Last weekend, Tom planned a surprise road trip to central Oregon. I was excited to discover what lay in store for us as we drove southeast toward Bend. Our first stop was a short walk to the stunning Salt Creek Falls--Oregon's second highest single-drop waterfall at 286'.
Shortly afterwards, we missed a turn and drove in the wrong direction for an hour before realizing our mistake--the first of many funny things that happened that weekend. We eventually picked up a pair of inflatable stand up paddle boards and arrived at scenic Crescent Lake with Diamond Peak in the background. It felt great to be out on the water, especially on such a hot day. Just before we were about to head back to shore, one of our broken paddles sunk to the bottom of the lake. Luckily, it wasn't too deep to fish it out!
Tom and I spent the evening in downtown Bend. All of the restaurants and breweries had long wait times, but we managed to find a pair of bar stools at Brother Jon's Alehouse to rustle up some grub.
On Sunday, we drove 30 minutes west on the Cascade Lakes Highway to Fall Creek Trailhead. The 9-mile out-and-back (1,150' gain) to Green Lakes is a mostly shaded trail that meanders along a creek with several impressive waterfalls, meadows and views of South Sister, Broken Top and Mt. Bachelor.
The Green Lakes area is a prime backpacking location with access to many destinations in the Three Sisters Wilderness. We encountered few mosquitos, but lots of butterflies and wildflowers. Great for trail running; crowded on summer weekends. 10am-1pm RT. Dated hiked: 8/16/20.
After the hike, Tom and I made the 3.5-hour trek back to Portland, almost running out of gas along the way! Such a wonderful weekend together.
