Day 15: North Umpqua River

August 18, 2005

I got up early and went to the hot spring for a soak. Then back to the campsite at 8:30 to make breakfast. Then back to the hot spring for much more soaking and sunning. Quite a few people came and went to the hot spring. I had some interesting conversations. A few other people are camped in the hot spring area and staying much longer than me. Then I went back to the campsite to make lunch and pack up. On the way out I had one more quick soak. Carrying the camping gear over the hill wasn't quite as difficult this time because the climb wasn't as steep and because I was much more rested.

I got on the road at 2:50PM. The freshly graded gravel portion was very difficult even with very low tire pressure. Once back on pavement the riding was easy along the shore of Toketee reservoir to the Toketee Falls trailhead.

Toketee reservoir was built for hydroelectric power generation.

I hiked the 0.4 mile trail to the falls and enjoyed the view there for a while. The waterfall has a good flow because it's the North Umpqua river. But much of the river's flow is diverted to a flume for hydroelectric power generation. I've hiked this trail several times and I always enjoy it. It has very nice views of the river above the falls and the trail goes through a spectacular old-growth forest.

The Toketee Falls viewing platform gives the sensation of being in a treehouse.

Toketee Falls is a two-tiered cascade over columnar basalt.The bottom tier is an 80-foot sheer drop.

Progress was slow on highway 138 because of a strong headwind. The headwind was a stronger factor than the slight downhill. After 11 miles on highway 138 I stopped at the Dry Creek store for groceries. It's the only store on the 60-mile stretch of highway between Diamond Lake and the town of Glide.

Highway 138 joins the North Umpqua River below Toketee Falls.

The highway has almost continuous views of the North Umpqua river. There are many turnouts and National Forest campgrounds. My destination is a free campsite that I learned about from a soaker at the hot spring. I turned north on Steamboat Creek road, then after half a mile I turned left onto Canton Creek road. 2.8 miles up the road I turned into my private free campsite. It has a large swimming area in the creek but it was already in cool shade by the time I got there. The campsite also has flat tent areas, fire rings, and fallen trees carved into tables and chairs. I waded into the creek but it was too cold for a real swim. Then I made a shower and cooked dinner.

Once again I had a beautiful free campsite all to myself. There was no traffic on the road in the evening so it was very quiet and relaxing. I really enjoyed the long soaks in the hot spring followed by moderate exercise on the bike. The weather was sunny with a high temperature of 85F (29C). Tomorrow is likely to be much warmer because I will be back in the low elevation valleys.

Distance: 31.0 mi. (49.6 km)

Distance on gravel: 3 mi. (4.8 km)

Climbing: 659 ft. (200 m)

Average speed: 11.1 mph (17.8 km/h)

Maximum speed: 39.0 mph (62.4 km/h)

Hiking: 2 mi. (3.2 km)

Today's ride: 31 miles (50 km)
Total: 699 miles (1,125 km)

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