I took off for a four-day excursion to the central Cascades based at my sister’s place in Sunriver. With the fire haze coming and going and numerous closures, it was tricky finding good places to stretch my legs. My first choice on the trip over was Diamond Peak, but the Rockpile Trail is closed, so I did an in and out excursion from Salt Creek Falls instead.
Salt Creek Falls is billed at the observation point at the second-highest waterfall in Oregon, but according to the Northwest Waterfall Survey, it is really a lowly 14th! Nonetheless, it’s always a spectacular sight plunging full force into its deep canyon even after a very dry summer. I then hiked the Diamond Creek Falls Loop above the canyon, getting a partial glimpse of Lower Diamond Creek Falls plunging into the Salt Creek Canyon. I also stopped in at Too Much Bear Lake, where there was too much of nothing and not enough bear. Farther up the trail, a spur led to (upper) Diamond Creek Falls, a lovely veil that splashes 120 feet into a cool, shady defile.
From the above the falls, I branched off on the Vivian Lake Trail, crossing the Southern Pacific Railroad, entering the Diamond Peak Wilderness, and then hiking up Fall Creek to a viewpoint over the upper tier of Fall Creek Falls. From there, it was the ‘magic mile’ of huckleberries all the way to Vivian Lake. Each little bush was loaded down with luscious fruits, and I thoroughly indulged in smearing purple stains all over my hands and face.
Vivian Lake itself was a tranquil scene. I hiked along the east shore to get a view through a slight fire haze towards Mt. Yoran to the south. Dragonflies buzzed among the shoreline sedges, and newts floated in the shallows. From there, it was a steady downhill lope back to civilization. I took the switchbacking lower trail down for a head on view of Salt Creek Falls, but declined the last loose, rubbly descent on scree to the base of the waterfall. A couple of teenagers showed me how it was done, though, kicking up a cloud of dust worthy of a respectable landslide.