Elk Lake and Tumalo Falls

South Sister Mountain from Elk Lake

Sunday, we headed back to the Cascades, renting a canoe at Elk Lake. Stiff wind from southeast when we pushed off, but, unlike the whitewater canoes we normally paddle, our rental canoe had a keel enabling us to paddle across the lake with relative ease. Fished the east and north shores of the lake with our usual success but mostly enjoyed the paddling for its own sake and the views, with South Sister Mountain rising up from the north shore.

Shortly after we returned the canoe, a couple of hours after we put-in, the winds had shifted 180 degrees and we watched people, including SUPs, who had paddled to the south shore desperately battling headwinds to return to the marina.

Late afternoon found us fishing from a bridge on the Deschutes, one-half mile above Benham Falls. At the beginning of the day, we had planned on fresh trout for dinner; we ate steak, instead.

Along the road to Tumalo Falls

Monday, we tackled the trail that runs along a section of Tumalo Creek above the falls, about 15 miles west of Bend. The hike starts at the foot of Tumalo Falls, 2.5 miles up an unpaved road, and gains 1000' over the four miles that lead to Happy Valley. There is some dispute about the number of water falls to be found as the creek tumbles from Happy Valley (some of the falls have double and triple drops and others might more properly be categorized as cascades), but we counted nine main falls. The images below, all taken along the trail, include many of them.

Tumalo Falls (at trailhead)

Bridge across Tumalo Creek

A more serene section of Tumalo Creek