Boyd Cave and Steelhead Falls

Part I: Boyd Cave

Our first day in Bend we decided to do some hiking type activities. I usually like to do something strenuous my first day in such places, so i can use the second day as a rest day and then explore the town. My primary goal had been to go to the Three Sisters, but since they were on fire we had to find something else to do with our time.

We decided a good way to spend some time when the air was full of choking smoke was to seek shelter underground and underwater. Bend is located on top of extensive lava flows that stretch as far as the eye can see in all directions (the Three Sisters are all volcanoes along the Cascades, and there are cinder cones around town) Outside of town are dozens of lava tubes, some of which are closed, some require a tour guide, and some are open to the public.

If you have trouble finding Boyd Cave just head towards the two pines standing by themselves in the sage.

A couple was emerging from the tube just as we arrived. No one else was there. The entrance is just a skylight in the ceiling.

My We drove south of town to access a tube known as Boyd Cave. It's only about a 15 minute drive out of town and offers 2,000 feet of passage. Several areas of breakdown or pinched passage require scrambling/crawling. Those sections reminded me that i had just climbed from sea level to 4,000ft.. It's a pretty good lava tube, about 45 degrees inside, which felt perfect after the strenuous section. We managed not to sweat, and the tube is bone dry and clean. It was the perfect opportunity for me to practice cave photography, which i had never done in the digital age.

My first attempt at a picture i really messed up everything, but the image still looks pretty cool. I had brought one flash and my technique was to simply open the shutter, walk around firing off the flash, then walk back to the camera and close the shutter.

My second attempt i did quite a bit better but still failed completely at "hiding" myself from the flash. The popcorn texture on the ground is dry stone. Not what you want to crawl on.

On the third attempt i aimed the camera too far down. It's hard to aim the camera in pitch black. I did a better job hiding but still had to use the flashlight to get around. My final attempt is up top. Again, the snaking texture on the ground is the last lava to flow through the tube.

One of the things i find interesting about some lava tubes is the remarkably similar shapes in some of the passages to actual water carved caves, even though the origin processes are nearly complete opposites. A water cave is carved from the inside working out through erosion over eons, while a lava tube is made from the outside in from nothing more than the cooling of molten rock. The common factor is fluids.

Back at the entrance to the tube. It's nice to have a ladder. A lot of caves are challenging to get into.

Part II: Steelhead Falls

OK, see that girl at the bottom, and in line with her shadow is something making another shadow? That's a duck. I'll get to that in a minute. Also notice the people on the far cliffs by the falls. That was a cool place to be.

One thing i found surprising about the Bend area is that there are LOTS of waterfalls in the area. Although Bend is in a high desert the area to the East quickly becomes lush forest and in both areas the water has made quick work of the basalt that makes up the landscape. Our lava tube excursion only took up the morning hours, so we came back to town, got reorganized and set off in the opposite direction.

Just what you want to see when it's close to 100 degrees.

Steelhead Falls is about a 40 minute drive north of Bend, near the town of Terrebonne. It's then at least a 1/2 mile hike down into the bottom of a canyon carved out by the Deschutes River. The directions to the canyon are tricky, but once your on the trail you can't miss the falls. The river suddenly drops over a 15 foot cliff into a long pool before the canyon narrows again. Along the pool are cliffs ranging from 10 to 25 feet and the water is deep along the higher jumps. Where it starts to constrict there are higher cliffs but at that point the water depth might be an issue. It's a popular hangout for locals, and indeed, there were many locals in the area when we arrived.

Ooh this is going to be coool. Bye the way, see that dog?

Ooh, this is NOT going to be coool. Bye the way, see that dog?

See that dog? Maniac dog jumped off the cliff to be with it's master. Now that's coool!

It's a fantastic swimming hole, and i didn't waste much time before taking my turn at the cliffs. It had been more than 10 years since i'd jumped off a cliff. It may have been as long ago as the days i worked at Lake Powell. I nearly went into shock when i hit the water. It's freezing cold due to a damn upstream. As cold as it was i found a place to stand up to my waist where i could experience equilibrium in the 95 degree heat. Cliff jumping is something you should more often than once a decade.

The locals were nice, and of course being from Alaska is advantageous when talking to strangers due to everyone's interest in the far north. One guy showed up with a duck. He went on and on about the advantages of duck ownership. Really. I hear duck eggs are way better than chicken eggs. He took the duck down to the water and put it on a leash while it swam around. Ironically the duck didn't really seem to enjoy the water.

I have to hand it to the locals of the Bend area. At the waterfall, even with so many people constantly moving through, drinking tons of Red Bull and beer, and even smoking, i didn't see ANY litter or garbage in the area. The same goes for the lava tube. You guys rock.