McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway
un jour / 84 miles / 2 heures 48 minutes
Experience dramatic views of the snowcapped High Cascade Peaks. The panorama of lava fields and six Cascade peaks is made more striking by the contrast between the black lava and white snow. The mountains are mirrored in crystal-clear lakes, and the byway passes beautiful waterfalls, including Sahalie and Koosah Falls.
Jour 1
9:00 - 8.9 miles / 17 minutes - 9:17
The Upper Proxy Falls and the Lower Proxy Falls, referred to collectively as the Proxy Falls, can be accessed by hiking a loop trail in the Three Sisters Wilderness area.
Upper Proxy Falls is interesting because there is no direct
outlet for its circular basin's calm pool of water: its substantial volume of water (which originates from a group of small springs that originate about 600 feet above the valley floor) can only percolate into the lava subsurface.
The water for Lower Proxy Falls, supplied by Proxy Creek and Shadow Creek, rushes over a steep, bulging rock for 200 feet before it free falls to the base.10:17 - 15.9 miles / 31 minutes - 10:49
From this overlook, you can get a sense of the stark contrast that is possible in this area. To the east is a dense forest canopy, and to the west are rugged, barren lava flows. The land immediate to the overlook is dramatically harsh, since it is pummeled by snow in the winter and thunderstorms in the summer. And the strong wind always blows off the mountains over this exposed pass.
11:19 - 45.5 miles / une heure 30 minutes - 12:50
Sahalie and Koosah Falls are located on the old historic route locally known as the Clear Lake Cutoff. The names for these falls come from 'Chinook Jargon', a local, rudimentary trade language used on the route in the mid-1800s between European traders and local native tribes.
In Chinook Jargon, 'Sahalie' means heaven, above, and up high. Sahalie Falls drops 120 feet and has an average water temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Koosah Falls (which means sky in Chinook Jargon) drops 70 feet, and its headwaters are at Clear Lake, where the springs bubble clear, cold, and blue.13:10 - 14.0 miles / 28 minutes - 13:38