I left Lincoln City in the morning and instead of heading back to Portland, I decided to take Highway 101 North until I reached my favorite beach near Manzanita. I love driving through this area, not because it has particularly beautiful scenery, but because it reminds me of home - upstate NY. Sometimes I miss cows, horses and rickety farm towns! I even miss the smell of pastures and believe it or not... "cow patties". It looks like this:
It was an hour drive from Lincoln City to Tillamook. When I saw the sign for Munson Creek Falls, I decided to take a detour as I'd never been there and had no schedule to stick to.
I'm more sure than ever that I need to buy a jeep or truck, if I'm going to keep taking these trips. My poor baby car! This was yet another primitive road, but filled with huge craters, not debris. There is a parking area with picnic tables, but no restrooms.
As I got ready to take the hike, I reached in the back of the car for my raincoat, and realized that I had left both of my coats back in Lincoln City... at the kabin! GRRR! After a few choice words uttered aloud concerning my intelligence, or lack thereof... I decided to just go ahead and hike before going back to Lincoln City for the coats.
The trail is short and is not very challenging, although there are some gentle inclines. It is quiet and there are numerous spots for sitting and relaxing while watching/listening to the creek. It does not take long to spot the falls.
And then... I spotted the "Trail Closed" sign.
Now, I was the only person there... no other cars, no sign of anyone at all. So, of course, I ignored the sign and went around the little barricade to see what I could see. And I really wanted to get closer to the falls after driving through all those dang potholes in the road!
I had no problem climbing over the large tree that you see in the picture. I slipped and slid over lots of rocks that had fallen on the trail. But when I got to this mess ... I stopped. As I started to clamber over some of the branches... everything started to shift. I decided that it would be right in line with my current luck to slip and have a tree either trap me or crush my ankle. And since I really needed to do a lot more driving... I decided to become a little more law abiding! I guess I'm getting older... I wouldn't have thought twice about making my way through it when I was younger!
Here are pictures of the falls themselves. Due to the trail closure, you can't get very close, but it's still a good family hike or a quick stretch for body and mind if you're taking that long Highway 101 drive.
If I'd had the time, I would have loved to grab a car blanket, a book and my lunch. It was so quiet and soothing, with the sound of the falls. And I love the weird, moss-covered trees in front of the falls. It doesn't take much to tickle me ... really!
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