A Hike from Heaven . . .

Or ... was it a hike to heaven? Never-the-less, Roland at last convinced me to get away for a few days to one of our favorite camping sites. He left three days before me and I drove up Sunday afternoon to join him.

En route I travel towards Crater Lake and Mt. Theilsen (seen here) with my destination, Lake Lemolo. A quite, discreet area on that highway that is home to six or so lovely waterfalls, either just off the highway or hike-able. The days have been beautiful blue-skyed and warm. Our campsite gives us this breath-taking view of the other side of Mt. Theilsen.

Our sparkling view from our camp picnic bench peeks across Lake Lemolo to the tiny island. Cody of course, loves poking into the water and sniffing area's smells. The water is gorgeous turquoise blue and I actually coax Roland into diving in along side me!

On Monday morn, we enjoy a leisurely breakfast and pack for our day hike. We'd hoped to find the trail we took before which took us to the bottom of Lemolo Falls. We discovered that all the directional signs were gone and after seven miles in, we gave up. Still searching for a hike, we had heard tale of a trail that lead to the upper portion of the same falls, trailing along the North Umpqua River. Hurrah, we easily find this trail head and easily meander downward along the beautiful green trail to the surging river.

The entire hike was lush green, with moist little cascade percolating out of rock clusters. Wild flowers were everywhere and you could just see that snow had recently melted in this area. Along with this rich growth came freshly hungry mosquitoes. But we'd found a new "Off" that was non-oily and non-fragranced and seemed pretty effective. The Lemolo Falls were robust but not nearly as thrilling looking over the rim as being at the base amongst the mist and roar. We plopped on nearby rocks for lunch then headed back up the mile and a half to the car.

Envigorated, we meander back to camp for dinner and later that evening for a visit to the Lemolo Lake Lodge for peach-pie-ala-mode.

During the night strong sprinkles pelt our roof and mornin' dawns wet and grey. But we enjoy the misty view over steamy coffee and some reading from Pema Chodron. We nest loose items into their appropriate places and head off back home, traveling in our separate vehicles.

I wasn't surprised when I saw Roland pull off into the Rogue Gorge parking lot, it's one of his favorite spots in Oregon. And right now with all the rain we've received in this late arriving summer, the gorge was just roaring. I found a sweet contrast when we were in the parking lot and I caught site of this calm, subdued and peaceful Amish group visiting from Pennsylvania.


I love the dynamic contrasts we find in nature and in humans. My aim is to savor and remain centered amidst all of it. Yep, it's a life of lessons ... and learning. And I'd not have it any other way ...