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Proxy Falls and Linton Lake Journal May 20-21, 2006 I called the ranger station a few days before, and she listed Limberlost Campground as a place that was 1) open, and 2) the most secluded. The campground is on Hwy 242 (the Old McKenzie Highway), just 1 1/2 mile East of where it meets with Hwy 126 (see directions to Proxy Falls). One reason this site is not well-visited, despite its seemingly close proximity to the main highway, is that there is no running water. But there are 2 tent- only sites and 15 or so others that can accommodate a tent and/or trailer. Limberlost Campground also has pit toilets, and sits along the banks of the rather large Lost Creek. When we went in the middle of May, skunk cabbage was blooming along the shore, making for a bit of a smell when the wind blew just right, but it wasn't enough to deter us. Our friends Ken and Rulena let us borrow their year-old yellow Labrador, Sierra, who was a complete joy to us (see a few of the pictures of Proxy Falls). It was Sierra's first camping trip ever, and she loved every minute of it. But by the time we took her home she was (pardon the expression) dog-tired, and her "momma," Rulena, told us she slept hard for 2 days before fully getting her puppy energy back. The sky did rain on us a bit while we were out there, but it wasn't cold - the campground is only at 1800 ft. Our new tent, an REI Taj 3 worked great at keeping out the rain and minimizing condensation. The only time water seeped through was on the first night, when it poured like cats and dogs and we hadn't tightened the rainfly enough to keep it off the tent under the weight of the water. But even then, the water that got inside the tent was pretty minimal. Ok, now on to the exciting stuff! Reece and I found Proxy Falls by accident. We'd forgotten our hiking guidebook (silly us, I know), so we just drove up the Old McKenzie Highway till we had to turn around because the road was closed for snow. The falls themselves are pretty well-known; I even have Webshots photos of them on my computer, and have often wanted to visit them. Reece loves waterfalls, so it didn't take us long to pull over and decide to check it out. The trail itself is not very long, and we'd guessed that fact after a glance at our Oregon Gazetteer (an absolute road trip necessity, if you ask me). But no signs at the trailhead show a map or the mileage. Unfortunately, we learned once we returned that the hike can be made into a nice loop trip, and by missing the loop we also missed the upper falls...Reece and I plan to go back to remedy that problem. Leaving from the trailhead, the path crosses over an old lava bed, and then enters back into forest just before you reach the falls. Reece told me later that along the way he saw a rock that looked like Grandpa Simpson's face, but I never saw it. So if you notice it, send me a picture! :) Looking at the falls from the trail, we could already feel the spray and the breeze from the falling water. This last winter saw a lot of snow and rain, so the falls were really...uh, falling hard. Reece, Sierra the dog, and I hiked down to the creek, and then walked upstream as far as we could safely go. By the time we reached that point we were soaking wet, mostly from the spray, although our path required us to step in the water a few times. Sierra was the sweetest dog ever! She slipped her little paws on the rocks a bit, but when Reece was ahead of me she was always looking back to make sure I was okay. She even passed back through a deep part of the water to check up on me. I love dogs...I need a dog... Linton Lake The next day we were scheduled to leave, but before we did we decided to venture up the Old McKenzie Highway again and hike up to Linton Lake. Hiking was pleasant, though my out- of-shape respiratory system sure felt the elevation. When we finally rounded those last few corners and meandered down alongside the lake, I was awestruck. The entire hike the sky had been covered in clouds and splattering us with the occasional sprinkle, but here at the lake it was like God opened up a window for us to see clear sky, and a beautiful reflection of it in the blue/green water. After walking for a bit alongside the lake, the path leads down close to the water and ends at a stream and a few campsites there. We noticed that several rhododendrons and other plants along the shore were under quite a bit of extra water. Here we decided to continue on an un-maintained pseudo-path around the shoreline. From the far end of the lake you can see several islands, some with grass and brush, and at least one just made out of lava rock. After climbing over, under, and around a continual sea of downed trees, we reached the inlet stream. Well, actually let me clarify, we reached what looked to us like an inlet river. Several hundred feet above, this (ahem) river creates Linton Falls, which is huge. We didn't climb up to see it, but we did attempt to cross the water. Let me tell you, it's not a good idea. Now, we likely would have made it, except that dogs can't very well cross tiny log bridges. Sierra crossed the huge log just fine (a third of the way across), found a good path around the uprooted base of another tree and down it a ways farther (two-thirds across), but by then she was pretty scared and the only two ways to continue included a relatively tiny but high log crossing or fording the deepest part of the madly-flowing rapids. The water whirled around us, loud and deep. When the dog (note: 4 legs) is scared to go somewhere, that should be a good sign that you (note: 2 legs) should be just as scared, if not more so. The crossing is probably possible later in the year, and without man's best friend. Reece and I probably would have gone for it, if not for Sierra. But I'm not all that upset that she caused us to turn around. Back on the other side of Linton Lake, we found a side trail down to the water. Some fishermen had just brought their inflatable boat in from the lake, and some others were fishing from the shore. It began to rain, Reece and I took a few pictures, and we moseyed along back to the car. Pictures | Summaries | More Journals |