So we had no idea what we were in for when we began this hike.  The morning of the hike I had stopped in at a local donut shop and I asked the young man working if we should go to the Blue Hole (also known as Tamolitch Falls) or something else (which I cannot remember now what option B was).  He said I would definitely go and see the Blue Hole.  So we took his advice and drove a little over an hour to the Northwest of Bend.  We found parking and unfortunately there was a light drizzle occurring.  Nick decided he was going to wait in the car for us.  As we started towards the trailhead we actually ran into an elementary school classmate of Nick’s who was finishing up the hike.  So crazy we would meet up with someone we knew all the way back here in the deep woods of Oregon.

The short version of this hike is that the drizzle eventually turned into outright downpours of rain – I mean pouring!  We had on our rain proof gear but we still seemed soaked and the hike seemed longer (4.2 miles round trip) than we thought it would be – no doubt due to the rain and mud.  By the time we made it to the actual Blue Pool the rain had thankfully let up for a bit and we could enjoy looking at it.  The blue pool is indeed blue!  

The geology of what makes the Blue Pool so blue and cold (it is ~ 37 degrees year round) is fascinating.  A lava flow from Belknap Crater around 1,600 years ago actually buried the McKenzie River for about 3 miles.  This forced the river to run underground for 3 miles and then it works its way up to the surface through the lava rocks.  This process purifies the water even more resulting in its purity and brilliant color.  I love the picture of Kelsey with Brett looking down from the trail as the McKenzie river rushed beneath them.  The clear turquoise water of the river contrasting with the deep green of the forest makes this area unlike any we have in the Midwest.

When we were there in June the water ran strong enough to actually appear as a small waterfall but most of the time it seeps out of the wall of the basin.  Some of my pictures give you a sense of this.

In the end we emerged from the forest trail looking a lot like drowned rats.  But I will tell you it is experiences like this that I look back on fondly and laugh about with my family saying “Do you remember that hike to the blue hole?” with a big smile on my face. 🙂