Pretty fun day. Got up, fiddled with this blog, then left my lovely spot to go find the next lovely spot. My route took me past Detroit Dam and the Detroit Lake, and thus the town of Detroit Lake. There was a likely little diner there that shocked me completely by having wifi! This was excellent, because I was able to research the next couple of days of travelling.
I knew that I wanted to return to Terwilliger Hot Springs, but the Hot Springs Hiking book said there was another spring on the way – XXX Hot Springs, in a hidden little cove of the YYY River. I followed the directions to that, and even found it, but sadly it was not hot. It was warm, quite a bit warmer than the frigid river three feet away, but not really warm enough to count. I found the spot of warmest seepage and plunked my butt there for a few minutes just to soak up (so to speak) the beauty of the spot – watching the river from eye level, the trees, the shadows, the clouds, the sounds of the water … sigh …, then it was time to find the real heat!
I got to Terwilliger 6:30-ish. I visited on the last trip, so I knew the drill. It is on National Forest land (Willamette N F) but has a $5 admission, that I think goes entirely to keep up the springs. Actually the relation of the civilian hippies who collect the money and the government who owns the site is a little hazy to me, but the whole setup is worth the $5, and everybody is very nice, so I ain’t sweating it.
The site is excellent. You park at a pull-off next to the lake, walk back 100 yards, and (pay the toll and) follow a path along an estuary of the lake for 1/3 mile. There is a waterfall falling off the bluff directly into the lake across the way that is quite dramatic and beautiful. Then you get to the spring, which comes out of the side of the hill quite hot and which flows through at least five successive pools, each a little cooler than the last (duh). I stick to the upper three, although the first can get too hot. Clothing optional.
The nice hippie lady told me of a good area to look for camping, along the Blue River Reservoir. I followed her directions, came up around the lake to a really sweet little spot. Lookout CG is only $10 because the water pipes are broken. But still it was pretty full, It was also much more free-form than the usual Nat Forest campground. For example there were no numbered sites, evidently you just park where you want and pay your money! I was about to give up hope of finding a sufficiently quiet place, but at the very far end was the PERFECT spot for me! Drive to the end of the road and park, literally 10′ from the lake. Check out the pictures, you’ll be jealous. Nice small lake, only one motorboat all day,happy kid sounds from around the corner, but no people or houses visible from my spot.
Waxing gibbous moon last night, right over the lake. I lucked into a good one here – the c.g. is average, but this exact spot is rad!
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