Category: Mt. Jefferson Area

Canyon Creek Meadows – 07/18/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 21, 2026
2 Comments on Canyon Creek Meadows – 07/18/2026

It had been 13 years since we visited the wildflower meadows of Canyon Creek Meadows below Three Fingered Jack (post). Between our focus on hiking new trail (to us) and popularity of this hike we’d stayed away, but the Central Cascade Wilderness Permit system combined with the hike’s length being in the range of what I’m able to do right now it was time for another visit.

We secured our day use permits and made our way to the Jack Lake Trailhead. Note that Forest Road 1234 currently has several gouges due to runoff that are passable but require caution.

We arrived a little after 7am.

We picked up the Old Summit Trail next to the trailhead signboards and followed it around Jack Lake.

Glaucous beardtongue

Hardhack

Three Fingered Jack from Jack Lake.

Spreading dogbane

Sickletop lousewort

Fireweed

Scarlet gilia

North and Middle Sister with Jack Lake below.

An aster

The forest is still recovering from the 2003 B & B Complex fires.

Pearly everlasting

Scouler’s bluebells

At the 0.4-mile mark we passed a Mount Jefferson Wilderness sign and arrived at a junction with the one-way Canyon Creek Trail.

Heeding the one-way designation we turned left onto the Canyon Creek Trail. This trail climbed steadily for 1.7-miles to a junction with the Glacier View Trail near Canyon Creek.

Three Fingered Jack from the junction.

Lupine

Black Butte (post) to the left with Broken Top (partly behind Cache Mountain, and North & Middle Sister to the right. The haze is wildfire smoke from several recent lightning ignited fires across Central and Eastern Oregon.

I believe this is a Hoffmann’s Checkerspot.

As the trail climbed there were a few more trees that had survived the 2003 fires.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Woodland beardtongue

One-sided wintergreen

Small unnamed lake along the trail.

Rosy spirea

Arrowleaf groundsel

Mt. Jefferson to the north.

California tortoiseshell

Stellar’s jay

Arnica

Descending into the first of the meadows.

Thistle

Pussy paws

Larkspur

California stickseed

Another aster

Collection of wildflowers.

Sign at the junction. The one-way Canyon Creek Trail turns right here along the creek and returns to the Old Summit Trail. Before completing the loop we turned left on the Glacier View Trail to visit the upper meadow and to hopefully spot a mountain goat or two.

It is just under three-quarters of a mile to the upper meadow from the junction where one can continue on a climbers trail up a moraine to a cirque lake and then beyond to a saddle below the mountain with a view to the south.

Columbine and arrowleaf groundsel

Suksdorf’s paintbrush?

Subalpine mariposa lily

Lewis’ monkeyflower and paintbrush among other flowers.

The views of Three Finger Jack get better the closer you get to the upper meadow.

I was so focused on the mountain that I missed seeing a herd of mountain goats that were further to the left of this photo. Heather spotted them but I had gotten too far ahead for her to be able to point them out to me.

Mountain Indian paintbrush

View of the upper meadow from the trail. There are a couple of trails that lead down to the upper meadow but since our goal was to at least make it to the cirque lake we stayed as high up as the trails allowed.

Looking up at the moraine and a hiker atop it on the left.

Lewis’ monkeyflower

Silverleaf phacelia

Little flower penstemon

Heading up the moraine.

Fuzzy elmera. As far as I know this is the first time we’ve seen this flower, or at least noticed it.

Three Fingered Jack from the moraine. The Jack Glacier carved this side of the mountain but is no more than a small permanent snowfield now.

The lake from the moraine.

Mt. Jefferson and the upper meadow from the moraine.

Looking up at the saddle from the moraine.

After a short break atop the moraine, I continued up the trail.

Yarrow

Pollinator visiting Pacific stonecrop.

Looking back down during one of my breaks on the climb up.

As I continued climbing some hikers ahead noticed a mountain descending the rocky hillside to our left (opposite Three Fingered Jack). I pulled out the bigger camera that I was carrying in order to have better zoom capabilities and took a number of photos as we passed each other.

This one was tagged and wearing a tracking collar.

The mountain goat in the shadow to the right.

I veered left on a slightly more level path instead of going directly up to the saddle. This route led to a large bench.

Pink and white mountain heather

A more level trail over to the saddle.

Mt. Jefferson

The ridge extending south from the bench.

I followed this trail around the bench to reach the saddle.

Three Fingered Jack from the long saddle.

View NE from the saddle.

The view south.

Tam McArthur Rim (post), Broken Top, Mt. Bachelor (post) and the Three Sisters.

Mt. Washington with The Husband behind.

When I reached the saddle I could see Heather sitting next to some trees along the ridge above the lake.

I correctly deduced that she had decided that was far enough so after I had a snack I headed back down to where she had been watching the mountain goats. (She had spotted a couple more while I was exploring the ridge.)

The other goats she’d seen had gone around the corner except for one whose haunches were still visible. (At the bottom of a small crescent shaped cleft about halfway down the rocky portion of the hillside.)

After she pointed out the other goat to me, we started back down the trail.

Lewis’ monkeyflower

Cliff beardtongue

On our way back we dropped down an obvious trail to the upper meadow.

Many of the flowers in the meadow are lupine, which was mostly past, but as we neared Canyon Creek there were still a lot of blooming flowers.

The trail left the upper meadow and continued along Canyon Creek for 0.2-miles before rejoining the Glacier View Trail. We then followed that trail back to the junction with the Canyon Creek Trail.

Back on the Glacier View Trail.

Subalpine mariposa lily and aster.

Fritillary

We briefly took a wrong fork along the Glacier View Trail following this former creek bed?

Ladybug on false hellebore.

Orange agoseris

The Canyon Creek Trail junction.

We stayed straight at the junction following the one-way instructions and followed Canyon Creek for a mile to the Old Summit Trail.

Large boykinia

Subalpine fleabane

Looking back over Canyon Creek at Three Fingered Jack.

The Old Summit Trail junction.

We turned right onto the Old Summit Trail and followed it 1.2-miles back to the start of the Canyon Creek Loop.

By 11:30 the Akawa Butte Fire in Jefferson County was throwing up smoke plumes.

Smoke plumes from the Akawa Butte Fire rising behind Green Ridge (post).

California tortoiseshell butterflies enjoying the damp ground.

The trail sign at the junction with the Canyon Creek Trail ahead to the right.

It was just 0.4 mostly downhill miles back to the car from the junction.

Twinflower

Three Fingered Jack from Jack Lake.

It was interesting to look back at some of the photos from 2013 to see how the fire recovery was progressing. Here is Jack Lake with a lot more snags in 2013.

Here is a view of Mt. Jefferson from the Old Summit Trail from 2013 and 2026.

My hike including the exploration on the bench and to the saddle came to 8.1-miles with approximately 1600′ of elevation gain.

It was a lot of fun revisiting this hike and seeing the mountain goats was just an extra bonus for us. Hopefully the Forest Service can fix some of the water damage to the road before it gets any worse because it is a destination worth visiting. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Canyon Creek Meadows

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Marion Lake – 07/06/2026

My brother and his family came for a weeklong visit on the 4th of July from Missouri. When we first talked about the visit Jason mentioned they were hoping to join us on a hike so I’d asked what their ideal hike would entail. The answer was something in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, preferably involving a lake and a waterfall with a length of 5 to 6 miles. I immediately thought of Marion Lake, a hike that includes two lakes, a pair of waterfalls, and views of both Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson. As an extra bonus our son Dominique would also be joining us.

We had done this hike back in 2014 (post) and returned in 2016 for a much longer loop to the Eight Lakes Basin deeper in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderenss (post). Those visits were prior to the implementation of the Central Cascade Wilderness permit system. Permits are now required from June 15th to October 15th. Overnight permits are required to stay anywhere in the Mt. Jefferson. Three Sisters, and Mt. Washington Wilderness areas while day use permits are currently required at 19 of the 79 trailheads accessing these wilderness areas including the Marion Lake Trailhead. Day use permits are released in two rounds. About 40% of the day use permits for a specific date are released at 7am ten days before that day with the reminder made available two days before the date. I was ready at our computer at 7am on 6/26 and secured the six $1 permits we’d need for our families.

They were good sports and were willing to be on the road at 6am to allow us to be at the trailhead around 7:30am and take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures.

We followed the trail gradually uphill for approximately three quarters of mile to the boundary of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.

Prince’s pine

Twinflower

Most of the rhododendron were done blooming but a few blossoms remained.

Anemone

There were a few ripe huckleberries along this stretch.

Washington lily

Our sharp-eyed niece spotted this frog along the trail.

Wilderness sign near the boundary.

Sugar sticks, also spotted by Bekkah.

The trail continued its gradual climb which included a couple of switchbacks before arriving at Lake Ann near the 1.6-mile mark.

One of several small springs along the trail.

Wintergreen

Thimbleberry

The outlet of Lake Ann flows beneath the trail here through the porous lava.

The trail passing along Lake Ann.

Lake Ann

After a short break at Lake Ann where we spotted a common merganser on the water and debated whether or not the brown hump on the far side of the lake was a grazing deer or something else (it was something else) we continued on. Just two tenths of a mile later we arrived at a junction where the trail split.

The Marion Lake Trail went left while the Marion Lake Outlet Trail was to the right. We forked right onto the Outlet Trail and in another tenth of a mile came to the unsigned trail to Marion Falls on our right.

We turned right onto this rougher path which crossed over a small ridge then descended to the top of Marion Falls.

This trail had a number of downed trees that required stepping over.

Gnome-plant

Above Marion Falls.

While there was some blowdown over the trail to the top of the falls it isn’t a particularly difficult 0.2-miles. The trail steepens significantly however if you wish to reach the bottom of the waterfall.

The trail disappearing as it drops steeply down the hillside.

Marion Falls

At the bottom of Marion Falls you are also near the top of Gatch Falls. (Some say it is actually just the lower tier of Marion Falls.)

Bachelor Mountain (post) from the top of Gatch Falls.

Monkeyflower

Looking back up the trail from below.

To get a view of Gatch Falls requires an even rougher and steeper descent.

Marion Creek continues tumbling downhill to Gooch Falls (post) a little over two miles downstream.

After admiring the waterfalls, we climbed back up to the top of Marion Falls and took a well-earned snack break before returning to the Marion Lake Outlet Trail.

We followed the trail another half mile around rocky hillsides where my brother’s family spotted a pika as it darted over the rocks and paused briefly before disappearing.

There is plenty of pika habitat such as this in the area.

After the half mile we found ourselves at a junction with the Blue Lake Trail.

At the junction we faced a choice, in order to keep the hike at 6-miles we would have needed to turn left here and hike 0.7-miles along Marion Lake to the Marion Lake Trail and turn left again for 0.4-miles to the junction with the Marion Lake Outlet Trail near Lake Ann. If, however, we wanted to get a view of the wilderness’ namesake, Mt. Jefferson, a detour or two would be needed. By turning right on the Blue Lake Trail for a quarter mile across a talus slope, the top of Mt. Jefferson would be visible across the lake which is what we did.

Better views can be had by going a little further, but because trees line the trail beyond it requires descending steeply to the lake shore which was a little more effort than we had in us today.

After getting a look at Mt. Jefferson we recrossed Marion Creek and hiked along the forested lake shore to the next detour at the day use peninsula.

The only beargrass that had any blossoms left on it.

Three Fingered Jack

Marion Peak is the forested peak to the left and Marion Mountain (post) is the rounded hump just left of center.

We detoured out the peninsula and took a break on some bedrock smoothed by ice age glaciers with a view of the top of Mt. Jefferson.

I continued steeply down the end of the peninsula to get another view of Three Fingered Jack before joining the rest of the group on the rocks.

California tortoiseshell

Creamy stonecrop and beardtongue

Paintbrush

After a nice break we returned to the main trail and continued on to the junction with the Marion Lake Trail.

Vine maple and thimbleberry along the trail.

Signpost at the junction.

We turned left and started the 2.2-mile return to the trailhead.

Lake Ann in the afternoon.

Heading out of the wilderness.

Pearly everlasting at the trailhead.

My GPS registered 6.6-miles for this hike. Total elevation gain for the hike was approximately 975′. My trip to the end of the peninsula added a little over a tenth of a mile.

Everyone survived the hike and more importantly seemed to enjoy it. It was a lot of fun spending the day with family and enjoying God’s creation. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Marion Lake

Tags Blue Lake Trail, gatch falls, hiking, lake ann, Marion Creek, marion falls, marion lake, Marion Lake Outlet Trail, Marion Lake Trail, Marion Lake Trailhead, Marion Mountain, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Three Fingered Jack

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Maxwell Butte & Lava Lakes Trails – 10/18/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 20, 2025
No Comments on Maxwell Butte & Lava Lakes Trails – 10/18/2025

I had been looking for a good time to check out the Lava Lakes Trail since my hike to Duffy Lake in September (post). That opportunity presented itself when Heather decided she wasn’t quite feeling up to an outing. A quick check of the forecast showed mostly sunny skies with temperatures close to freezing in the morning and gradually increasing to the mid 50s.

My plan was to take the Maxwell Butte Trail to the Lava Lakes Trail then follow that trail to the Duffy Lake Trail and visit Duffy Lake for the second time this year. If I felt up to it on the way back, I would detour up Maxwell Butte before returning to the car.

We have hiked up Maxwell Butte twice in the past (2015) & (2019) and both times had parked near the restrooms at the Maxwell Butte Sno-Park. With the current government shutdown I wouldn’t be utilizing those facilities so this time I drove the extra 0.5-miles to the Maxwell Butte Trailhead.

This is one of the trailheads that requires a Central Cascades Wilderness Day Use Permit however they are only required between June 15th and October 15th meaning shutdown or not I didn’t need one today.

It was 2.2-miles of gradual climbing from the trailhead to the junction with the Lava Lakes Trail.

There are a couple of signed junctions with Nordic Trails in the first 1.2-miles before the trail enters the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.

The first junction was at the half mile mark. The nordic trail is the one to the right.

The Maxwell Butte Trail also has nordic markers.

At the 1.2-mile mark a nordic trail crosses the Maxwell Butte Trail. This trail is part of a 7.3-mile loop that passes two snow shelters.

The Cascades got their first significant snow the previous weekend and I started seeing some small remaining patches around 4800′ in elevation.

Frosty leaves

This hawk seemed a little irritated with my presence.

Signpost at the Lava Lakes/Maxwell Butte Trail junction.

I stayed left at the junction on what was now the Lava Lakes Trail. I took a brief detour to see Twin Lakes near the junction before continuing on.

The Lava Lakes Trail extends 2.8-miles between the Maxwell Butte and Duffy Lake Trail. The trail was in good shape and relatively level all things considered.

A little under a half mile from the junction the trail passed near Train Lake which wasn’t really visible from the trail, but a very short use trail brought me to a campsite on the rocks above the lake.

The top of Maxwell Butte was visible over the trees on the far side of Train Lake.

Train Lake

I started encountering more snow beyond Train Lake, but it was only about an inch or two deep at most.

Both trails had a few small logs down that were easily stepped over or around.

A kitty had used the trail at some point.

Just under 2-miles from the junction the trail passed a small pond/lake at the base of a talus slope.

While I was checking out the body of water I was also keeping an eye out for pikas which eventually paid off.

After passing the pond the trail began to descend toward the Duffy Lake Trail.

Coral fungus

As I neared the Duffy Lake Trail I came to what appeared to be an old junction.

Note the pieces of trail sign on the tree.

There had not been any other trail junctions on any of the maps I had looked at during my planning, and there was clear tread straight ahead, so I continued straight here. Had I stopped to check the GPS I would have seen that the trail as shown on the map made a hard left here and I would have reached the Duffy Lake Trail in 100 yards. Instead I wound up in some meadows along channels of the North Santiam River.

Duffy Butte rising above the trees.

I spotted a blaze in a tree next to some trail tread so I headed in that direction.

That led me to another meadow where I completely lost any sign of trail. I finally checked my GPS and realized what had happened. I had gone two tenths of a mile toward Duffy Lake through Duffy Prairie and was now only about 100′ from the Duffy Lake Trail, so I simply crossed the dry riverbed and popped onto the trail and headed right.

Duffy Lake Trail

Less than a tenth of a mile later I was at the junction with the Duffy, Blue, and Santiam Lakes Trails.

At the junction I turned left toward Duffy Lake to the day use area I’d stopped at in September.

Duffy Butte

Duffy Lake

After a brief stay at Duffy Lake I headed back along the Duffy Lake Trail. It was 0.3-miles to the actual junction with the Lava Lakes Trail.

I turned left at the junction, crossed the North Santiam River (bed), and came to the junction where I’d gone straight earlier.

The riverbed was still dry despite the recent rain and snow.

Approaching the junction. I could see why I had missed the tread; there were a couple of downed trees laying along it and blocking the view coming from the direction that I had.

I turned right and made the 2.8-mile hike back to the Maxwell Butte Trail junction. I scanned for pikas as I passed the talus slope and stopped again briefly at Train Lake, but it was a pretty uneventful return. The forest was beautiful, one of the few trails left in the wilderness that doesn’t pass through any recent fire scars. (The Cal Topo fire history layer shows no fires on the 1900-present layer.)

There were a few snags around the talus slope but also many tall green trees.

With the Sun higher up Train Lake was a greener color now.

Back at the Maxwell Butte Trail junction just after 10:30am.

It was such a gorgeous day that I couldn’t skip a side trip up Maxwell Butte so I turned left at the junction and passed Twin Lakes on the other side.

It isn’t easy to make out in the photo but the snowy top of Mt. Jefferson was visible in the distance over Twin Lakes.

While there had been snow on the Lava Lakes Trail there were more clear sections than snowy. That wasn’t the case with the Maxwell Butte Trail beyond Twin Lakes. It still wasn’t deep but it made the going a little slower.

Deer print

As the trail neared Maxwell Butte the forest thinned out which also lessened the amount of snow covering it.

With less trees and more elevation I began getting views to the south of several Cascade peaks.

Mt. Washington partially behind the tree on the left. Broken Top is visible between the flank of Mt. Washington and the North Sister. Middle and South Sister are to the right.

Maxwell Butte looming above the trail.

Flat topped Hayrick Butte and Hoodoo Butte in front of the above-mentioned peaks. To the right of the Three Sisters is The Husband (with snow). To the right of that in the distance is Substitute Point (post) and Proxy Point. The hump with a little snow on it closer to the right is Scott Mountain (post).

Diamond Peak (post) in the distance behind Sand Mountain and the Sand Mountain Lookout (post).

The trail eventually begins a series of switchbacks to reach the former lookout site atop Maxwell Butte.

A better look at Tam McArthur Rim (post) and Broken Top behind Mt. Washington.

Black Butte (post) to the east.

Zoomed in on Black Butte.

There wasn’t a lot of snow along the switchbacks but there were a few drifts like this. I had my micro-spikes with me just in case, but someone had already been through to create steps, so I never actually felt the need to put them on.

Snow in the crater on Maxwell Butte.

Almost to the summit.

Mt. Jefferson from the former lookout site.

It was about 20-minutes before Noon when I reached the summit which was almost 2 hours later than it had been on our last visit. I was hoping that the later arrival would improve the view by allowing the Sun to be more directly overhead and that was indeed the case. (Our first visit doesn’t count because we were socked in by clouds that day.)

With the recent snow it was a lot easier to make out Mt. Hood to the left of Mt. Jefferson.

Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson

Three Fingered Jack and Black Butte

Mt. Hood with Bear Point (post) and Dinah-Mo Peak along the ridge in front.

Mt. Jefferson

Three Fingered Jack

The view south.

Black Crater (post) to the left of Broken Top, Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters.

I took a break on a rock outcrop overlooking the wilderness and looked for the various lakes we’ve visited over time.

Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and Three Fingered Jack along with several lakes in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.

Santiam Lake (post)

Upper (closer) and Lower Berley Lakes (post)

I could just see a little of Craig Lake (post) ontop of this plateau.

Mowich Lake and Red Butte.

After having a snack and resting my feet I tagged the actual summit and then headed back down.

The summit view.

Heading down.

The clouds were showing their hand that a change in the weather was coming. Another wet system would be moving in overnight.

I ran into the first other hikers, a couple and a dog, that I’d seen all day while I was taking a picture of some ferns that had turned color.

Passing Twin Lakes again.

Huckleberry bushes along the Maxwell Butte Trail.

Vine maple leaves turning color.

A varied thrush. For those of you who regularly read our trip reports you know this is my nemesis as far as photos go. For me this is a pretty good one as I can tell what kind of a bird I was trying to photograph.

Back at the trailhead.

I saw one other hiker, and her dog, after the couple and that was it. There had been people camped at Duffy Lake, but I only heard them and saw the tents in the distance. I had expected to at least see a hunter or two given it was rifle season for deer, but I’m not complaining. I was anticipating 15.6-miles and my GPS showed 15.7 which made sense given the handful of detours to get a view of the lakes. Total elevation gain was approximately 3100′.

This was a really enjoyable hike. The forest was great, and the handful of lakes and ponds provided some additional attractions. The view from Maxwell Butte was excellent as well and I did not regret adding the extra distance and elevation to my day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lava Lakes Trail

Tags Duffy Lake, Duffy Lake Trail, Duffy Prairie, hiking, Lava Lakes Trail, maxwell butte, maxwell butte sno-park, Maxwell Butte Trail, Maxwell Butte Trailhead, Oregon, Train Lake, Twin Lakes

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oakridge Area Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Head of Jack Creek (10/4/2025) & McCredie Hot Springs (10/5/2025)

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 6, 2025
No Comments on Head of Jack Creek (10/4/2025) & McCredie Hot Springs (10/5/2025)

Hiking took a backseat this past weekend as we headed to Bend for a joint birthday celebration for our son and Heather’s father. Both have October birthdays with a 50-year gap in between, and this year was 30 & 80 respectively. Despite those ages not seeming possible (or believable) celebrate we did.

On our way from Salem over to Bend we made a stop at Jack Creek Campground for a short leg stretching hike to the Head of Jack Creek.

From the end of the campground a wide, nearly level, 0.4-mile trail parallels Jack Creek leading to several springs.

Chipmunk

Jack Creek stays within earshot of the trail but glimpses of it are rare until near the springs.

The trail passes along the eastern end of the 2003 B & B Fire scar.

Larch tree starting to don its fall color.

Near the three-quarter mile mark we passed a bench at a junction with a spur arriving from the right. There is another possible trailhead, but there is little information on its exact location or on the condition of the access road.

Sign for the Head of Jack Creek at the end of the trail.

Head of Jack Creek

After seeing the springs we returned the way we’d come and finished our drive to Bend. We spent just over an hour on the 2.6-mile hike so there was plenty of day left to visit and celebrate with Heather’s family.

Heather had picked our son up in Eugene on Friday and we’d celebrated his birthday with my parents that night. Since we needed to drop him off back in Eugene before we headed back to Salem we took Highway 58 over Willamette Pass. I had been looking for a similar leg stretcher along this drive and decided to finally check out McCredie Hot Springs and make it a theme weekend. There is a day use area along Highway 58 just over 8-miles east of Oakridge with very short path leading to pools on the north bank of Salt Creek. A longer trail beginning at a pullout along gravel forest road 5875 leads to some pools on the south bank of the creek. This “longer” trail is just 0.4-miles making it another short hike.

Sign above the pullout.

One of two access points to the trail from the pullout.

The trail had a couple of downed trees along with some roots and rocks along with a little under 100′ of elevation change.

Salt Creek

These mushrooms were a color that we couldn’t recall seeing before.

McCredie Hot Springs. Please be aware that nudity is allowed at most hot springs in Oregon and McCredie is no exception. There were a couple of people in the hot springs on the north bank so there are no pictures of that side.

This was the largest pool. We wouldn’t call it hot but it was nice and warm.

This smaller pool was a little warmer.

Reflection in the hot springs.

After inspecting the pools we returned to the car and drove on to Eugene and then headed home. This stop was under a mile with around 75′ of cumulative elevation gain.

Both of these stops were nice breaks on the drives over the passes. It was fun to have them both involve springs but have them be such different types. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Head of Jack Creek & McCredie Hot Springs

Tags Head of Jack Creek, hiking, Jack Creek Campground, McCredie Hot Springs, Oregon, Salt Creek

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Duffy Lake Trail to Jorn Lake – 09/17/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 22, 2025
6 Comments on Duffy Lake Trail to Jorn Lake – 09/17/2025

For the second hike of my September vacation I decided to revisit one of our earliest hikes. Our first visit and only previous visit to Duffy Lake (post) had been over 15 years ago and was only our 14th day spent hiking. Since that time I have spent 774 more days on trails. My plan for this outing was to revisit Duffy and Mowich Lakes and to continue on to Jorn Lake which we had visited on a 2016 hike starting from the Marion Lake Trailhead (post). I left open the option to hike up Red Butte depending on the amount of wildfire haze, and how I was feeling.

I obtained a Central Cascades Wilderness Day Use Permit for the Duffy Lake Trailhead and arrived shortly before sunrise (I had expected to be delayed by road construction.)

There were already a lot of cars at the trailhead.

I set off on the Duffy Lake Trail which was quickly joined on the left by the main spur of the Duffy Lake Trail which begins at Big Meadows Horse Camp at the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness boundary.

It’s 3.3-miles and 750′ of elevation gain to Duffy Lake from the trailhead which makes for a pretty gentle climb. Both Heather and I prefer to have shorter sections broken up by markers (preferably no more than 1.5-miles) and for this hike I used a couple of trail junctions to do just that. From the junction with the cutoff to Big Meadows Horse Camp it is approximately 1.4-miles to the Turpentine Trail.

The first of two rock fields along this stretch. I heard a couple of pikas but was unable to spot any of them.

The second rock field.

You can loop back to the trailhead by combining this trail with the Big Meadows Tie Trail which brings you to the Duffy Lake Trail coming from the horse camp about a half mile from the junction near the trailhead. Heather and I did that in 2010, but I opted not to add the additional three quarters of a mile to my day.

From the junction with the Turpentine Trail it is another mile and a half to the next junction with the Lava Lakes Trail.

The North Santiam River’s dry bed alongside the trail.

The trail crossing the riverbed.

A small part of Duffy Butte visible ahead.

The Lava Lakes Trail connects to the Maxwell Butte Trail (post) 2.8-miles away at Twin Lakes.

Three tenths of a mile from the Lava Lakes Trail I arrived at a 4-way junction at the SW end of Duffy Lake where a day use area provides a nice view.

Signs at the 4-way junction. The day use area was to the left and the faint 0.4-mile Duffy Prairie Trail forked off to the right.

Day use sign on the tree at the bottom.

Lousewort

Aster

After a quick stop at the day use area I continued along the lake stopping on a footbridge over the outlet which feeds the North Santiam River when the lake is full enough.

Common merganser

Shortly after crossing the bridge I arrived at a junction with the Blue Lake Trail which marks the end of the Duffy Lake Trail. The Blue Lake Trail is eight miles long with one end a tenth of a mile to the right (east) of the Duffy Lake Trail at a junction with the Duffy Prairie and Santiam Lake Trails and the other end at the Marion Lake Trail. In 2010 we had forked right onto the Duffy Prairie Trail then we took the Santiam Lake Trail to visit Santiam Lake and returned to the Blue Lake Trail via the Dixie Lakes Trail. I knew I wasn’t going to visit Santiam Lake since we had revisited that lake from the Pacific Crest Trail in 2021 (post). I was considering taking the Dixie Lakes Trail on the way back and cutting down here on the Blue Lake Trail though.

For now I continued straight on the Blue Lake Trail passing more great views of Duffy Lake and Butte.

It was just over three quarters of a mile from the Duffy Lake/Blue Lake junction to Mowich Lake which required gaining nearly 300′ of elevation. Along this section the trail passed in and out of the 2003 B&B Fire scar.

Meadow near the end of Duffy Lake.

Duffy Butte from the fire scar.

Huckleberry bush

The trail leveled out before arriving at Mowich Lake.

No campfire sign just before the lake. I took the spur to the left which led down to the lake while the Blue Lake Trail continued to the right.

Heading down to Mowich Lake.

Red Butte to the right.

Instead of returning to the trail via the spur I’d come down I decided to follow the lake shore for a bit thinking I would just pop back up on the Blue Lake Trail when another use trail appeared.

American pipit

Opting to follow the lake shore turned out to be a bit of a poor choice. I wasn’t seeing any other use trails and I could see on the map that the Blue Lake Trail veered uphill away from the lake near its middle. After checking my GPS and seeing that I was getting pretty close to where the trail would be turning away, I decided to just turn uphill and bushwack to it.

The trail is up there somewhere.

Found it!

Duffy Butte behind Mowich Lake.

The trail climbed gradually through the fire scar and past the junction with the Dixie Lakes Trail.

It was approximately 0.8-miles between the spur trail down to Mowich Lake and the Dixie Lakes Trail junction.

The trail leveled out at the junction and continued a third of a mile to a use trail just before Alice Lake.

Pearly everlasting along the trail.

Level trail in unburnt forest.

At the use trail I faced the choice of continuing straight to Jorn Lake or detouring up Red Butte. I was feeling up to the 500′, half mile climb and more importantly the visibility was good. The issue I ran into was there were three tents set up nearly on top of the trail. Not wanting to trapse through their camp I cut through the forest and started up the butte hoping to pick up the use trail at some point.

Alice Lake below.

The summit of Red Butte.

After climbing almost two tenths of a mile I spotted the use trail.

The use trail in the dirt area in the middle of the trees.

Following the use trail.

Penstemon

Bumble bee on thistle.

Maxwell Butte from the use trail.

Scott Mountain (post) on the left and Diamond Peak (post) in the distance to the right.

Mt. Jefferson behind the trees.

The summit of Red Butte.

Once I was at the summit I headed south to an overlook of Mowich Lake.

The two Dixie Lakes are visible in the forest to the left of Mowich Lake.

Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, and the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters behind Mt. Washington.

After admiring the view from this end of the butte I headed back across the summit to get the view to the north.

South Cinder Peak (post) between the trees and Rockpile Mountain to the right of them.

A little scrambling over the downed trees to the left resulted in a great view to the north.

Northern flicker

Saddle Mountain and Marion Mountain (post) to the left with Jorn Lake below and Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

Jorn Lake

Mt. Hood peaking up to the left of Mt. Jefferson.

Fritillary on thistle.

After soaking in the view headed back down the trail looking for a little shade to take a break in.

I used this log as a bench to have a snack and change out my socks before following the use trail down to Alice Lake.

Milk kellogia

I passed a little closer to the tents on my way back to the Blue Lake Trail then turned left and headed toward Jorn Lake.

Red Butte across Alice Lake from the Blue Lake Trail.

The tents on the far side of Alice Lake.

The trail began to descend toward the Eight Lakes Basin losing approximately 200′ in nearly a mile to a junction with the Bowerman Lake Trail near Jorn Lake.

Aster

Green Peak, Saddle Mountain, and Marion Mountain

Jorn Lake

I turned right onto the Bowerman Lake trail for a moment then took a use trail down to the lake.

After visiting the lake I headed back up the Blue Lake Trail. Two tenths of a mile from the Bowerman Lake Trail junction I veered downhill on a faint use trail to visit Red Butte Lake.

The top of Three Fingered Jack from the trail.

The use trail.

Three Fingered Jack from Red Butte Lake.

From Red Butte Lake I cut back up to the Blue Lake Trail and climbed back up past Alice Lake to the Dixie Lakes Trail junction.

From what little I could see of the Dixie Lakes Trail it appeared to be in good shape, so I veered left and headed for the lakes.

After half a mile I spotted North Dixie Lake through the trees.

I found a good use trail and headed down to the lake for a closer look.

Once again I decided to follow the lakeshore instead of returning to the trail and followed it to the southern end with a good view of Red Butte.

From North Dixie Lake I crossed a meadow and arrived at South Dixie Lake.

Woodpecker

Elk and deer prints in the mud.

It was a lot easier to cut back over to the trail from South Dixie Lake than it had been from Mowich Lake.

Not long after leaving South Dixie Lake the trail began to descend to its junction with the Santiam Lake Trail.

This was the only tree down along the trail which clearly receives maintenance from time to time.

The Three Pyramids (post)

Paintbrush

It was a total of 1.6-miles from the Blue Lake Trail junction to the junction with the Santiam Lake Trail.

I turned right on the Santiam Lake Trail and followed it 0.4-miles to the 3-way junction with the Blue Lake and Duffy Prairie trails.

Unsigned junction with the Duffy Prairie Trail on the left and the Blue Lake Trail on the right.

Since we had taken the Duffy Prairie Trail in 2010 I forked right onto the Blue Lake Trail which descended steeply to the junction with the Duffy Lake Trail in just a tenth of a mile.

The junction with the Duffy Lake Trail.

I turned left onto the Duffy Lake Trail and followed it 3.6-miles back to the car. There wasn’t much new to see on the way back. I still wasn’t able to spot any of the pikas I was hearing in the rock fields. Outside of small birds, chipmunks, and squirrels the only other critters I saw were a couple of grouse including one in the trail near the trailhead.

This hike came in at 15.3-miles with a just over 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

While most of the hike was on trails that we’d previously hiked I managed to get a small amount of new trail. While we’ve covered a lot of the area around Three Fingered Jack there are still some trails/sections left to explore.

There were a lot of people on the trails here, which was a little surprising given it was a Wednesday in September, but they were pretty spread out so no location that I visited felt crowded outside of the trailhead. The view from Red Butte is a really good one and well worth a visit. Happy Trails!

Flicker: Duffy Lake Trail to Jorn Lake

Tags Alice Lake, Blue Lake Trail, Dixie Lakes, Dixie Lakes Trail, Duffy Lake, Duffy Lake Trail, Duffy Prairie Trail, hiking, Jorn Lake, Mowich Lake, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Red Butte, Red Butte Lake, Santiam Lake Trail

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Craig Lake – 07/17/2025

Disclaimer – This hike requires map and navigational skills due to portions of the route using abandoned trails and some off-trail travel.

For the final outing of my solo vacation I decided to attempt a visit to Craig Lake in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. This is one of Hike Oregon’s “Members Only” hikes. I decided to combine that described hike with a visit to the Berley Lakes, which Heather and I had visited in 2021 (post).

At one time there had been official trails to all these lakes but at some point, possibly after the 2003 B&B Fire, the trails were abandoned by the Forest Service. The old trails aren’t shown on my GPS map, but I found them on CalTopo and made sure I had a copy of them with me. The hike starts at the Santiam Pass Pacific Crest Trailhead which requires a NW Forest Pass to park, but not a Central Cascades Wilderness Permit for day hikes (you do need a permit for overnight stays).

A short connector trail leads from the trailhead to the PCT where I turned left.

Water left for thru hikers.

The PCT climbs gradually through the 2003 fire scar with increasingly good views to the south of Mt. Washington, the Three Sisters and Broken Top.

After 0.2-miles on the PCT the Old Summit Trail heads off to the right (post).

Broken Top, North Sister, Middle Sister, and Mt. Washington (L to R).

It was a good beargrass year, but the bloom had happened a few weeks before my visit.

The lupine however was near peak bloom.

Tent caterpillars

Scarlet gilia and lupine.

Three Fingered Jack

Penstemon

At the 1.3-mile mark I arrived a junction with the Santiam Lake Trail which I turned left onto.

The Santiam Lake Trail descends gradually providing some decent views of Three Fingered Jack.

Thistle

The trail passes this unnamed lake shortly after splitting from the PCT.

Scarlet gilia

Buckwheat

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Lupine along the trail.

Scarlet gilia and lupine

Broken Top, North Sister, Middle Sister, Mt. Washington, Hayrick Butte, and Hoodoo Butte.

Penstemon lining the trail.

I followed the Santiam Lake Trail for a mile and a half before I spotted the former Berley Lakes Trail splitting off to the left.

Even with the wood over it the tread was obvious at the junction.

The Berley Lakes Trail sees just enough use for the tread to be reasonably visible, but the lack of maintenance requires some effort to stick to the path.

Beargrass at the dry bed of Lost Creek Lake.

Plume moth on arnica

Columbine

According to the CalTopo map it was 0.4-miles between junction with the Santiam Lake Trail and the old Craig Lake Trail. It also showed it was just on the other side of another seasonal branch of Lost Creek. Unlike the Berley Lake Trail juction with the Santiam Lake Trail the Craig Lake Trail wasn’t obvious. Without the trails being on the GPS map as well I was forced to try and compare the CalTopo map to the GPS. I could tell by comparing the maps that I had gone too far so I decided to simply turn off the Berley Lakes Trail and head in the general direction of the missing trail in hopes of picking up the tread along the way. I discovered later that I missed the Craig Lake Trail by less than 100 yards, but I didn’t manage to find the tread on the way up to Craig Lake.

I needed to get up this butte to find the lake which was some 250′ above the Berley Lakes Trail.

I angled through the forest, but I didn’t angle far enough SW to find the Craig Lake Trail. This was partly due to needing to find a passable route up and partly due to not matching my route closely enough to the alignment shown on the CalTopo map.

Forest at the base of the butte.

Starting up the butte.

Hummingbird

Three Fingered Jack

I was hoping this was going to be the trail when I spotted it from a distance, but it was nothing more than a steep game trail.

I eventually gave up on trying to find the trail and instead focused on getting up to some flat terrain. I knew that if I could reach the lake then I would more than likely find the trail there and be able to follow it down.

I headed more or less straight up here.

Finally some level terrain.

My adventure wasn’t over just because I’d reached the plateau where the lake was. I had come up north of the lake and still needed to make my way there. In a classic lost person move my initial attempt resulted in a 0.2-mile loop as I over corrected while picking my way through the trees. I paid closer attention to the GPS on my next attempt to reach Craig Lake and was successful however this time I hadn’t drifted far enough east to reach the trail and instead found myself on a rock peninsula.

North Sister and Mt. Washington from the peninsula.

Craig Lake

Penstemon

After regathering myself I headed back off the peninsula and worked my way east to find the Craig Lake Trail which I was able to do.

The peninsula from the Craig Lake Trail.

At times the Craig Lake Trail was fairly obvious.

My next mistake came after following the Craig Lake Trail for a tenth of a mile. I lost the tread in some blowdown and vegetation. The trail had turned right to climb up some rocks, but I stayed straight and wound up on some cliffs with a view to the south.

From the viewpoint I scrambled up the rocks and wound up picking up the trail again near a campsite.

Where I went up the rocks.

Woodland beardtongue

One of the campsites on the east end of Craig Lake.

Three Fingered Jack from Craig Lake

Craig Lake

I took a break at one of the campsites and had some food while enjoying the view.

My break spot.

Aster

The view from the campsite. The mosquitos were an issue at the lake shore but they weren’t too bad up here.

When it was time to continue on I followed the Craig Lake Trail around the lake to where I would have come up had I been able to find the trail earlier.

Bunchberry

View across Craig Lake.

The Craig Trail heading down from the plateau.

The upper portion of the trail was obvious but after 0.2-miles of descending I lost the tread in a meadow.

The meadow where I lost the trail.

View of the Craig Lake Trail entering the meadow.

Here again I used the GPS to head for the Berley Lakes Trail which I arrived at in another tenth of a mile, just a few yards from where CalTopo Map showed the junction.

The old trail veered further right (south) in the meadow than I did.

Orange agoseris

Phacelia

Butterfly

The Berley Lakes Trail.

I turned left on the Berley Lakes Trail planning on visiting Lower Berley then Upper Berley Lakes. In hindsight I should have saved our 2021 track to the GPS because after just a third of a mile I made yet another mistake. I came to a fork and incorrectly chose to stay left on what was an obvious path but not the old alignment of the Berley Lakes Trail. I figured out my mistake pretty quickly and the tread petered out leaving me to follow game trails and any other route I could find while I used my GPS to get me to Upper Berley Lake. (I’d passed Lower Berley and didn’t want to back track to the trail, so I just skipped visiting that lake today.)

Checkerspot on an alpine false dandelion.

Stellar’s jay

Still on the trail.

The trail passed through a number of flowering meadows.

At this point I was off trail just trying to get over a rise to be able to drop down to Upper Berley Lake.

I wound up following a draw that was lined with lingering snow patches and full of mosquitos.

Witch’s butter

Looking back up the draw.

Pussypaws

I finally located the Berley Lakes Trail between the two lakes and turned left to reach Upper Berley Lake.

Shooting stars

Mountain heather

Three Fingered Jack from Upper Berley Lake.

I followed the old trail to the east side of the lake to its historic end. From there it was a 0.6-mile cross country hike through meadows to reach the Santiam Lake Trail.

Paintbrush

Sub-alpine mariposa lilies and pentstmon

From here I could see the Santiam Lake Trail.

The Santiam Lake Trail, a welcome sight.

I turned right onto the trail and followed it 2.7-miles back to the Pacific Crest Trail.

Dwarf lupine

Alpine wild buckwheat

Lost Creek

There were a lot of nice wildflower meadows, but this was the best one of the day.

Buckwheat, lupine and scarlet gilia.

Pond along the trail.

Fritillary on an orange agoseris.

Clodius parnassian on penstemon.

Looking back at Three Fingered Jack.

Maxwell Butte (post)

The Pacific Crest Trail junction.

From the junction it was mostly downhill for the 1.3-miles back to my car.

Woodpecker

Leaving the wilderness.

I wound up hiking 10.8-miles and climbed a cumulative 1500′. The hike was challenging due to the abandoned trails compounded by my mistakes leading me cross country a couple of times.

The orange portion marks the Craig Trail alignment.

The blue is my track overlaid on the CalTopo map showing the historical trail alignments for Berley and Craig Lakes.

It was a fun, and at times, frustrating morning but I was glad to have been able to visit another of the lakes in the Cascades. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Craig Lake

Tags Berley Lakes Trail, Craig Lake, Craig Lake Trail, Hike Oregon, hiking, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Santiam Pass Trailhead, Three Fingered Jack. Santiam Lake Trail, Upper Berley Lake, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Whitewater Trail to Jefferson Park – 07/14/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 17, 2025
3 Comments on Whitewater Trail to Jefferson Park – 07/14/2025

I had another solo week of vacation while Heather had to work (boo), and I kicked it off with a visit to the recently reopened Whitewater Trailhead. The trailhead had been closed after the Labor Day fires in 2020 and remained so until late Autumn 2024. The Whitewater Trail was the trail we used the time we visited Jefferson Park in 2011 as well as 2014 and 2015.

In all this would be my 9th visit to Jefferson Park which is the arguably my favorite spot in the Oregon Cascades outside of Crater Lake. Our most recent visit was last September via the Woodpecker Ridge Trail (post). The earliest date of any of the previous visits had been the 2015 visit on August 8th. That was a dry year leaving the flowers and other vegetation looking more like September than early August. We had always avoided July to avoid the mosquitos that follow the snow melt. They tend to be very attracted to Heather and will harass her unforgivingly. With her having to sit this one out I thought it would be a good time to finally try a July visit. I secured my Central Cascades Wilderness Permit and got an extra early start to avoid the heat of the day.

There were about a half dozen cars parked at the trailhead when I arrived at 5:30am.

The trail is in good shape and did not need to be rerouted due to the fire. Regardless it was a different experience due to the lack of trees along the route which created new views nearly the entire 4.2-miles to its end at the Pacific Crest Trail.

Northwestern rabbit-tobacco

Entering the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

Pearly everlasting

Mt. Jefferson

White-veined and one-sided wintergreen

The Three Pyramids (post) on the left and Bachelor & Coffin Mountain (post) on the right.

Penstemon along the trail with Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

Lousewort

Fading Washington lily.

Thimbleberry

Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters, and Three Fingered Jack

The Three Sisters and Three Fingered Jack

Boca Cave (post) below Triangulation Peak.

Boca Cave

Pika! It was great to see several of these “rock rabbits” scurrying about the rock fields along the trails today.

Lewis’ monkeyflower

Woodpecker

Aster

Yarrow and penstemon

Whitewater Falls

Scarlet gilia

Stonecrop

Scouler’s bluebells

Oregon sunshine

Bleeding heart

Phacelia and rosy spirea

Aster?

Looking for pikas….

Found one!

Valerian, ragwort and bleeding heart

Whitewater Creek crossing.

Yellow monkeyflower

Marsh marigolds

Junction with the Pacific Crest Trail.

The mosquito activity had picked up near the Whitewater Creek crossing and they remained a bit of a nuisance throughout Jefferson Park, but they weren’t too bad unless I stopped for an extended period of time.

Arnica

Lupine with Mt. Jeferson in the background.

Junco

Sign announcing Jefferson Park.

Wildflowers at the entrance to Jefferson Park.

More wildflowers near the entrance.

Lupine along Whitewater Creek

We almost always see a pika in the rocks along this stretch.

Cinquefoil

Park Butte

I stuck to the PCT through Jefferson Park with the plan being to start visiting the lakes from the northern end with Russell Lake. There were many pauses to look back over my shoulder at Mt. Jefferson.

Snowmelt pond along the PCT.

Shooting stars and pink mountain heather.

Field of paintbrush and mountain heather on the far side of Jefferson Park.

Paintbrush lining the PCT heading toward Park Butte.

The only patch of snow still covering the PCT along this section was on a north facing hill prior to descending to the South Breitenbush River.

South Breitenbush River

Mt. Jefferson from Russell Lake.

Marsh marigolds

Park Butte from Russell Lake.

Bog laurel

I took a short break at Russell Lake before being prompted to continue by the host of mosquitos that were beginning to congregate around me.
I followed one of the trails around the lake through an unoccupied campsite and back to the PCT above the snow covered portion.

Campsite with a “No Fires” reminder post.

Moth

Heading south on the PCT near its junction with the South Breitenbush Trail.

I turned right on the South Breitenbush Trail which would lead me down to a junction with a side trail to Park Lake.

South Breitenbush Trail

Another snowmelt pond.

There was a little more snow remaining along this stretch of trail.

Heading down toward the junction.

Lewis’ monkeyflower

South Breitenbush River from the trail.

I turned uphill on the obvious trail and climb over a hill then dropped down to Park Lake.

Going up!

Park Lake

Sandwort

After tagging Park Lake I headed toward Rock Lake with a quick detour to Scout Lake first.

Alpine false dandelion

Looking back at Park Lake and Park Butte.

Either an aster or fleabane.

Mt. Jefferson from Scout Lake. One of the advantages of visiting earlier in the year was the location of the Sun overhead. Later in the Summer it has moved far enough south to make getting a good photo from this angle hard. The disadvantage of course was not being able to sit longer and enjoy the view sans mosquitos.

After getting a couple of shots of Scout Lake I made my way over to Rock Lake.

I wanted to get a view of Mt. Jefferson from this lake as well so I made my way around the lake counterclockwise.

At the SE side of the lake I followed a trail up a small hill and made my way to Bays Lake.

Rock Lake and Park Butte from the hill.

Bays Lake

I again headed counterclockwise around this lake on what began as a good trail.

Clodius parnassian

Mt. Jefferson from the outlet of Bays Lake.

Frog hanging out at the outlet.

Park Butte from Bays Lake.

The trail I was following led to an occupied camp site (the only one that I encountered this day) so I followed a fainter path to swing around them. I rejoined the original path I’d been following but I wound up losing it along the rocky shore of Bays Lake. Looking at my 2015 track the “good” trail was above the rocks, but I didn’t have that track handy, so I picked my way along the rocks until things got really rough and I bailed straight uphill.

Small pond above Bays Lake.

Climbing above the rocks.

Park Butte and Bays Lake

Pond above Bays Lake.

I found clear trails above the rocks and followed them for 0.2-miles. At that point I was back on my 2015 route, but I knew that trail curved back ENE to pass near Scout Lake before intersecting the PCT. The PCT wasn’t too far below where I was and when I saw a fairly clear path heading in that direction I decided to follow it. Long story short this path got very faint as it passed through an area that had been impacted by one of the fires. I was debating whether to turn back or try and continue downhill when I spotted a couple of hikers heading into the park. The PCT was close enough that I decided to pick my way down to the trail. I wouldn’t recommend this route, but it worked out.

Looking up at where I came down.

Back on the PCT I headed for the Whitewater Trail and my car.

No pika sightings on the way back but I did hear a few “meeps”.

Beetles on beargrass

The meadow at the entrance of Jefferson Park was now in full sunlight.

Lupine

I believe this is an arnica.

It was heating up fast on the exposed Whitewater Trail. The lack of tree cover does allow for some epic views, but it also means there is no escaping the sun.

Penstemon

Bee visiting stonecrop.

I don’t recall this rock formation from our previous hikes, another thing revealed by the fires.

There were at least five checkerspot butterflies on this clump of aster.

Nowhere to hide from the heat.

Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters and Three Fingered Jack

Fireweed

Black-backed woodpecker

There were copious amounts of trailing blackberries along the lower portion of the Whitewater Trail, some of which were ripe (and eaten).

This patch of spreading dogbane was being visited by over a half dozen butterflies of different varieties as well as some other pollinators.

Arriving back at the trailhead.

Today’s route around Jefferson Park came in at 13.3 miles with just under 2350′ of elevation gain.

It was bittersweet to revisit the Whitewater Trail. It was tough to see how intensely the fires had burned the area, but the trail was in good shape and the hike was very enjoyable. I had passed a number of people heading up on my way out including a Forest Service Ranger. We talked for a bit, and he asked if I’d seen any fire rings or trash, which I hadn’t. He eventually got around to asking to see my Cascade Wilderness Permit which I had ready on my phone (and a paper copy in my pack). It was actually exciting to be asked to show the permit since we always make sure we have the required permits whether it be California Campfire, National Park Entry, Central Cascades, or a county park, but we almost never are asked for proof that we have them. I know that there are some out there that remain vehemently opposed to the permit system, but there are no easy answers to overcrowding and overuse. It’s the system in place and we’ll continue to respect that. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Jefferson Park 2025

Tags bays lake, Central Cascade Wilderness Permit, hiking, Jefferson Park, Mount Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Park lake, PCT, rock lake, Russell Lake, scout lake, whitewater trail, Whitewater Trailhead, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Woodpecker Trail to Jefferson Park – 09/13/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 16, 2024
1 Comment on Woodpecker Trail to Jefferson Park – 09/13/2024

Our first visit to Jefferson Park was way back in 2011 and it made such an impact on us that we revisited yearly up to 2017 when the lightning sparked Whitewater Fire forced us to skip a year. We returned in 2018 (post) and then decided to take a break from our yearly visits. Then in 2020 the Lionshead Fire, driven by strong easterly winds, raced through the area before combining with the Beachie Fire on 9/7/20. There are still closures in effect due to that fire, but the Woodpecker Trailhead has since been reopened and we thought it was time to revisit an old friend.

We had used the Woodpecker Trailhead for our 2016 visit (post) prior to either of the fires impacting the area. This was also before the Central Cascade Wilderness Permits were enacted. Currently the Woodpecker Trailhead only requires a free self-issued permit for day-use which can be obtained at the trailhead. Overnight permits are required for the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness regardless of which trailhead is used from 6/15 to 10/15.

Heather and I had set different goals for the day. I had my sights set on finally visiting Sprague Lake which is located just below Park Ridge (post) and requires off-trail navigation. Heather had set a more sensible goal of stopping at Scout Lake which is the first lake that you reach when entering Jefferson Park from the SW. Given our different goals we established a meeting spot on the west side of Scout Lake and set off at our own paces.
Another reminder that overnight permits are required in the wilderness.

Due to the two recent fires having burned over the entire route of our planned hikes the vast majority of the trails up to Jefferson Park are devoid of any tree cover. Luckily for us it was in the upper 30’s when we set off and the highs were set to be in the upper 50’s in Jefferson Park and low 70’s at the trailhead. It was also forecast to be mostly clear skies as recently cooler temperatures combined with rain and even some snow at higher elevations had helped to suppress the numerous fires currently burning in other parts of the Cascades and eastern Oregon.
Low clouds in the valley.

Mt. Jefferson through some of the snags with a few surviving trees on the right.

After an initial steep climb the trail levels out then descends slightly into a patch of trees that survived the fires. At the 1.2-mile mark it enters the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

Just under a half mile later the trail climbed to an unsigned junction with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
Mt. Jefferson from the junction, note the rock cairn on the left marking the PCT.

The cairn at the junction.

We turned left on the PCT and followed it through the fire scars for 2.6-miles to a crossing of Russell Creek.
Triangulation Peak (post) getting hit with sunlight with Whitewater Lake (lower right) in Mt. Jefferson’s shadow.

Whitewater Lake

Triangulation Point and Bocca Cave (Trailheads still closed.)

Tarn 0.3-miles from the junction.

Mt. Jefferson reflecting in the tarn.

Ducks on the tarn.

The Sentinel Hills with Park Butte behind to the right. The Whitewater Trail (post) traverses the hillside below the Sentinel Hills, but that trailhead is also still closed.

The fires did open up fairly consistent views of the mountain.

A few remaining penstemon blossoms.

Heading down to the Russell Creek crossing.

This can be a tricky crossing at times, but there was a makeshift bridge which made it fairly easy this time.

Aster and pearly everlasting near the creek.

Beyond Russell Creek the PCT climbed for half a mile to a junction with the Whitewater Trail where we turned right sticking to the PCT.

We started seeing more trees that had survived the fire as we got closer to Jefferson Park.

Gentians and aster

Grass-of-parnassus

From this junction it was just under a mile to the first of several signed trails leading to Scout Lake off the PCT.
There were patches of burned forest along this stretch.

Approximately 0.4-miles from the junction the trail crosses Whitewater Creek.

From the other side of Whitewater Creek the views of Mt. Jefferson are amazing.

Based on the barred sides I believe this is a black-backed woodpecker.

Unofficial use trails are an issue in Jefferson Park which has prompted the Forest Service to install a number of “Closed for Rehabilitation” sign such as the one on the left side of the trail.

They’ve also added quite a few signs to indicated sanctioned trails. Typically in wilderness areas the Forest Service tries to keep signage to a minimum, but overuse has led them to add additional signs.

Another sign with Park Butte in background.

Since I was headed for Park Ridge I ignored the trails to Scout Lake for now and continued on the PCT for three quarters of a mile beyond the first sign for Scout Lake to a sign for Russell Lake on the right side of the trail.

The last of the pointers for Scout Lake.

PCT heading for Park Butte and Park Ridge.

Russell Lake pointer.

Tags hiking, Jefferson Park, mountain goat, Mt. Hood National Forest, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Park butte, PCT, Russell Creek, Russell Lake, scout lake, Sprague Lake, whitewater creek, whitewater trail, Willamette National Forest, Woodpecker Ridge, Woodpecker Trailhead

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Gooch and Downing Creek Falls – 08/10/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 12, 2024
2 Comments on Gooch and Downing Creek Falls – 08/10/2024

Before getting to the post please note that Gooch Falls is located on private land and access may be restricted at any time. Please be respectful of the landowner’s property and requests.

A busy weekend combined with the large number of wildfires currently burning across the state we decided to stick closer to home and check out a pair of waterfalls that we’d been wanting to see in person. Our son Dominque was also in town and was able to join us for the outhing.

Neither of these hikes use an official trail, so neither has a trailhead either. As I mentioned before the route to Gooch Falls in primarily on private land. Due to these circumstances, we’ve decided not to go into much detail on how to drive to either fall. However, as of the date of our outing they could both be found on AllTrails and other websites, so they aren’t exactly a secret.

We started off with Gooch Falls by parking on the shoulder of a gated forest road.

After confirming that there were no “Private Property or “No Trespassing” signs we continued up the road and picked up a clear trail leading into the forest.

We followed this path to Gooch Falls where there was a rope to assist with the steep descent to a viewpoint partway down the hillside.

The rope for the steep (and slick) section.

Gooch Falls

After admiring the falls for a while we headed back to our car. This hike was roughly two thirds of a mile round trip with a little over 100′ of elevation gain. This was an impressive waterfall and we were glad to have the opportunity to visit. In order to keep access open if you do visit please be sure to pack out any trash and don’t damage any trees or plants.

We headed for our next stop to visit Downing Creek Falls. Be aware that the short forest road to the trailhead described on AllTrails is truly one lane except for a small pullout near the highway meaning there is no way for vehicles to pass one another.
The road widened briefly near the pullout that acts as the trailhead.

We walked up the road following a description posted by Off the Beaten Trail! to its end where a use trail began.

Delicious red huckleberries provided morning snacks along much of the road and trail.

We followed the path as it brought us to Downing Creek.

We forked right when the ancient roadbed headed uphill.

The trail continued along the creek to Downing Creek Falls.

Not Downing Creek Falls, just one of many streams along the mossy hillside flowing into the creek.

Downing Creek Falls

This was another wonderfully scenic waterfall and worthy of a nice break before heading back. On the way back we took a right-hand fork that led us out to the ancient roadbed uphill just enough to see the tops of Coffin and Bachelor Mountains (post) over the tress.
The flat top of Coffin Mountain to the left of the tall trees at center and Bachelor Mountain to the right.

Coffin Mountain

We followed the roadbed downhill to rejoin the trail, but I soon split off to find the creek again to see what was making the creek roar with sound.
It took us a bit to realize that this was indeed a really old roadbed.

As I headed cross-country toward the creek I picked up a fainter trail running between the creek and the trail we’d come in on. I could still see Heather and Dominque so I communicated to them that I was going to try and follow it as far back as it would allow and I’d meet them at the car. I made several stops along the way to look at the creek flowing through the green forest.

There was sporadic flagging along the creek.

Another flag ahead.

The faint trail running along Downing Creek.

When I lost the path a couple times I just looked for signs like this old log cut for where the tread might be.

Sun starting to rise above the forest.

I wasn’t expecting to see caution tape. Maybe that’s all the person had because I couldn’t identify any hazard here.

A forested island in Downing Creek.

I was able to follow the creek all the way back to the pullout where I found Heather and Dominique waiting.
It was a short climb back up to the road.

This hike is just over a mile round trip with just under 300′ of gradual elevation gain giving us a grand total of just over 1.75-miles for the day (and a little under 400′ of elevation gain). Both of the waterfalls were impressive, especially given the time of year. We tend to avoid waterfall hikes in the Summer when flows tend to be lower, but that wasn’t an issue with these creeks. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Gooch & Downing Creek Falls

Tags Downing Creek, Downing Creek Falls, Gooch Falls, hiking, Off the Beaten Trail, Oregon, Willamette National Forest

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Sisi Butte and Fish & Si Lakes – 09/16/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 18, 2023
1 Comment on Sisi Butte and Fish & Si Lakes – 09/16/2023

While we are focused on our quest to complete Sullivan’s featured hikes (post) we are also plugging away at several other guidebooks including Matt Reeder’s 2016 “101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region”. It’s been a bit of a challenge to make much progress in this book since 2020 when wildfires burned much of the area it covers. In some cases the trails were burned and in others the access roads to the trailheads were closed for hazardous tree removal. The two stops we had planned for this outing were two such hikes.

Our first stop was to visit the viewpoint and lookout tower on Sisi Butte. The fires didn’t burn the butte, but until Forest Road 46 was reopened between Detroit and Estacada this past June it wasn’t accessible for us to reach the trailhead.

Our adventure actually began before reaching the trailhead. Over the final two miles of our drive we passed at least two dozen cars heading toward Olallie Lake (post). We guessed that there must be some sort of race happening which turned out to be correct, the 100-mile Mountain Lakes 100 to be exact. Luckily the racecourse wasn’t along either of the hikes we’d planned for the day, we’ve made that mistake before and it doesn’t make for the most enjoyable hike. (Someday I’ll learn to check for races/events at the same time I’m checking the managing agencies information on the trail conditions.) We eventually made it to the gated road and parked along the side of FR 4220 (Old Skyline Road).

This was about as straightforward as a hike can get. We followed the closed road up Sisi Butte for just under three miles to the lookout tower. There was a lock on the door to the observation deck, but we were able to climb up to that point to get views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, and Three Fingered Jack.
Dust from ultra runner’s cars hanging over the closed roadbed.

Mt. Jefferson in the monring.

The Summer haze we’ve grown to expect was back after having improved following a brief period of rain.

The smoke does make for some colorful sunrises though.

Scouler’s bluebells

There was a nice forest along the road. Much of the butte is within one of the five tracts making up the Clackamas Wilderness but being a man-made improvement the road itself is not part of the Sisi Butte tract.

Mt. Hood to the North.

Mt. Hood

Despite the surrounding haze the sky above the road was bright blue.

There were numerous good views of Mt. Jefferson from the road.

Olallie Butte (post) and Mt. Jefferson.

About 0.4 miles from the lookout an abandoned spur road splits off to the right toward the eastern summit which is just a couple of feet higher than the western.

The tower is still staffed at times, but it was empty today.

Penstemon

Olallie Butte, Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack from the lookout.

Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Hood, West Pinhead Butte, and the eastern summit.

A hazy Mt. Hood.

Flat topped Battle Ax Mountain (post), Silver King Mountain (post), Pansy Mountain, Bull-of-the Woods (post), Big Slide Mountain (post), and Schreiner Peak in the Bull-of-the Wilderness.

Bachelor and Coffin Mountains (post) in the Old Cascades.

After taking in the views we headed back down. We’d passed a pair of hunters on the way up and a pair of hikers on the way back down along with a few grouse.
Grouse along the road.

Despite high temperatures around 80 the leaves reminded us that Fall would be arriving soon.

Canada jay checking us out.

The out-and-back was just shy of 6-miles with approximately 1400′ of elevation gain.

From the gated road we turned around and headed South on FR 4220 for a total of 6.5-miles to the Lower Lake Campground entrance.

While Sisi Butte had escaped the 2020 wildfires the Lionshead Fire had severely damaged the campground and the trail to Fish Lake.
Lower Lake Campground, a work in progress.

While the campground was closed, the trail was open despite the fire damage.

The Fish Lake Trail at Lower Lake Campground.

While the sign at the trailhead said it was a half mile to Lower Lake we actually arrived at the eastern end of the lake after a third of a mile.
Ferns creating a green hillside in the burn scar.

Lower Lake

The trail passed along the northern shore of Lower Lake without too much trouble. There was on small detour necessary to avoid some blowdown, but it was easily navigated.
The water in Lower Lake was quite colorful.

Duck

Most of the lakes in the Olallie Lake Scenic Area have signs naming them.

Potato Butte (post) from Lower Lake.

Olallie Butte

We had detoured to Lower Lake prior to the fire during our Lodgepole Loop hike in 2019 (post).

Just a short distance from the western end of the lake we crossed the Lodgepole Trail.

For the next quarter of a mile the trail was fairly level.
Sisi Butte off to the right.

Fireweed going to seed.

Buckwheat

The burn was intense along the trail, but it was in pretty good shape all things considered.

After a quarter mile the trail arrived at a cliff above Fish Lake and then began a steep descent dropping 400′ over the next half mile to the lake.
Sisi Butte and Fish Lake from the cliff.

Mt. Hood peeking out from behind West Pinhead Butte.

Mt. Hood

The Fish Lake Trail switchbacked a few times before giving up on that and dropping steeply for the final 0.2 miles.

A beat up Lorquin’s admiral.

There were signs of somewhat recent trail maintenance, but given the severity of the burn and the steepness of the hillside the trail is going to need a lot of ongoing attention to keep it passable.

The trail disappeared a couple of times in brush and blowdown near the lake, but it was never hard to pick back up.

There were no people at the lake, just a pair of ducks enjoying the warm day.

Nap time.

Olallie Butte from Fish Lake.

After passing around the southern side of the lake we arrived at a nice campsite under some unburned trees.

Beyond Fish Lake the forest along the trail was mostly out of the fire scar.
The trail followed along Squirrel Creek (currently dry) for 0.4-miles.

Just under a quarter of a mile from Fish Lake the trail crossing a road and under some power lines.

Four tenths of a mile from Fish Lake we came to a trail sign with a pointer to Surprise Lake.
We passed a few of these “Spot Fire” flags, presumably left over from 2020.

The signed junction.

We detoured to check out the brushy lake and found it to be as Reeder reported, brushy had difficult to explore.

I had to walk out on a log and fight through some thick brush to reach a decent view of the water.

Surprise Lake

We returned to the Fish Lake Trail and continued another half mile to Si Lake.
The trail between the junction and Si Lake got a little brushy.

Huckleberry leaves in their Fall colors.

Si Lake from the trail.

Si Lake.

Tortoiseshell butterfly

Si Lake was the smallest of the three lakes along the Fish Lake Trail (not counting Surprise Lake) and lacked a view of any of the surrounding peaks. The day was heating up quickly and we had a nearly 900′ climb over the three miles back to the car, so we took a short break and headed back.

A few clouds formed overhead and a slight breeze kicked up during our return which fortunately kept if from feeling too hot.
Olallie Butte from Fish Lake.

Black bear print along the shore of Fish Lake.

White breasted nuthatch

Lower Lake from the Fish Lake Trail.

Olallie Butte from Lower Lake.

While parts of Lower Lake are shallow it actually reaches a depth of 73′ which is the reason it is so colorful.

Arriving back at Lower Lake Campground.

This hike came in just over 6-miles and 900′ of elevation gain making this a 12-mile, 2300′ elevation gain day.

The hikes were enjoyable and offered a lot of solitude, we only saw three people (all at Lower Lake) along the Fish Lake Trail in addition to the four at Sisi Butte. Cooler temperatures and less smoke would have been preferred but it was a great outing none the less. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Sisi Butte and Fish & Si Lakes

Tags Clackamas Wilderness, Fish Lake, Fish Lake Trail, hiking, Lower Lake, Lower Lake Campground, Olallie Butte, Olallie Lake scenic area, Oregon, Si Lake, Sisi Butte, Sisi Butte Lookout, Surprise Lake