was sunny in the valley by the time we got out of the foothills and mist.  We arrived home sometime after 6 pm.  Tired, but we'd had a good day.

Later, while looking up another hiking spot on the computer, we accidentally found aerial drone footage Abiqua Falls and though you might like the video.  It even shows the river above the falls.

- Au Revoir

" Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.  As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but Nature's sources never fail." - John Muir

.

Addendum - I read in the news this morning (April 5th) that from October 1st to date, the mid-Willamette Valley where we live has received 51 inches (129.5 cm) of rain.  Yes, it has been soggy.  We usually receive 40 inches of rain for an entire year, not 6 months.