Sahalie/ Koosah / Blue Pool / McKenize / Clear Lake 10/4&5

[pdxgene]

A couple spectaculous days playing down at Clear Lake and along the McKenzie. Another five degrees might've been nice but I'm not gonna complain. McKenize River Trailheads and restrooms all had closed signs but nobody cared and the bathrooms were all open and stocked. Starting with Day 1 and Sahalie then Koosah then the Blue Pool. Oh yeah, it was rainbow day.. And though sunset at Clear Lake tends to suck (north/south lake with tall trees to the west) the entire sky turned pink last night. The colors of the McKenzie were great too. And the fall colors at Clear Lake. Photo descriptions here soon.. http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxgene/ClearLake11
Off we go...

[BrianEdwards]

Nice! Combining a day with waterfalls and feet kicked back on a kayak, oh and that blue pool thingie too

[pdxgene]

And on to Day 2 hiking the 5 mile loop around Clear Lake and then making endless mini loops playing out on the water. I did accidentally step in waist deep one time getting out of the kayak and I will confirm.. that water is COLD!
Any day that starts with bacon AND sausage on the grill for breakfast is off to a good start...

[Zia]

Wow your photos are stunning! I did a few hikes up there this year and fell in love with the area. I fully intend to go back next year and do some more exploring.

[pdxgene]

Thanx!
You can really hit a lot of nice places up there. I thought about going on to Proxy Falls this morning but the xtra driving just didn't sound appealing for a pretty short hike. Save that for another day..

[RobinB]

Those reflections of the fall colors are fantastic, thanks for posting! I haven't explored that area enough, but I'll definitely have to give it a go now!

[Rustygoat]

Awesome rainbow fall pictures Gene! The colors in your pictures are amazing also! I was at Koosah and Sahalie Falls a couple of weeks ago and it seemed a lot gloomier with the rain. I still haven't stopped by Clear Lake...definitely on the to see list for next year. Thanks for sharing.

[BigBear]

It's nice to find someone who uses all three colors on their phot printer. The Clear Lake pics with the autumn colors make me wish I was somewhere else than here at the computer.

[pdxgene]

Awesome rainbow fall pictures Gene! The colors in your pictures are amazing also! I was at Koosah and Sahalie Falls a couple of weeks ago and it seemed a lot gloomier with the rain. I still haven't stopped by Clear Lake...definitely on the to see list for next year. Thanks for sharing.

Thanx! I'd always done that Sahalie/Koosah loop early in the day and the rainbow was never close to that full. This time it was around noon so that seems to be the best time if you can time it for that.

[pdxgene]

It's nice to find someone who uses all three colors on their phot printer. The Clear Lake pics with the autumn colors make me wish I was somewhere else than here at the computer.

Barring any more bad storms the colors should hang on another week or two though the lava maples are fading quicker and past peak. The lava colors just looked dead when in the morning shade but when I got them in that nice backlit afternoon sun. That's when they come alive.
The more yellow forest maples are just starting to hit peak.