About an hour east of Eugene there’s a little hidden gem (actually 2 hidden gems!) nestled in the shadow of Mount Washington and the great Cascades. I’m not talking about Cougar Hot Spring, which you can read about here. No, I’m talking about Sahalie and Koosah falls, a little further north and into the mountains.

These falls are quite a drive from Portland, but well worth it. The 2.6 mile loop is easy, relatively flat and downright gorgeous, and not just because of the dramatic pair of 50′ vertical block falls (yes, there are different types of falls, you can read about them here).

Here’s a shot of Koosah Falls:

And one of Sahalie:

The thing about this place is that the beauty can be found all along the path, not just at the falls. We found a number of spots that caught our attention and forced us to pause. That’s the beautiful part of life on a trail: We knew the waterfalls were going to be gorgeous, but we were not expecting this:

Or this:

 

And the little things that Dava finds along the way that most of us would miss entirely:

During our hike, we met several different people (and their animal companions). Everyone was in awe of how enchanting the trail was. One of the falls was adorned with the most beautiful rainbow that seemed to fade into the rushing of the water. Being in that moment of gratefulness and fullness of life is what driving 3+ hours to get there was all about. It was a short hike, but there’s so much more than how many miles you can get in a day’s hike.

Mountain hiking is hard. In order to get the light, you have to be up at dawn. You have to be willing to walk out into a world that’s cold, quiet and do that without decent caffeine. The people that get the most out of hikes like this are the ones who show up. The ones who brave the weather, brave the cold and deeply connect. Those of us who don’t let things get between where we are and where we want to be.

Nature is calling. Will you answer?