November 27, 2015
Black Friday. We used to do the Christmas shopping for my nieces and nephew on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Now they're all teenagers. Shopping for them isn't as fun as it used to be and I suspect whatever I get for them will not be very interesting to them. Amazon gift cards for everyone! That opens up the day for adventure.
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| Road to Shellburg Fall, OR |
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| Lower Shellburg Falls |
The hike to Shellburg Fall is a nice and easy two mile hike with a moderate elevation gain of three hundred seventy feet. It's out and in, so four miles or so total. There are steep stairs if you choose to go up and around Shellburg Fall (we did), but anyone capable of walking four miles can make the hike up to the falls. There are actually three waterfalls to see on this hike. The one hundred foot high Shellburg Fall is the main attraction, but Stassel Falls is a two hundred foot beauty of its own and Lower Shellburg Falls is right on the trail as well.
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| Lower Shellburg Falls, OR |
Friday was a bright, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. That made photography a bit difficult in this forested area. Inside the thick forest lighting was difficult with bright spots and dark spots existing side by side. My niece tackled this problem by shooting a lot of small things up close. She had a wonderful set of photos of her own of ice and leaves and mushrooms. It was a very different perspective of the same hike, fun to see.
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| Shellburg Fall, OR |
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| Shellburg Fall, OR |
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| Shellburg Fall |
If you've hiked Silver Creek Falls in Oregon you'll notice how similar Shellburg looks to some of the waterfalls there. It's not surprising considering the trailhead is only a few miles from Silver Falls State Park. Shellburg Creek has carved this waterfall out of the same landscape as Silver Creek. Like some of the larger falls at Silver Creek, a cave has been sculpted out behind the waterfall.
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| Shellburg Fall, OR |
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| Shellburg Fall, OR |
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| Shellburg Fall, OR |
The trail goes up and over to the top of the waterfall after going behind it. This is the only steep section of the trail and it only goes up about fifty feet or so making it not too difficult to traverse. It's really a nice, easy hike with this one little section that might be a little difficult for people who have problems going up stairs.
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| Shellburg Falls Trail, OR |
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| Stassel Falls |
Stassel Falls is found by taking a short out-and-back trail off of the main Shellburg Falls trail. The trail leads to the top of the falls where the creek falls two hundred feet into the gorge below. It's a dramatic perspective. There are no fences and the trail is rough, not something I'd recommend for small children or off-leash pets (although pets are supposed to be leashed on this trail). It's definitely worth checking out, although its not really possible to see the entire set of falls from here.
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| Stassel Falls, OR |
The hike back out is on the same road as the hike in. It winds through a cow pasture and forest. It's really a nice way to spend a morning.
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| Shellburg Falls Trail, OR |
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| Shellburg Falls Trail, OR |
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| Shellburg Falls Trail |
My sister was hosting a Civil War Game party in the afternoon (the Civil War Game is a football game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State, for those who don't know). Sam and my brother and his family headed in that direction after the hike. I didn't fancy spending the afternoon indoors and I didn't want to keep Pongo inside or in the car since we'd be spending the entire day in the car on Saturday driving home, so we headed East. The goal was just to see whatever we could see until it got too dark then we'd drive back to Salem.
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| Detroit Lake, OR |
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| Detroit Lake |
Detroit Lake was our first stop. Due to the drought and the time of year, the lake was exceptionally low. The lake is man made, formed by the damming of the North Santiam River. The dam was completed in 1953 and the town of Detroit was moved up stream a few miles because its location at the time would put it under the waterline. While normally submerged, when the water levels are low the streets of the old ghost town of Detroit can be strolled by visitors.
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| Detroit Lake, OR |
We spent a lot of time swimming, skiing and fishing on this lake when I was a kid. I only remember seeing the lake this low once. My mother brought up up here to see the old ghost town. It made enough of an impression on me that I still remember it.
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| Detroit Lake, OR |
After visiting Detroit, Pongo headed up into the mountains. We drove until we hit snow plows and ice on the roads. It was starting to get dark as well, so we turned back and headed to Salem. We stopped a few times to take pictures and walk in the snow. That was basically the end of our Thanksgiving adventures. We bombed our way down I-5 to Alameda on Saturday, only stopping for bathroom breaks and a Big Mac (Pongo had Chicken Nuggets).
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| North Santiam River, OR |
Soundtrack:
- Radiohead -- Hail to the Thief
- PJ Harvey -- To Bring You My Love
- The Call -- Reconciled
Friday was a bright, sunny day without a cloud in the sky. That made photography a bit difficult in this forested area. Inside the thick forest lighting was difficult with bright spots and dark spots existing side by side. My niece tackled this problem by shooting a lot of small things up close. She had a wonderful set of photos of her own of ice and leaves and mushrooms. It was a very different perspective of the same hike, fun to see.
The trail goes up and over to the top of the waterfall after going behind it. This is the only steep section of the trail and it only goes up about fifty feet or so making it not too difficult to traverse. It's really a nice, easy hike with this one little section that might be a little difficult for people who have problems going up stairs.
It is interesting to see how different individuals view a place. You played well with the light coming through the falls. It's eerie seeing the stumps and ghost town. You crammed in a lot on this holiday journey.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the stumps were eerie. I thought of those as the real ghosts. They were all cut down over sixty years ago.
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