I took full advantage of the mostly overcast day and hiked a section of the McKenzie River Trail that I had never before seen. I spent the day between Trail Bridge Reservoir and Frissell Boat launch. I have to say that the section between Trail Bridge and Deer Creek was fantastic. Not only was it beautiful, but I saw much more red vine maple than I would have expected given that most of the fall vine maple I see is usually yellow. It’s always a treat to see the red leaves. If the fall color and the scenic river were not enough, I was really loving the forest. At one point I came to the conclusion that I was home. I even scratched a picture of a house in the dirt with one of my trekking poles. Note – I did see it again on my way back down the trail. The artwork left something to be desired, but the feeling was authentic.

Since I loved that hike so much, and since I was feeling okay, I was pleased to continue my hike south of Deer Creek. What a difference. While the trail is fine, I felt that it paled in comparison to what I had seen in the morning. I hardly took any pictures. I just didn’t see many opportunities. Not to mention that in some areas you’re looking right across the river at SR 126.

All this time I had been wondering when I was going to start encountering mountain bikers. The McKenzie River trail is very popular in the mountain biking community. I kept thinking that was the day wore on they would have rode their way down from the upper trailhead to where I was at. I was very surprised that I only saw two bikers while I was hiking. I did see three more as soon as I finished my hike.

There are only three other parts of the McKenzie River Trail I have yet to hike. I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen the best of it. But I haven’t been from the start along Fish Lake Creek to Clear Lake. That’s always dry when I visit. The section from Carmen to Tamolitch is always dry (the water is diverted from Carmen to Smith Reservoir). And I have yet to hike from Frissell to Paradise. I may try to fit in that section in a couple of days, but I’ll more likely be going to Tamolitch, which I’ve already seen several times. Of course Tamolitch Pool is spectacular in its own right, but I’m also hoping to see a lot more red vine maple.

Today was a very successful day. I had very little trouble with my knee and was able to hike almost 13 ½ miles. Tomorrow I’ll be feeling even better. Oh, and after talking about red vine maple, I seem to have chosen a shot showing vine maple that is not red with a helping of reddish dogwood. If it’s any consolation, that tiny patch of red across the river is vine maple.