FKT: Matt Greensmith - McKenzie River Trail (OR) - 2021-05-29

I started at the lower trailhead to get the climb out of the way first. The route was uneventful except that the trail through the waterfall sections and around Clear Lake was much more technical than I expected. Traffic on the trail was heavy, especially between the Tamolich blue pool and its closest trailhead, where there were lots of families. Water is always available from the river if needed, but there were sufficient side canyon creeks directly crossing the trail that I didn’t ever have to get down to the main riverbank to refill. I ended my day with a soak in the Bigelow hot spring, and made friends with another runner and joined her group around a campfire at the Deer Creek campground. A wonderful Memorial Day Saturday all around.