Several years ago, Erin Saver, a good friend of mine and long distance hiker, sent me the coordinates for three relatively close geocaches close to some hidden waterfalls. I did check where those were but never made a point to actually go there until now. I started by mapping those points in a map and soon found that there was a “hidden” route in that location. That set my wheels in motion to find as much info as a could to finally go and check it out. While doing that, I learned the area had some history to it. Along the South Fork Clackamas there was, at some point in history, a project to build a small dam. Tunnels were blasted thru the rocky mountains to create a path for the water pipes and a dirt road was opened to access all that. The dam does not exist anymore but the pipe and tunnels are still there plus a lot of relics and small structures with valves and pipes. IN that same read, I also learned that getting there was no easy task, it required descending to the canyon using ropes, crossing bridges and even getting our feet wet. All that called for an adventure and of we went. The first hurdle we found was that NF-45 was closed at the bridge over the Clackamas river due to a washout. That was no big issue but forced us to park on the side of the road and add about a mile to our loop. So, we walked up the road until we found the little, unsigned urn-off heading to the canyon. It was a normal foot path like what you would find in an open field in the middle of nowhere. Soon we got to a point where the fun was about to begin. The path made a quick turn and started heading down and we noticed a rope tied to a tree to aid in the descent.
Later we would find that his was the first of several ropes we used on that first section just to descend from the path down to the creek. It felt like we were getting into the middle of the jungle until we found a sign informing on things to avoid to save the bats (?). Once down in the canyon, we followed a snaky rocky path until a tunnel appeared in front of us. Also, the first of several we would find. This tunnel was not long and didn’t have a pipe. It looked more like a tunnel to drive thru it (it was that big). On the other side, we continued descending and finally got to a concrete structure that looked like the base for a small power house or valve house. The trail seemed to disappear at that point so we had to explore a bit to find it again. The space opened a bit and it became easier to follow the path as it almost looked like a very old and overgrown road. Along it we found fittings, valves and a structure that we didn’t know what it was. The only remains are the ghostly looking aligned stumps.
Further down from there we got to a bridge big enough for a small truck. The bridge itself was pretty sturdy but it had a gaping hole from erosion. There was a nailed down board on the side connecting the road with the bridge that made it walkable. Jumping on that bridge was like jumping back in time. On the other side of the bridge was the actual old road and we found a big valve at that point. From this point, we had waterfalls upstream and downstream of us so my plan was first to head upstream as far as we could go and then retrace back to this spot and continue down. It seemed from the map that there was a trail or path along the Clackamas back to the bridge so I was thinking of taking that route afterwards to get back to the car – we will get to that in a bit….
For a little bit, we walked upstream in the canyon without any views or anything interesting until we got to the second “bridge”… It wasn’t really a bride or better yet, maybe it was at some point. What remained there was the pipe and two logs going over a small canyon. There were remains of tie downs but it seems a fire run thru and those were lost. The logs ae sturdy but you need some nerve to walk on those. Luckily there’s a path around it that requires a bit of bushwhacking and get you to the other side where you continue on another tunnel. The other thing you find when you get to this bridge though, is the first waterfall. We crossed the tunnel and then decided to bushwhack and scramble our way down to the creek to get to the base of the waterfall. It was just majestic and impressive. Certainly, worth the trip.
After several pictures and a scramble up the ravine, we continued thru the longest tunnel on this route that heads uphill quite steeply. At the other end, you can access the top of the waterfall where you discover it’s a multi-tier fall. At this point, the path just disappears and there are no more pipes or relics. Still, we continued upstream, first trying to keep our feet dry but then just splashing thru the river. We found several smaller falls and really beautiful scenery up until a swimming hole and waterfall where we stopped for lunch.
We then returned to the junction without any stops and continued on the next leg of the adventure heading downstream. There weren’t more tunnels as such on the way down but we did pass several rock arches as the canyon started to open. After one of those, we heard the roar of another waterfall and shortly afterward we found a rope tied to a tree. The message was clear to us, grab the rope and go down. This second waterfall was a bit shorter than the first but equally majestic as it sat in a rock cirque. There were several logs on either side that framed the fall and gave it perspective. Truly impressive.
Then came the hard part. We followed the path further down and finally made it to the Clackamas river which we needed to cross to get back to the car. So, we started hiking towards the bridge on the river edge. At a point, we had to get out feet wet as there was no other choice. We found ourselves with no easy route to follow. We knew that the access forest road was just above us at that point so we decided to bushwhack our way up – bad idea. Not only the ground is loose but also there’s soot and ashes from an old fire. If that’s not enough, the only things you can try to grab on are thorny berries bushes. It was torturous getting back to the road from thee but we finally made it and walked our way back to the cars. Definitely worth the trip as long as you avoid the bushwhack
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