Nevada-Oregon Trip, Day 5: A Rainy Morning in Umpqua, a Chain of Waterfalls, Redwood Forests and the Ocean Coast.

A long and diverse day of 252 miles, which began in the rain within the forests of Oregon and ended with a surprising middle-of-the-night police encounter in California.

Waking Up to Rain and the Hike to Lemolo Falls

I woke up in the morning to the sound of raindrops. It was raining lightly, and at that moment, I blessed my luck*; just the day before, I had bought a good raincoat that saved me and was useful from the very first moment.

*Luck comes to those who prepare for it, or as a phrase I truly believe in goes: "I feel lucky. The harder I work, the luckier I get."

The first destination for this morning was Lemolo Falls.

I arrived at the Lemolo Falls Trailhead and marched along the trail that led me through the green forest directly to the bottom of the falls. The view at the base of the waterfall is an incredibly powerful experience; the water drops from a great height with immense force, and the falls look spectacular and massive when you stand right at their feet, wrapped in the water spray and the green vegetation of the canyon.

Photos at Watson Falls and Walking in the Rain to Umpqua Hot Springs

From Lemolo Falls, I returned to the vehicle and began driving west on Highway 138, which is rightly known as Oregon's "Highway of Waterfalls." 

Along the way, I stopped in the area of Watson Falls. This waterfall is one of the tallest in the region, but the trail was closed, so I settled for a photograph of the creek that passes through a truly beautiful and dreamy green area.

After the short stop at Watson Falls, I continued on a quick drive to the starting point for the area's famous hot springs—the Umpqua Hot Spring North Trailhead.

From the parking lot, you cross the river on the long bridge, and from there it is a short but steep walk of about half a mile inside the thick forest, with the rain continuing to fall around me.

The trail climbs among the trees, and when you reach the springs, a stunning sight is revealed: warm, natural pools terraced on the edge of a rocky cliff, right above the rushing river channel below. I arrived there at an early hour of a rainy morning, which turned out to be a perfect decision; there was only one other person there with me.

There was absolute quiet from the wild forest all around, with warm steam rising from the pools and blending with the cool raindrops. I got into the water, and it was simply amazing to soak there for a whole hour of relaxing bathing, keeping my body warm while my head was in the rain.

This is the time to say that, contrary to the great conservatism usually found around natural hot springs in the US, even if informally, wearing a swimsuit is an option and most people bathe naked, though you can bathe in a swimsuit with no problem. Keep this in mind if you are traveling with kids.

The Unique Toketee Falls and the Massive Pipeline

After the relaxing experience at the springs, I continued to the next station - Toketee Falls.

At the beginning of the trail, you cannot miss a crazy engineering element: a massive water pipeline made of redwood timber, bound with metal rings like a giant barrel. This pipeline was built in the 1950s and diverts water directly from the Toketee Dam upstream toward a hydroelectric powerhouse downstream to generate clean energy from the power of the water. There are cracks in the pipeline, and the pressurized water sprays out, leaving everything full of water mist and lush vegetation.

The walk to the waterfall begins at the Toketee Falls Trailhead along an organized and well-built trail that passes through a spectacular, ancient forest of giant trees. The path goes along the river gorge and ends at a wooden viewing platform, which overlooks a perfect view of the waterfall.

The waterfall itself is one of a kind: it drops in two tiers out of a narrow opening carved into a massive wall of impressive basalt columns that look like the pipes of a giant organ.

From the organized viewpoint, I decided not to settle only for a look from above, and I descended along an improvised, tough trail toward the bottom of the canyon. The descent required using ropes that were tied there along the steep, slippery slope, but the effort paid off big time.

Standing down there, right inside the river channel at the base of the waterfall, and seeing its power from below was a beautiful and extraordinarily powerful sight.

Slide Creek Falls and a Cold Dip in Fall Creek

After climbing back up with the ropes and returning to the car, I continued on a short drive along the road heading west and stopped for another quick foray on a side trail to see the hidden Slide Creek Falls.

Afterward, I drove a bit further down Highway 138 to hike to the Fall Creek Falls Trailhead.

A short walk of less than a mile leads to a beautiful waterfall. The entire surrounding area was destroyed in a forest fire that left behind the tree trunks like giant matchsticks. By this stage, it was already afternoon and quite warm outside, so I took the opportunity and got in to bathe in the cold water of the pool formed at the bottom of the falls.

A Long Drive to the Redwood Giants in California

After the wonderful refreshment in the water, I returned to the car, and from here a rather long driving segment awaited me, heading south on the I-5 highway down to the town of Grants Pass. From there, I cut west on Highway 199, on the road that leads to the northwestern edge of the state of California.

Before reaching the coastal town of Crescent City, I decided to visit the beautiful redwood grove, Stout Grove, which is located inside Jedediah Smith Redwoods State and National Parks.

I had visited this area several times in the past, but there is always a special magic in walking among these giants.

The redwood trees are always stunning and newly impressive in their immense height, and walking among them instills a type of majesty and serenity.

I wasn’t here for a long time because it was already late and I wanted to be on the ocean coast for sunset. If I had another half hour, I would have driven through the park along one of the beautiful dirt redwood roads, but I was really short on time, so I drove on the main highway.

Sunset in Crescent City and Nighttime Police Drama

From the grove, I continued toward the coastline, and just as it was starting to get sunset, I reached the beautiful viewpoint overlooking the Battery Point Lighthouse island in the town of Crescent City, right on the Pacific coast.

The long pier was closed to pedestrian entry in anticipation of an approaching storm, so I didn't walk very far.

I stayed at the viewpoint until the end of a gorgeous, orange sunset, and ate my dinner facing the sea. While eating, I started thinking about where to stop and sleep tonight.

Unexpected midnight wakeup:

During one of my previous visits here, I had bad feelings about sleeping along the coast; there were all sorts of cars driving back and forth in the middle of the night and the vibe felt strange, so much so that on that trip I actually got up and moved spots in the middle of the night, the only time that has ever happened to me on all my trips.

This time, I told myself I wasn't taking any risks and wouldn't park near the city area. I set out heading south on Highway 101 far away from the town, and found a suitable spot where it was possible to pull off the main highway, far from the shoulder. I parked the vehicle and went to sleep, sure that this was the successful end of the fifth day.

But the local police had other plans.

At two o'clock in the morning, I suddenly woke up to the sounds of talking from a PA system outside the vehicle. I lowered the window cover slightly and saw a highly powerful, blinding spotlight beam. It was a police cruiser.

The officers asked me to open the door and show myself. Fortunately, I guess I didn't look too threatening to them, and the encounter proceeded calmly.

They explained to me that it is forbidden to park and sleep at this spot. They didn't elaborate too much on the exact reason, something about county laws on this road, but added that it was an official tsunami hazard zone. The officers were nice overall; they didn't give me a ticket, and didn't even ask to see my license or vehicle registration, but just wanted me to clear out and drive away. Right before I left, they managed to give me a tip and told me not to park on the roadsides near RVs in this area, because the people living in them tend to be sketchy and unpleasant characters.

Well, you don't argue with the police in the middle of the night.

I got dressed, started the jeep, and drove away.

I wandered around the roads heading east for about half an hour, until I found a safe, quiet spot on the side of the road where I could spend the remainder of the night and get some sleep. This time, it really was the end of the fifth day of the journey.

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