This past weekend, I had the good fortune of being shown a secret spot. I am going to share a few photos here, not because I want to brag and taunt everyone with it, but because I want to fully encourage you to go out and find a secret spot of your own! Why keep it a secret, you might ask? Because it is great fun visiting a place where you are very sure few others have visited, it’s a way to protect a place that might be sensitive to human impacts, and it’s a very special thing you will be able to share with special people in your life. When swapping hiking stories on our very first date, my mountain man told me about this amazing secret spot where a river’s headwaters flowed right out of a mossy hillside in a plethora of cascading waterfalls, and that he might just show it to me one day. Although he already had me at “I’ve hiked all over the Central Oregon Cascades”, the intrigue of a secret spot was pretty irresistible. He also took his sweet time taking me to visit this spot, keeping me waiting for over a year, so when we ventured out to find it this weekend, the suspense was built. I felt pretty darn special.
I have seen headwaters that appeared out of the ground before, but nothing quite like this. Waterfalls gushed and gurgled out of a steep, forested hillside for hundreds of feet and met in all these roaring channels below, popping in and out of the ground in places under roots and mossy logs.
It was pretty amazing to see all that water just keep coming as though the supply were endless. I asked him if it flowed like that year round, and he said even in summer months the flow remains substantial.
I was also amazed by all the different types of waterfalls that were created. Some roared over rocks, some poured in sheets off of ledges and logs, and some simply disappeared into the ground, only to be heard faintly under our feet.
The moss, as described, was truly magnificent. It covered everything in sight, creating a magical bright green carpet around the moving water. Part of the reason this place has been kept a secret is to protect all the mosses and delicate plant life from foot traffic, which I can appreciate. The fewer people that pass this way, the more it can recover in between visitors.
So, the next time you feel like going out in nature, try exploring a little to find a spot off the beaten path that you can establish as your secret spot. Just let a few close, trusted people in on it and swear them to secrecy, but mostly keep it as a treasure for yourself. Sharing it with someone will let them know they are special to you. It can also be something you reserve for showing to kids or grand kids one day as a rite of passage or special occasion to become a family tradition.
And when it’s all said and done, it is just plain fun to have a secret spot.
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