Category: High Cascades

Stuart and Red Blanket Falls – 07/29/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 3, 2023
1 Comment on Stuart and Red Blanket Falls – 07/29/2023

We spent a long weekend at Crater Lake National Park as we continue our quest to hike all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” (post). Our plans included the six remaining featured hikes in the Park that we had yet to hike, but before we got to those, we set our sights on a former featured hike. Stuart Falls had been a featured hike in Sullivan’s third edition but washouts in 2014/15 had severely impacted the western approach (April 2015 trip report by Van Marmot). The area was further damaged in the 2017 Blanket Creek Fire leaving the only viable approach to the falls from the East starting from the Pumice Flat Trailhead located at the Lodgepole Picnic Area.

It was a 4-hour drive from Salem so we arrived at the picnic area a little after 9am and set off on the Pumice Flat Trail.

The trail promptly crossed Highway 62 and then ran parallel to the highway for approximately a third of a mile before turning away (SW).
Arriving at the highway.

Trail on the far side of Hwy 62.

The Pumice Flat Trail climbed gradually for three miles through unburnt forest to the Pacific Crest Trail.

Clodius parnassian on a pussy paw.

Much of the trail followed an old roadbed.

PCT junction.

Butterfly on the Crater Lake PCT register. While I was working on getting the butterfly photo a northbound thru hiker arrived. He mentioned not having had a shower in 10 days and being really excited to reach Mazama Village and being able to take one.

After a short conversation we turned right onto the PCT for 0.1-miles to the Stuart Falls Trail.

It took us just over three miles to reach Stuart Falls from the PCT. The extensive damage from the 2017 had left the trail hard to follow in some areas. It wasn’t clear how long it had been since the trail had been maintained but even where it was obvious there was plenty of blowdown to navigate.
Older cut logs helped us locate the trail at times.

Union Peak from the trail (post). (The “trail” is not in this photo.)

It took a second to find the tread in this meadow.

Once we found it though it was easy to follow.

Big beetle. There are also three clodius parnassian butterflies behind to the right.

Typical trail conditions. I spent a good deal of time removing limbs from the larger trees and pulled some of the smaller ones off the trail.

Doe below the trail.

More messy trail.

There was one small stand of unburned forest which provided a brief break from the blowdown.

Checkerspot butterfly

Mylitta crescent and a hoary comma on spreading dogbane.

Paintbrush

I believe that is Tom Mountain and Jerry Mountain.

Bald Top to the right.

Skipper

Mt. McLoughlin

Lorquin’s admiral

This was the worst of the obstacles.

We hadn’t seen a blue diamond since before the PCT but near the SW corner of the Park boundary we spotted a couple.

Post ahead marking the boundary. The trail passed through a narrow gap here where the blowdown was heavy.

The trail left the Park and entered the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

We left the trail briefly to visit a viewpoint above Stuart Falls.

We continued downhill leaving the trail again to visit a large campsite near the base of 40′ Stuart Falls.

Arnica below the falls and fireweed above the falls added some nice color to the scene.

One-sided wintergreen

I had been toying with the idea of attempting to reach Red Blanket Falls which was another mile and a half from Stuart Falls. We discussed things while we took a break at the falls and I decided to go ahead and make the attempt despite the poor trail conditions while Heather would stay at Stuart Falls. We left it open that she would start back if she wanted and I would catch up after I turned around, whenever that wound up happening.

I struck off from Stuart Falls on some good tread that quickly disappeared.

Four tenths of a mile from the falls I arrived at a trail sign announcing that the old Red Blanket Trailhead was 4 miles away.

Another former trail forked left here that used to hook up to the Lucky Meadows Trail and eventually the PCT. I stayed right along Red Blanket Creek using it as an anchor point when I lost sight of the trail.

Small falls on Red Blanket Creek.

Pink monkeyflower

I’d lost the trail here but headed for the patch of bright orange wildflowers to see what they were.

It wound up being a spectacular patch of leopard lilies.

A little further along I came across a small patch of Crater Lake Collomia.

A very tough mile from the first trail junction I arrived at a second signed former junction.

The next tenth of a mile was spent fighting through head high fireweed and feeling around on the ground to find footing in the thick vegetation that was hiding copious amounts of blowdown.

I was a bit bloody and bruised by I made it to Red Blanket Falls and was not disappointed.

Red Blanket Falls

View down Red Blanket Creek

A spring fed waterfall along Red Blanket Creek below the falls.

A second and third tier of Red Blanket Falls just below the upper fall. I wasn’t able to get a clearer view of these two drops. I hiked a short distance down the creek but decided the poor trail conditions and loss of elevation weren’t worth going further down the trail with no guarantee of a better view.

The three drops of Red Blanket Falls

One more of Red Blanket Falls.

I headed back to Stuart Falls finding it a little easier to follow the old trail alignment going uphill. This resulted in some different views of the creek.
Another little cascade.

In my excitement to reach Red Blanket Falls I had spent a little more energy than I had intended so when I got back to Stuart Falls I took a short break. Heather had started back but I needed to cool down, put on a fresh pair of socks, and have a snack.

After recovering a bit, I set off on my quest to catch up to Heather. Several times I found myself following tread that we hadn’t been on earlier.
Along this rock outcrop I found switchbacks that I’d missed on the way to the falls.

This might be a black backed woodpecker.

This cairn was new to me as well. At this point I was quite a bit below our track from the morning and I was afraid that I might pass Heather without knowing it if she was sticking to the earlier route.

Hummingbird

Goose egg on the left.

I did wind up catching up with Heather who was also feeling fatigued from the tough trail conditions. We made our way back to the PCT where another brief break was had.

Painted lady

A checkerspot and a copper on sub-alpine fleabane.

Arriving back at the PCT. We again crossed paths with a thru hiker on the way to Mazama Village.

It was nearly all downhill from the PCT but it was three more miles and we were both pretty beat. It was a bit of trudge back to the trailhead made worse by us both running out of water about a mile from the car. We had failed to make use of our filter and refill at Stuart Falls and we paid for it.

Pussypaws

Dwarf lupine

I tried hustling back to the car to retrieve a Gatorade and water to take back up the trail to Heather but she wasn’t far behind. I met her at the Highway with the drinks but it was the thought that counted.

My hike to Red Blanket Falls wound up being 15.9 miles (0.2 was due to taking the drinks back up the trail) and approximately 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

For an idea of what the hike was like prior to the fire here is a report by Van Marmot from July 2017.

It was nearly 5:30pm by the time we finished the hike. Luckily we were only about three miles from Mazama Village where we checked into our cabin then grabbed dinner at the Annie Creek Restaurant and some supplies from the small store where a number of PCT thru hikers were hanging out including the two gentlemen we’d seen on the trail. Aside from the two thru hikers the only other person we saw all day was a Park Ranger on the Pumice Flat Trail on our way back to the trailhead.

It was a lot longer and harder day than we’d planned for given we had three more days of hiking lined up, but I was happy that I’d made it to Red Blanket Falls. In the end it was worth the effort. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Stuart and Red Blanket Falls

Tags Crater Lake National Park, hiking, Lodgepole Picnic Area, Mazama Village, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Pumice Flat Trail, Red Blanket Creek, Red Blanket Falls, Red Blanket Trail, sky lakes wilderness, Stuart Falls, Stuart Falls Trail

Bend/Redmond Central Oregon Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Metolius River Backpack – 07/22/23 & 07/23/23

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 26, 2023
No Comments on Metolius River Backpack – 07/22/23 & 07/23/23

Our first couple of planned backpacking trips didn’t happen for one reason or another but we really wanted to get at least one overnight trip in before August. We’d picked up some new gear that we hoped to give a test run before a longer outing we have planned for August.

Recent reports of a heavy mosquito presence at our plan “A” location forced us to look for a plan “B”. We turned to one of the early trips that hadn’t happened, a hike along the Metolius River starting from the Lower Bridge Campground. Matt Reeder describes 10.1-mile hike to a former trailhead that once served the Shut-In Trail in his “101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region”. By all accounts the Shut-In Trail was a brushy mess, at least beyond a mile from the former trailhead. Our plan was to set up camp at the old trailhead and then explore the Shut-In Trail as far as it was passable.

Reeder mentioned that ticks could be a nuisance in the Spring but by this time they and most of the mosquito’s wouldn’t be a problem. The downside of visiting this time of year though would be the heat with highs forecast in the upper 80s. The temperature was pleasant when we arrived at the trailhead just after 7am. We parked at a small trailhead across from the Lower Bend Campground.

We’d hiked through this trailhead during a 2012 hike starting from the West Metolius Trailhead (post). Lower Bridge which we’d used to cross the river had been the northern end of that hike. For this trip we would be heading further North and then East as we rounded Green Ridge (post) at the Horn of the Metolius.

To reach the trail we had to walk through the campground to the top of its loop and pass between a couple of occupied camp sites to a trail sign.

The sign is visible from the campground road.

The trail quickly reached the banks of the Metolius. This 23-mile river is fed primarily by a series springs and spring fed creeks beginning with the Head of the Metolius (post). The river ends at Lake Billy Chinook (post) where it joins waters from the Crooked and Deschutes Rivers. The spring fed water is cold and clear which makes the Metolius a beautiful river.

The trail passes a number of large campsites early on with numerous side trails for fly fishers to access the river. Reeder mentioned the trail petering out just over a mile and a half from the campground across the river from the Candle Creek Campground and recommended veering away from the river there and joining the Lower Metolius River Road.

Common mergansers

Ouzel

Goldenrod

Passing some of the campsites.

The Candle Creek Campground across the Metolius.

The trail seemed to be in pretty good shape as we passed the campground so instead of detouring to the road we stuck to the trail which was now more of a braided fisherman’s trail than a hiker trail, but it was passable without too much effort. That is until the final 100′ where we nearly lost the trail in brush before finding a very steep trail leading up to the road.

We actually went left below the stump here but, on the way back wound up coming downhill by the stump.

More campsites.

As we got further from the campground we encountered more and more brushy sections.

Another section with an increased number of obstacles.

Getting a bit brushier.

We left the river for the road at this bend.

Heading up to the road.

The use trail from the road.

Several opportunities to head for the road prior to this had us deciding that we would look for one of those on the way back instead of returning exactly the way we came. We followed this road a total of 6.2 miles to where the GPS showed the road ending and the Shut-In Trail beginning. We actually were passed by a gentleman in an SUV who was heading for one a small number of private cabins located approximately 3.7 miles from where we’d joined the road. He stopped to ask where we were headed and wished us a good hike.

We wondered what this post signified.

They were way past blooming but there were several mountain lady slippers along the road.

Osprey nest

Rock spire on lower section of Green Ridge. There are several interesting rock features higher up on the northern end of Green Ridge that were not visible from the road.

Orchid

Scarlet gilia

Some of the private cabins from the road.

A couple more cabins.

Based on the Oregonhikers field guide we had expected the road beyond the private cabins to have downed trees but instead found they had all been cut and there were even tire tracks, bicycle most likely, all the way to the Shut-In Trail.
The end of the private land.

The clear water allows for nice views of the rocks making up the riverbed.

Even though it had received maintenance the road was not in good enough condition for larger vehicles.

Pink monkeyflower

Lorquin’s admiral

The forest opened up near the end of the road where we set up camp.

Campsite

Yellow monkeyflower

We had arrived at our campsite a little before 12:15pm and it was really heating up, so we broke out our camp chairs and rested for several hours near the river before fixing an early dinner and setting off on the Shut-In Trail.
Lizard hanging out near the campsite.

After an early dinner we set off on the Shut-In Trail which we were surprised to find had seen some recent maintenance.

Grouse

The answer to the questions is yes bears do.

The Metolius through the trees.

Sagebrush mariposa lily. There also tire tracks in the trail behind.

Recent brushing had been performed through this area.

Looking up the end of Green Ridge.

This large tree had been cut fairly recently.

Flagging marking a reroute around a downed tree.

After a little more than a mile and a half of good trail things began to deteriorate.
Starting to get brushy.

View across the river to the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Flowers along the Metolius.

The Whitewater River was behind the rock formation on the far side. The Whitewater River begins at the Whitewater Glacier on Mt. Jefferson and flows roughly 7.5 miles through the Warm Springs Reservation to the Metolius.

More clear water.

Fireweed

Thimbleberries provided us with a few after dinner snacks.

Hedgenettle

The Shut-In Trail traveled right along the riverbank at times.

There was one section along the hillside that had experienced some pretty significant erosion.
There was a small set of boards nailed together to assist with crossing the sketchiest part, but they were just lying on the hillside and not anchored in any way.

Just under two and a half miles from our camp we arrived at County Road 64. One could continue along this closed road for 4.6 miles to a gate just beyond the Monty Campground. A seasonal gate is located another 1.7-miles from the campground along the Metolius arm of Lake Billy Chinook.

The Shut-In Trail from CR-64.

CR-64

After a short break at the road we headed back.

Frog on a skunk cabbage leaf. There were a few wet areas along the Shut-In Trail which meant a few mosquitos were present.

The Sun going down as we approached camp.

Our first day wound up being 15.3-miles, 10.5 to reach camp and a 4.8-mile round trip on the Shut-In Trail. The elevation gain was only about 800′ total.

We woke up early the next morning hoping to stay ahead of the heat. After breakfast and packing up we followed the Lower Metolius River Road a total of 8-miles before cutting down to the trail along the river.

Pinedrops

Squirrel

Bee sleeping on thistle.

Large boykinia

The gentleman that had driven passed us the day before passed us again on his way into the cabins shortly before we turned off the road.
We turned off the road here on a well-established use trail down to the water.

Red admiral. As far as I know this is the first one of this species of butterfly that we’d seen.

Common wood nymph

Across from the Candle Creek Campground.

Green Ridge through some smoke. A couple of new fires, one on the Warm Springs Reservation and one East of Eugene had started over the weekend.

Love the colors of the Metolius.

Skipper on a mariposa lily.

Lower Bridge Campground is ahead to the left in the trees.

Our return hike came in at 10.1-miles which was the distance Reeder indicated between the trailhead and Shut-In Trail. The elevation gain was under 500′ of very gradual uphill, mostly along the road.

Blue is our hike to camp. Yellow is the Shut-In Trai.
Red is our return to the trailhead.

Heat aside this turned out to be a great backpacking trip. Over the two days we only passed one fly fisher (near Lower Bridge Campground), the private landowner (2x in his car), and a pair of hikers (again near Lower Bridge Campground). There were people across the river at Candle Creek Campground and in Lower Bridge Campground itself, but it was about as much solitude as we could have asked for. The condition of the trails was also better than we’d expected despite the rough end of the Shut-In Trail toward CR-64. It was a successful test run of our new gear as well and we now feel ready for our longer trip coming up in August. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Middle Metolius River

Tags backpacking, Candle Creek Campground, Deschutes National Forest, Green Ridge, hiking, Lower Bridge Campground, Lower Metolius River Road, Metolius River, Monty Campground, Oregon, Shut-In Trail

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Washington Area Oregon Trip report

Santiam Wagon Road – McKenzie River TH to Sand Mountain – 07/08/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 10, 2023
6 Comments on Santiam Wagon Road – McKenzie River TH to Sand Mountain – 07/08/2023

From 1865 to 1939 the Santiam Wagon Road served as the primary means of transportation from the Willamette Valley to Central Oregon. Beginning in Lebanon the nearly 400-mile route crossed the central Cascade Mountains at Santiam Pass. Sections of the road have been preserved and now serve as trails.

We’d previously hiked sections at House Rock (post), Tombstone Pass (post), Fish Lake (post), Sand Mountain (post), and Whychus Canyon Preserve (post). For our previous hike to Sand Mountain we had started near Big Lake and followed the wagon road West for almost three miles to forest road 2690-810 which leads to Sand Mountain.

For this visit we began to the West of Sand Mountain at the McKenzie River Trailhead.

The 26.5-mile long McKenzie River Trail shares this trailhead with the Sanitam Wagon Road.

We set off on the wagon road through an old lava flow. The flow was old enough that the forest had had time to mature.

Prince’s pine

Candystick

Twinflower

Big uprooted tree.

The road climbed gradually from the trailhead for three miles to a crossing of Forest Road 2676.

A carpet of vanilla leaf leaves.

FR 2676

We jogged left on FR 2676 for approximately 50′ to a gate and the continuation of the Santiam Wagon Road.
Despite the “Closed to all Motor Vehicles” sign it was obvious, and unfortunately not surprising, that some people feel they have a right to ignore anything they disagree with.

The road continued its gradual climb but the surface now was much sandier which required a bit more effort. The forest also changed from large fir trees to smaller lodgepole pine and snowbrush.
More candysticks

The few sections that weren’t sandy consisted of lava rock.

Dwarf lupine

Pussy paws

Pygmy short-horned lizard next to a deer print.

Sand Mountain on the right.

Another pygmy short-horned lizard

Snowbrush lining the road with the northern end of Sand Mountain ahead.

Butterflies, including this hoary comma, and other pollinators love the snowbrush.

Hoary comma

Just over a mile and a half beyond FR 2676 we passed another gate at a junction with FR 890. Here the road is open to motorized vehicles as part of a large Santiam Pass OHV Trails network. The large amount of trails/roads open to these types of vehicles in the area made their usage on the closed section of the Santiam Wagon Road even more annoying.

We followed this portion of the road for 0.4-miles to the gated road to Sand Mountain.
Penstemon

The Moon over Sand Mountain.

Mt. Washington

Sign and gate at the road to Sand Mountain.

We followed this road uphill for a mile and a half to a parking area between Sand Mountains two craters. As we climbed the surrounding peaks came into view.

Buckwheat

More snowbrush

California tortoiseshell

The Sand Mountain Lookout from below.

Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Washington and the Three Sister

Western swallowtail

The Three Pyramids(post), Scar Mountain & Trappers Butte(post), and Coffin & Bachelor Mountains (post).

Echo Mountain & North Peak to the left and Crescent Mountain(post) to the right.

Browder Ridge (post) to the center-left, Iron Mountain center, and South Peak, Cone Peak, Echo Mountain & North Peak to the right.

Lorquin’s admiral

From the parking area we followed the lined trail uphill for 0.4-miles to the staffed Sand Mountain Lookout.

Mt. Washington (post), Belknap Crater (post), and the Three Sisters.

Maxwell Butte (post), Mt. Jefferson, and Three Fingered Jack.

Just a bit of snow left on the North facing slope.

Western pasque flower

It’s very faint but the top of Mt. Hood was visible over the lower left shoulder of Maxwell butte.

Penstemon

Belknap Crater, the Three Sisters, The Husband, Scott Mountain (post), and Diamond Peak (post) in the distance.

Zoom of Diamond Peak. The round looking hump in front is Fuji Moutain (post).

Hoodoo and Hayrick Buttes, Black Butte (post), and Cache Mountain.

There were quite a few bumblebees at the summit interested in the rocks in this area.

This Edith’s checkerspot joined the bees for a moment.

We stopped to talk to the current staffer who said it was the nicest morning he’d seen in almost a week. The amount of smoke/haze was indeed much less than we’d experience on the 4th at Rocky Top (post). Before continuing on we confirmed with him that the loop around the crater was still open to hiking and he said it was and also suggested that we take the closed road back to the parking area instead of looping all the way around back to the lookout. His reasoning was that the last climb up to the lookout was a bit of a scramble. On our previous visit we had actually gone down that section as we had done the loop counterclockwise. We planned on a clockwise loop this time so we thanked him and kept the road return open as an option.
Viewpoint below the lookout.

The lookout from the viewpoint.

Not sure if this is an aster or a fleabane.

The trail getting ready to drop down to a saddle. The peaks from right to left are: Browder Ridge, Twin Buttes, Latiwi Mountain, Wildcat Moutain, Tidbits Mountain (post), Bunchgrass Mountain, and Carpenter Mountain (post) followed by an unidentified ridge on the left.

We were a little surprised to find these broomrape hiding in this silverleaf phacelia.

Drummond’s anemone

Look into the crater.

A couple of penstemon blossoms with the Three Sisters in the background.

The colors around the crater add to the scenery.

Pyrola of some sort.

Starting the steep climb back toward the lookout.

View from the roadbed. We opted to do as the lookout staffer suggested and follow the road back down toward the parking area instead of back up to the lookout.

There was one good sized snow drift left encroaching on the road.

The forecast had said there was a slight chance of showers starting at Noon with another slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon beginning at 2pm. Aside from some clouds to the over Central Oregon to the East and one or two strays over Mt. Washington the sky remained was still clear as we headed back.
This little cloud wasn’t much of a threat.

If anything the views had improved now that Sun was more directly overhead.

Not long after we’d started back down the road from the parking area we spotted another hiker on her way up. It would be the only other hiker we’d see on the roads/trails all day and it turned out to be one of the strangest coincidences we’ve ever experienced. On the drive to the trailhead that morning we were having a discussion about how often we wind up doing a hike just days before or after we see one of the other hikers we follow doing the same hike. There have also been numerous times where we find out after a hike or trip that we were in the same area or even the same trails at the same time but somehow missed each other. The only person we have run into more than once is Cheryl Hill (Just Peachy), once during a 2015 hike in Jefferson Park (post) and the other near Table Lake in 2018 (post). After the whole conversation that morning we were pleasantly surprised to find it was again Cheryl. This was her first visit to this lookout and she mentioned that it would be her 91st. She is currently working on visiting all of the standing lookouts in Oregon a project that we find very interesting. We had a nice conversation then headed our respective directions.

On the way back there were somehow even more butterflies vising the snowbrush.
A checkerspot

A hairstreak

Three Fingered Jack and Hoodoo Butte

Three Fingered Jack. Note the climbers trail on the slope to the right.

Ash in the basin below Sand Mountain.

Pussy paws

Female western tanager

Moth

Snake in the trail.

The snake retreated to a nearby log when we approached.

Back in the forest.

This moth blended with the nearby fungus.

I had contemplated hiking the McKenzie River Trail down to Clear Lake (post) prior to returning to the car but that was before I knew how far our hike to Sand Mountain was going to be. The hike turned out to be 14.7 miles with 2500′ of mostly gradual elevation gain.

We have this section of the McKenzie River Trail on our to-do list so we decided to wait until then and retuned to the car to prepare for the drive home.

Although it was a little longer hike than we’d planned it was a good hike and not particularly difficult. The location of the lookout between the High Cascades and Old Cascades provides excellent views and the crater is an interesting feature. Add in the history of the Santiam Wagon Road with the solitude we experienced and you’ve got a really nice day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Santiam Wagon Road to Sand Mountain

Tags cascade mountains, hiking, Oregon, Pygmy short-horned lizard, Sand Mountain, Sand Mountain Lookout, Santiam Wagon Road, Upper McKenzie River Trailhead

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Washington Area Oregon Trip report

Mount Washington North Ridge – 10/15/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 17, 2022
4 Comments on Mount Washington North Ridge – 10/15/2022

Our lack of rain unfortunately continued for another week allowing the numerous fires in Oregon and Washington to remain active. To top it off a warm, dry East wind arrived in time for the weekend creating a red flag warning for high fire danger and blowing the smoke from the current fires into Western Oregon. The combination of the smoke and unseasonably high temperatures had me searching for a suitable hike. My Plan A, B, and C hikes were all forecast to be in the smoke (and warmer than I’d prefer in October) then I remembered seeing that Hike Oregon had gone up Mount Washington’s North Ridge back in August using a climbers trail off of the Pacific Crest Trail. I had been interested in that trail ever since hearing about it during the Chemeketans Route Finding course we’d taken and then later passing it on our hike to Mount Washington Meadows in 2017 (post). A quick of check of the forecast there showed clear (but breezy) skies and a high below 60 at the mountain, I was sold.

Just as we had done in 2017 I parked at the Pacific Crest Trailhead at Big Lake which at this time does not require a Cascade Wilderness Permit for day-use (one is required for overnight stays).

I set off South on the PCT shortly before sunrise and followed it for three miles to a cairn marking the obvious climbers trail.
Mount Washington from the Mt. Washington Wilderness boundary just a few hundred feet from the trailhead.

Three Fingered Jack to the North from the PCT.

From left to right – Sand Mountain (post), Hoodoo Butte, and Hayrick Butte.

Mount Washington

Sunrise on Hoodoo Butte.

Sunlight hitting the spire of Mount Washington.

Hayrick Butte and Three Fingered Jack at sunrise.

Big Lake, Hoodoo, Hayrick Butte, and Three Fingered Jack.

Just over two miles from the trailhead I passed a sign for the non-maintained use trail from the private Big Lake Youth Camp.

Shortly before reaching the climbers trail the PCT left the 2011 Shadow Lake Fire scar.

The cairn and climbers trail from the PCT.

I turned left onto this trail which was fairly easy to follow through the trees.
Huckleberry leaves turning color.

There were a few logs to navigate and keeping an eye on the tread was helpful.

The trail climbed moderately at first then steepened as it went, with occasional flatter sections before reaching the ridge.

Maxwell Butte (post) behind Hoodoo and Hayrick Butte.

Mount Washington

I stopped here for a moment to admire a raptor that was hovering high above the ridge (small black dot in the middle of the photo).

The only movement that I could see was when it tilted its tail feathers which would catch the sunlight.

First view of Mt. Jefferson behind Three Fingered Jack.

Coming up on the ridge.

Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Jefferson, and a lot of smoke to the North.

Cache Mountain and Black Butte (post) to the NE.

Approximately 1.5 miles from the PCT the climbers trail turned North along the ridge toward Mount Washington.
View along the ridge to Mount Washington.

That East wind was really noticeable as I made my way along the open ridge crest.

I didn’t have much trouble following the trail for the first three-quarters of mile up the ridge. It was typical Cascade volcanic rock which isn’t the most fun rock to hike through but the views were great.
Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson to the left. Green Ridge (post) across the center, and Cache Mountain & Black Butte to the right.

Big Lake came into view as I climbed.

One of the steeper sections I went up. The spire is poking up on the right.

Mount Washington’s shadow.

View back down the ridge.

I was hoping to get up and over these rocks where the map showed a more level bench but I wound up reaching a chute where I was unsure of the correct route. The further up I’d gone the more braided the trail became and I may have been too far left. A climber had passed me way back on the PCT but if I had been able to watch him go up here I may have found a better route.

The chute that turned me back. It’s a bit hidden by the rocks in the foreground but there was no way across that I would have been comfortable with and scrambling up looked way too sketchy for my taste (especially w/o a helmet).

I sat down here and took a brief break to catch my breath and have a snack. I was just over 7100′ in elevation and had been feeling that on the climb up.
My shadow on the left from my break spot.

This was the place I’d come up.

Zoom of Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson

With all the smoke I hadn’t noticed Coffin (flat top) and Bachelor Mountains (post) beyond Hoodoo, Hayrick, and Maxwell Buttes.

After catching my breath I started carefully down, pausing often to admire the view.
The Moon overhead to the West.

Patjens Lakes (post) in the forest below.

Lookout tower on Black Butte.

Unfortunate that my timing once again put the Sun directly in line with my view.

I passed three more hikers heading up the ridge on my way down and at one point wound up following a wrong trail too low on the ridge and had to scramble back up to the correct one.
Using a tree to try and get a better view.

A framed Mt. Jefferson.

Sometimes it’s the little things, like these bent trees that I really appreciate on a hike.

This mushroom casting a shadow was another one.

When I got back to the PCT I turned right and hiked the three miles back to the trailhead.

Looking back at Mount Washington from the PCT.

Three Fingered Jack

Hoodoo and Hayrick Buttes behind Big Lake.

Huckleberry bushes and ferns adding some Fall colors.

The best Fall colors were near the trailhead.

The trailhead from the wilderness boundary sign.

This hike came to 10.7 miles with a little over 2700′ of elevation gain. In total I saw 7 hunters, 4 climbers, and two fellow hikers, not bad for a sunny Saturday. It might not be one for those uncomfortable with heights or climbing/descending loose volcanic rock (for those reasons it was a good choice since Heather is still sidelined) but if you don’t mind those things this would be a worthwhile outing.

When I got back to Salem around 2pm it was 90 degrees, in mid-October! The good news is that the high pressure system causing the warm, dry weather is supposed to break up this week with rain to follow. Hopefully it will be enough to put an end to the fires. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mount Washington North Ridge

Tags Big Lake, climbers trail, Hike Oregon, hiking, Mount Washington, Mount Washington Climbers Trail, Mount Washington North Ridge, Mount Washington Wilderness, Mt. Washington, Oregon, Pacific Crest at Big Lake Trailhead, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Sky Lakes/Mountain Lakes Area Trip report

Sky Lakes Basin Day 2 – 09/25/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 30, 2022
2 Comments on Sky Lakes Basin Day 2 – 09/25/2022

We woke up way too early for the time of year and found ourselves playing Yahtzee on Heather’s phone lest we would be hiking out from our camp at Trapper Lake in the dark. After some less than stellar scores we packed up camp and set off on the Sky Lakes Trail back toward the Cold Springs Trailhead.

Low-light at Trapper Lake.

Sunrise from the trail.

Sunlight hitting the tops of trees.

Just before reaching the Heavenly Twin Lakes we came to the Isherwood Trail where we turned right.

The Isherwood Trail passed by the larger of the Heavenly Twin Lakes.

The trail left the lake and climbed gradually through the forest to a rocky bluff above Isherwood Lake.

Heading up to the bluff.

Pelican Butte beyond Isherwood Lake.

Fall foliage above Isherwood Lake.

About half way along Isherwood Lake we detoured to the other side of the trail to visit Lake Liza.
Heading for Lake Liza through a dry bed.

Great reflection

After returning to the Isherwood Trail and passing Isherwood Lake we passed Elizabeth Lake on our left.

Elizabeth Lake was followed by Lake Notasha on the right with another nice reflection.

Lake Notasha

Depending on the angle the water was a beautiful green.

A short distance beyond Lake Notasha we came to the end of the Isherwood Trail at the Sky Lakes Trail.

We turned right for a third of a mile to a junction with the Cold Springs Trail.

We turned left this time following the Cold Springs Trail pointer. This trail climbed a lot more than we’d expected as it passed by Imagination Peak but after nearly two miles we arrived back at the junction with the South Rock Creek Trail which we had taken the day before.
Parts of the latter half of this trail passed through the 2017 fire scar.

Fireweed seeds

Pelican Butte as we descended toward the junction.

We turned right here for the final 0.6 miles to our car.

Leaving the Sky Lakes Wilderness

Dark-eyed junco seeing us off.

An as of yet unidentified flower.

Another unidentified flower.

I do know this one – bleeding heart.

Woodpecker (it was a busy final 0.6 miles).

Back at the shelter and trailhead.

Our hike out came to 6.6 miles with just over 1000′ of elevation gain.

Dark track is Day 2 while the light solid line is Day 1.

It had been a great Autumn weekend for a backpacking trip and the hikes were great. The only negative to come out of it was Heather’s knee which had been a lingering but manageable issue for most of the year finally decided it had had enough. She has some PT ahead and no hiking so I’ll be on my own for a bit. The good news her knee should be fine and we didn’t have any more featured hikes on our schedule until mid-Spring next year. It also means we might be welcoming some new kitties into our home sooner than we’d expected since she won’t be joining me on the October hikes. Happy Tails! (or Trails!)

Flickr: Sky Lakes Basin Day 2

Tags backpacking, Cold Springs Trail, Cold Springs Trailhead, Heavenly Twin Lakes, hiking, Isherwood Trail, Lake Elizabeth, Lake Liza, Lake Notasha, Oregon, Sky Lakes Trail, sky lakes wilderness, Trapper Lake

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Sky Lakes/Mountain Lakes Area Trip report

Sky Lakes Basin Day 1 – 09/24/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 29, 2022
3 Comments on Sky Lakes Basin Day 1 – 09/24/2022

An excellent weekend forecast allowed us to head back to the Southern Oregon Cascades less than a week from our three night, four day stay in Shady Cove (post). In an attempt to give us the best chance to finish our featured hike goal (post) I’d recently broken a 5-6 day backpacking trip in the Sky Lakes Wilderness into shorter trips. During our Shady Cove stay we did the Blue Lakes Basin hike (post) and now we were back for an overnight backpack in the Sky Lakes Basin to check off Sullivan’s Sky Lakes via Cold Springs and Sky Lakes via Nannie Creek hikes. (Hikes #43 & #44 respectively in edition 4.2 “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California.)

We started at the Cold Springs Trailhead.

Shelter at the trailhead.

We set off through a 2017 fire scar following the Cold Springs Trail into the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

Aster

Fireweed

After 0.6 miles we came to a junction with the South Rock Creek Trail.

Both forks would lead to the Heavenly Twin Lakes but the South Rock Creek Trail would do it in a shorter distance (1.8 vs 2.4 miles) so we stayed to the right and followed that trail through more burned forest.

Comma butterfly

We left the fire scar after about a mile and continued another 0.8 miles to the first Heavenly Twin Lake.
Exiting the fire scar.

Doe watching us through the trees.

The larger lake lay just beyond the smaller and provided a view of Luther Mountain.
Luther Mountain on the left and Lee Peak on the right.

After checking out the view we continued on the Sky Lakes Trail which led along the East side of the large lake arriving at the junction with the Isherwood Trail at the far end.
Sign for the Sky Lakes Trail.

Isherwood Trail junction.

We would be taking the Isherwood Trail the next day on our way back to the car but for now we continued straight for 1.9 miles to Trapper Lake where we looked for and found a campsite for the weekend. Along the way we passed several small ponds and unnamed lakes and one named one. It was clear why the area is notorious for mosquitos until late Summer (we only noticed two the whole weekend).

Lake Land

Luther Mountain from Trapper Lake.

After setting up camp we returned to the Sky Lakes Trail and continued North along the lake passing the Cherry Creek Trail coming up from the right before arriving at a junction with the Donna Lake Trail.
View along the trail.

Sign for the Cherry Creek Trail.

Sky Lakes Trail sign.

Donna Lake Trail to the right.

This was the start of an approximately 8.8 mile loop around Luther Mountain. We had decided to do the loop counter-clockwise so we took the left hand trail which kept us on the Sky Lakes Trail. This trail led around the North end of Trapper Lake for 0.2 miles where it met the Divide Trail.

Divide Trail junction.

We stayed left here and started following the Divide Trail which would lead us to the Pacific Crest Trail in 2.8 miles. Shortly after starting up this trail we detoured right to check out Margurette Lake.

The trail passed close to this lake offering several views of Luther Mountain along the way.

Beyond Margurette Lake the trail began to wind it’s way uphill passing several smaller bodies of water including Lake No-SE-Um where several mergansers had congregated.

The trail turned back to the North passing above Margurette and Trapper Lakes along a shelf before turning West and climbing more steeply via switchbacks.

Saddle Mountain is in the distance with pointy Cherry Peak in the foreground. I believe that is Agency Lake visible in the Valley.

Pelican Butte to the right.

Mt. McLoughlin (post) to the South.

Eagle flyby.

Lather Peak with several more lakes below.

In the distance to the left is Aspen Butte (post) in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness.

Fall is in the air.

On of several small bodies of water along the shelf.

We know there were pikas out there because we heard their “meeps” off and on all day but with so many rocks we were never able to spot one.

Heading toward Luther Mountain.

Pelican Butte on the left and Mt. McLoughlin on the right. The peaks in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness are behind and to the right of Pelican Butte then the small, closer hump is Imagination Peak. To the right of Imagination Peak and slightly further back is Lost Peak and then further to the right (left of Mt. McLoughlin) is Brown Mountain (post). Interestingly according to Peak Finder Mt. Shasta should be visible in between Imagination and Lost Peaks but apparently there was enough smoke/haze in the sky that it was camouflaged.

After passing through the switchbacks the trail straightened out and headed almost due West as it climbed through a rock field on the southern flank of Luther Mountain.

We left the rock field and made a final climb to a saddle where we arrived at the PCT.

Luther Mountain from the saddle.

The Pacific Crest Trail.

After catching our breath we turned right on the PCT which descended slightly to a ridge to the West of Luther Mountain. We followed this ridge, which had been burned in 2014, for a little over a mile to a junction with the Snow Lakes Trail.
Lucifer Peak directly behind Shale Butte.

Lucifer Peak, Shale Butte, Devil’s Peak and Lee Peak.

Blowdown on the PCT.

Luther Mountain

Luther Mountain and Mt. McLoughlin behind us.

Lots of little birds along the ridge but most didn’t stop long enough for even a poor picture.

Sign at the Snow Lakes Trail junction.

We turned right onto the Snow Lakes Trail which passed along another shelf full of small lakes.
Martin, Wind and a Snow Lake from the Snow Lakes Trail.

Hawk circling overhead.

While I was trying to keep track of the hawk this Bald Eagle flew over.

Nearing the end of the 2014 fire scar.

Luther Mountain from one of the Snow Lakes.

Another of the lakes.

Tree on the edge of the shelf.

View from the shelf.

There were many cool rock features along the trail.

Devil’s Peak

Lee Peak and another of the Snow Lakes.

After approximately three quarters of a mile on the Snow Lakes Trail we dropped to one of the larger lakes where we briefly lost the trail.

A tree had fallen over the Snow Lakes Trail hiding it right where a use trail veered off to the lake. Only seeing the use trail we followed it along the lake until it petered out. A quick look at the map showed we were off-trail so we made our way back finding the downed tree covering the actual trail.

After regaining the trail we followed it downhill via a series of switchbacks past another lake.

The trail then began to turn ESE as it continued to descend toward Martin Lake and the Lower Snow Lakes. A total of 2.3 miles from the PCT we came to the Nannie Creek Trail junction.

The worst obstacle for the day.

Pelican Butte from the trail.

Sign at the Nannie Creek Trail junction.

We stayed right on the Snow Lakes Trail at the junction. After 0.4 miles we passed Martin Lake on our right.
Luther Mountain as we neared Martin Lake.

Dragon fly blending in with the huckleberry leaves.

Martin Lake with a view of the shelf that we’d been on.

Two tenths of a mile beyond Martin Lake we came to what was labeled Lower Snow Lakes on our map which was partly in Luther Mountain’s shadow.
Red huckleberry leaves

We found a log in the shade along the shore where we took a nice break.

After our break we continued on the Snow Lakes Trail another three quarters of a mile to a junction with the Donna Lake Trail.

It was another 0.7 miles back to Trapper Lake either way but the Donna Lake Trail led past Deep and then Donna Lakes so we veered left and took that trail.
Deep Lake was up first, just a tenth of a mile down the trail.

Donna Lake was only two tenths further.

Donna Lake Trail

We arrived back at the Sky Lakes Trail at Trapper Lake and headed back to our campsite for dinner.
Back at Trapper Lake.

Dinner didn’t go as planned as we realized when we pulled our water filter out that we’d left all the hoses at home. Fortunately we carry Iodine tablets for just such an occurrence so we had a way to treat water but by the time it was all said and done we decided to skip a warm meal and opted to eat some of the extra food we’d brought. At least we’d have water for the hike out the next day though. It cooled off quickly once the Sun had vanished and for the first time in a while we got to test the warmth of our sleeping systems.

Today’s hike came in at 14.5 miles with approximately 2300′ of elevation gain.

Day one is the dark track with the light solid line being part of day 2.

The number of lakes/ponds was almost hard to believe and the scenery was really nice. The timing was great with almost no bugs and the trails were in relatively good shape, just a few downed trees here and there but nothing too difficult to get past. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Sky Lakes Basin Day 1

Crater Lake Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

Union Creek Revisited – 09/20/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 23, 2022
7 Comments on Union Creek Revisited – 09/20/2022

For the final hike of our Southern Oregon trip we had pegged the Union Creek Trail, the only featured hike that only I had done. Heather had been forced to skip this one after hurting herself at Abbott Butte in 2020 (post). Sullivan has been working on an update to his Southern Oregon book and it will be interesting to see if the Union Creek hike remains a featured hike. A 2015 storm downed many trees along the trail, the middle portion of which had not yet been cleared in 2020 when I’d attempted the hike. A quick look online led us to believe that two years later the conditions were the same so instead of attempting to reach Union Creek Falls from the Union Creek Resort we drove to the Upper Trailhead. To reach this trailhead we followed Highway 62 two miles east of its junction with Highway 230 turning right on Road 600 at a small Union Creek Trailhead sign. After 0.2 miles we veered left at another pointer for 0.1 miles to the parking area at roads end.
An OHV Trail continues on the old road bed from the parking area.

The Union Creek Trail is located at the SW corner of the parking area.

The upper portion of the trail was in great shape and we quickly found ourselves at Union Creek Falls just 0.3 miles from the trailhead.

We continued another 0.7 miles before encountering the first real obstacle and began to wonder if by some miracle someone had finally shown this trail a little love.
We had to get creative to see some of the many cool water features along the creek.

The first mess on the trail.

The trail conditions deteriorated quickly over the next half mile before we completely lost the trail at a large downed tree. Overnight rain had left the vegetation wet and we didn’t see any point in trying to force our way through the brush in an attempt to relocate the tread so we turned around and headed back.

This mess was just before the bigger tree that turned us back.

On the way back we hopped a side channel onto an island to find a pretty impressive feature that had been hidden from the trail.
Where I crossed the channel.

To get a good view I had to carefully follow a narrow ledge to an overlook of a thundering hole where water plunged in from all sides.

We returned to the car having come up a just over a quarter mile short of where I’d given up and turned around in 2020 resulting in a 3.7 mile hike with just over 400′ of elevation gain.

The dashed track is from 2022 with the solid line being 2020’s track.

It is a shame that this trail doesn’t seem to warrant any attention from the Forest Service. The creek is beautiful and the trail isn’t that long so there isn’t that much to clear. It also isn’t in a wilderness area so they could use chainsaws where needed. Ironically this sign is posted at the trailhead along with a box that was full of spiderwebs.

It was just after 9:15am when we got back to the car and after changing we did what any sane people would do and drove back into Union Creek to Beckie’s Cafe for breakfast, a cinnamon roll, and a blackberry pie to go. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Union Creek

Tags Beckie's Cafe, hiking, Oregon, Union Creek Falls, Union Creek Resort, Union Creek Trail

Crater Lake Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

Discovery Point and Lightning Spring – 09/19/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 23, 2022
1 Comment on Discovery Point and Lightning Spring – 09/19/2022

The longest planned hike of our Southern Oregon trip also promised to be the most scenic with nearly two and a half miles being along the rim of Crater Lake. After a couple of days of rain showers (and one night of thunderstorms) Monday was forecast to be partly sunny albeit with a 40% chance of showers. We were hoping for clear views of the lake with just enough clouds to make the sky interesting. We had picked up a 7-day pass on Saturday when we’d driven through Crater Lake National Park and now reentered the Park from Highway 62 to the south and parked near the Rim Village Gift Shop and Cafe.

Our plan was to hike the Discovery Point and Lightning Spring loop described by Sullivan in his “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” (edition 4.2 hike #21). He describes hiking the route counter-clockwise hiking along the rim of the caldera to Discovery Point first but we opted instead for a clockwise loop for two reasons. First was that we wanted to be hiking the rim later in the day when the Sun would hopefully be directly overhead instead of across the lake to the east. The second reason was because Sullivan described the final section of the Dutton Creek Trail as “climbing more seriously…to your car”. Our thought was that it might be more enjoyable to be going down that stretch rather than up.

Before starting the loop we passed by the Gift Shop to check out the morning view of the lake.

Mt. Scott (post) with a bit of a lenticular cloud.

Raven making a landing atop a mountain hemlock.

The Watchman (post), Hillman Peak, and Llao Rock along the western side of the rim.

The view was amazing and aside from the ravens we were about the only people around this early. We got distracted enough by the views that we didn’t catch that the Dutton Creek Trail was located a bit downhill along the West Rim Road and we set off on the Rim Trail toward the Discovery Point Trailhead.

In our defense the topo map on our GPS showed a connector trail further along the Rim Trail (that trail no longer exists) but we didn’t catch our mistake until we’d gone nearly a quarter mile. We turned around and hiked back to the entrance road to Rim Village and hiked downhill to the signed Dutton Creek Trail.
It was by far the most scenic mistake we’ve made while hiking.

Wizard Island and Llao Rock

Mount Scott

We joked that views had been so good maybe we should just end the hike now.

A short distance down the Dutton Creek Trail we came face to face with a pair of bucks.

It was quite the start to the hike and we wondered how anything during the remainder of the hike could top the beginning. We followed the Dutton Creek trail a total of 2.4 miles to the Pacific Crest Trail. The upper portion had indeed been fairly steep before leveling out quite a bit. The forest along the trail was very nice and the trail was in excellent shape.

Dutton Creek was dry.

Blue sky ahead.

Not much left for flowers, this could be a Crater Lake collomia although it’s a little late in the season.

Castle Creek still had some water flowing.

We spotted several piles of hail, possibly from the severe thunderstorms that had been forecast for Saturday night?

Arriving at the PCT.

We turned right on the PCT and followed it for 4.4 fairly level miles to the Lightning Springs Trail. Sullivan described this section of trail as relatively dull but there was enough variety in the scenery to make it enjoyable if not remarkable.

The campsite at the junction was closed due to hazard trees.

Recrossing Castle Creek.

The PCT appeared to be following an old road bed through the park.

Dropping down to Trapper Creek.

PCT crossing of Trapper Creek.

We saw one other deer, a doe in the trail, and otherwise it was a lot of chipmunks and squirrels along with numerous birds.
A red-breasted nuthatch that was toying with me as I tried to get a photo.

Canada jay (grey jay)
Blue sky to the north ahead.

Some blue sky south too with a glimpse of Union Peak (post).

Union Peak

Entering the 2006 Bybee Complex fire scar.

The Watchman. The lookout tower on top was in a cloud after having been clearly visible from rim earlier. We wondered what that might mean for our views when we finally made it back to the rim.

Chipmunk checking us out.

Coneflower remains

Another creek crossing.

Red crossbills at the creek crossing.

There were some pretty ominous looking clouds behind us but no showers yet.

Several white crowned sparrows and at least one junco. We could also hear chickadee calls but I couldn’t find one in this capture.

Despite the ugly clouds behind us there was almost always blue sky ahead.

North Fork Castle Creek

Approaching the junction with the Lightning Springs Trail.

We turned onto the Lightning Springs Trail and headed for the clouds above The Watchman.

This trail climbed gradually along a ridge at the edge of a 2016 fire scar.

Townsend’s solitaire

Union Peak had been swallowed by clouds.

The Watchman with a cloud still hanging on.

Hawk

The base of Union Peak with lots of blue sky around.

A brief stint in full sunlight.

Robin

We were supposed to pass below a small waterfall after 2.4 miles along Lightning Creek but this late in the Summer it was dry.

The trail continued to climb beyond the dry fall arriving at Lightning Springs after another 0.8 miles.
Union Peak nearly free of clouds.

The Watchman still not free.

Mountain bluebird

We detoured a short distance down the trail to Lightning Springs Camp to check out the springs which were not dry.

After visiting the springs we continued another 0.8 miles to West Rim Drive and crossed over to the Rim Trail.

Full view of Union Peak.

And finally a full view of The Watchman.

Conditions were changing quickly and now there was blue sky above The Watchman.

West Rim Drive ahead with the lower portion of Mt. McLoughlin (post) in between the trees to the right.

Mt. McLoughlin

This squirrel put its cone down in case I had something better for it, but we don’t feed the wild animals per Park rules (and Leave No Trace Principles).

We followed the Rim Trail for 2.4 miles back to Rim Village passing Discovery Point at the 1.1 mile mark. The views were spectacular resulting in many, many photos for which we don’t feel the least bit sorry about.

Wizard Island’s cone

Llao Rock

Dock along Wizard Island

The Watchman and Hillman Peak

Garfield Peak to the left with Union Peak to the far right.

Phantom Ship

Mount Scott

Clark’s nutcracker

That blue though!

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Back to where we’d been that morning.

Including our wandering around Rim Village and going the wrong way to start our hike came to 14.4 miles with 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

I don’t think we could have asked for better conditions. It only sprinkled for one brief moment and the amount as well as type of clouds added to the beauty instead of hiding it. Add in temperatures that didn’t get much over 50 degrees if that and it was about a perfect day for a hike. We changed our shoes and socks then grabbed lunch in the cafe and did some shopping in the gift shop before heading back to Shady Cove. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Discovery Point and Lightning Spring

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Sky Lakes/Mountain Lakes Area Trip report

Blue Lake Basin – 09/18/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 23, 2022
2 Comments on Blue Lake Basin – 09/18/2022

The second day of our Southern Oregon trip was forecast to be the wettest so we headed for the Sky Lakes Wilderness where the cloudy conditions wouldn’t hinder our views too much. Our goal for the day was to hike to Island Lake via Blue Lake Basin then possibly return via Cat Hill Way. The out-and-back to Island Lake is featured hike #40 in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” guidebook (edition 4.2). We had visited Island Lake in 2016 (post) but from the other direction. Since that visit only covered 0.1 miles of the featured hike and the hike is titled “Blue Lake Basin” not Island Lake we had not considered it done.

We began at the Blue Canyon Trailhead.

A crisp wind blew through the small meadow near the trailhead encouraging us to hustle downhill on the trail into the trees which provided some relief.
An old fence in the meadow.

Entering the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

Into the trees we go.

It had been a while since we’d actually been cold starting out on a hike and it was kind of nice. We hoped that the wet weather was also present over the Cedar Creek Fire to the north near Waldo Lake. Here there was no sign of smoke as we hiked through the damp forest.

Just over a mile from the trailhead we arrived at our first lake of the day, Round Lake.

We continued on the Blue Canyon Trail another 1.2 miles to Blue Lake where a bald eagle startled me when it took off from a tree directly over my head.
The cliff face above Blue Lake ahead from the trail.

Hiking along Blue Lake.

Blue Lake

The bald eagle across the lake after startling me.

The combination of cool temperatures, wet ground and light rain kept us from lingering too long at the lake and we were soon on our way to the next one. Just beyond Blue Lake we veered right at a trail junction to stay on the Blue Canyon Trail.
The South Fork Trail went to the left past Meadow Lake and the Mud Lake before following the South Fork Rogue River to Road 720.

The Blue Canyon Trail passed to the right of Meadow Lake before arriving at a junction with the Meadow Lake Trail in a quarter mile.
Meadow Lake

Meadow Lake Trail junction.

For now we stuck to the Blue Canyon Trail which brought us to Horseshoe Lake in another half mile.

Just beyond this small pond south of the trail we turned right on a use trail which led out onto Horseshoe Lake’s peninsula.

Camping is prohibited on the peninsula which is signed in multiple places.

After exploring the peninsula we returned to the Blue Canyon Trail and followed it to the next lake, Pear Lake, which was just over a half mile away. We took another use trail down to the shore of this lake which is not at all shaped like a pear. (Unless it’s named after the core then maybe but it would still be a stretch.)

Ducks flying further down the lake.

From Pear Lake it was just over 1.75 miles to Island Lake. The trail climbed up and over a ridge passing above Dee Lake before dropping into Island Lake’s basin.

Grouse

The only flowing water we’d encounter on this day after not crossing any streams the day before at Union Peak (post) either.

Dee Lake barely visible through the trees.

Bigelow’s sneezeweed

Meadow near Island Lake.

A Horse Camp sign.

Island Lake through the trees.

We couldn’t remember exactly where we’d gone down to the lake on our previous visit, just that it had been a short trail to the Judge Waldo Tree. We turned left on a clear use trail which brought us down to the lake but not to the tree we were looking for.

There were a lot of mushrooms down by the water though.

We returned to the Blue Canyon Trail and continued around the lake to another use trail and again turned left. This one looked familiar and indeed brought us to the Judge Waldo Tree.

For those interested the 1888 inscription reads:

Judge J.B. Waldo
William Taylor
H.P. Minto
E. J. Humason
F. W. Isherwood
September 13, 1888

Judge Waldo was an early voice for conservation of the Cascade forests (today he most likely would not have carved his name into the tree like that).

Now that we’d linked the two hikes together we were content to head back. When we’d made it back to the Meadow Lake Trail junction we turned uphill onto that trail.
Pear Lake from the Blue Canyon Trail.

Back at the Meadow Lake junction.

Heading up the Meadow Lake Trail.

This trail was much steeper than the Blue Canyon Trail had been and if we were to do the hike again we most likely would opt to come down this way.

The huckleberries don’t lie, Autumn was right around the corner.

Approaching the ridge top.

Not sure what we missed here but imagine it was some of the peaks in the Sky Lakes Wilderness.

Just over a mile from the junction the Meadow Lake Trail ended at Cat Hill Way.

This trail ran between the Pacific Crest Trail (1.5 miles to the left) and The Blue Canyon Trailhead (2.25 miles to the right). We turned right following a very old roadbed that climbed gradually just below the summit of Cat Hill before descending to the meadow at the trailhead. While the other trails had been well maintained this one had a number of downed trees that were fairly easily navigated. This trail did provide a view of Mt. McLoughlin (post) albeit limited on this day due to the cloud cover.

Colorful fungus

Mt. McLoughlin

A little fresh snow, a welcome sight.

A nice little viewpoint just off the trail.

Passing below Cat Hill.

Back to the trailhead.

Our hike came in at 12.2 miles with approximately 1700′ of elevation gain.

We only saw a few other people which was surprising even with the wet weather given how popular this area is in the Summer. It had sprinkled off and on for most of the morning but we didn’t ever feel the need to put our rain gear on. We drove back to Shady Cove and after changing headed to 62’s Burgers and Brews for a late lunch/early dinner. The clouds were once again breaking up which was encouraging as we were heading back to Crater Lake the following day where we would be hoping for some good views. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Blue Lake Basin

Tags 62's Burgers and Brews, Blue Canyon Trailhead, blue lake, Cat Hill, Cat Hill Way, grouse, hiking, horseshoe lake, island lake, Judge J. B. Waldo, judge waldo tree, Meadow Lake, Meadow Lake Trail, Oregon, Pear Lake, round lake, Shady Cove, sky lakes wilderness

Crater Lake Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

Union Peak – 09/17/2022

Our hiking focus this year has been primarily on the Southern Oregon and Northern California area. This was due in large part to that being the area where the majority of the remaining hikes were located for us to reach our goal of hiking Sullivan’s 500 featured hikes (post). Over the last couple of years we’ve canceled several trips down to this area due to wildfires (and associated smoke) as well as inclement weather. In fact we were starting to wonder if we might ever get the chance to finish the featured hikes from the area. This year things have been different, in fact we switched our August vacation from the Wallowas in Eastern Oregon to Northern California because the conditions, for once, were more favorable.

One of the trips we’d canceled in recent years was a four day stay in Union Creek. (Dangerous air quality due to wildfire smoke.) We had placed that trip back on our schedule for this year hoping for better luck. There were no fires in the immediate area but a number of fires were burning elsewhere in Oregon and Northern California which could still send enough smoke into the area to affect air quality. We kept a close eye on the weather and air quality forecasts and while the latter looked good the weather forecast was a little iffy. There was potential for showers including snow at higher elevations (7500′) as well as a slight chance of thunderstorms on a couple of days. The forecast was good enough for us to give it a try. Of the four hikes we had planned, two were not view dependent so we could rearrange the order depending on the forecast.

The forecast for Saturday was for partly cloudy skies with a chance of showers all day and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. We decided to attempt Union Peak despite the possible thunderstorms counting on summiting the 7709′ peak well before the arrival of potential thunderstorms. The most direct route from Salem to the Union Peak Trailhead is to take the West Rim Drive through Crater Lake National Park requiring the purchase of a $30.00, 7-day park pass. (Please note that both the Union Peak Trailhead and Union Peak itself are inside the park but do not require a park pass.) Since one of our other planned hikes started along West Rim Drive we would have needed a pass anyway so we entered the Park from the north entrance, purchased a pass, and then stopped at the Watchman Lookout Trailhead for a view of Crater Lake.
Wizard Island

The Watchman (post)

Hillman Peak and Llao Rock

We continued through the Park past the south entrance to Highway 62 where we turned right toward Medford for a mile to the Union Peak Trailhead.

It was a little before 9am which gave us plenty of time to complete the hike based on the weather forecast. Both Sullivan and the trailhead signboard indicated that it was an 11 mile out-and-back.
The sign calls this the “steepest” hike in Southern Oregon. We wondered what criteria that was based on?

The hike begins on the Pacific Crest Trail following it south for 2.5 fairly level miles to a signed junction with the Union Peak Trail.

There were a large number of big mushrooms along this section of trail as seen to the lower right.

One of the big shrooms.

A Stellar’s jay.

More of the big mushrooms.

Another Stellar’s jay.

Nearing the trail junction.

We veered right onto the Union Peak Trail which began with a gradual climb following a ridge toward Union Peak.

First glimpse of Union Peak through the trees.

Gardner Peak behind Goose Egg (center) to the SE.

Fireweed

It was cloudy but no showers so far and the clouds appeared to be well above the summit.

Townsend’s solitaire

I was so focused on Union Peak I failed to notice the deer to the right below until it and a nearby fawn bounded off.

Approximately 1.7 miles from the junction the trail passed an colorful rock outcrop on the right.

Mount Bailey in the distance to the right of the outcrop.

I missed more deer below the trail here, only noticing them when they started to run off.
The last doe keeping watch as the rest of the deer disappeared into the forest.

Beyond the colorful outcrop the trail dipped to a saddle then turned left at the base of Union Peak passing through a boulder field then onto a cinder hillside.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Western pasque flower seed-heads along the trail.

Looking up at Union Peak and wondering how the trail got up there.

Nearing the cinder field.

The trail switchbacked in the cinders providing a nice view of Crater Lake’s Rim.
Mount Scott (post) was the only peak covered by clouds.

The trail climbed back through the rock field and then came the steep part.

It’s always interesting to see the various rock that make up these volcanic peaks.

The Watchman and Llao Rock with Mt. Thielsen in between in the background.

That’s the trail on the right side of the photo.

Looking down at the trail below.

The trail was fairly easy to follow as it switchbacked up through the rocks. It was narrow in places which might be hard for those with a fear of heights.

The final pitch was more of a scramble than a hike though.

While there were no people at the summit the brush had attracted a fairly large number of yellow jackets.

I had reached the summit before Heather so I wandered back and forth along the top since every time I tried to sit down the yellow jackets took an interest in me, and I don’t do yellow jackets.
Looking west toward the Rogue-Umpqua Divide.

The trail along the ridge below Union Peak.

Lost Creek Lake (post) in the valley to the SW.

Mount Bailey, Diamond Peak (post), and Mt. Thielsen behind the rim of Crater Lake.

The rim of Crater Lake.

The combination of clouds, smoke, and the position of the Sun impacted the view to the south which on a clear day would have included both Mt. McLoughlin (post) and Mt. Shasta.
Mt. McLoughlin is to the far right with some clouds over the top. Starting from the left is Goose Nest, Goose Egg (with Gardner Peak behind), Maude Mountain (with a faint Pelican Butte behind to the right), Lee, Devil’s, & Lucifur Peaks (Mt. Shasta is behind those three.) followed by Mt. McLoughlin.

Heather joined me at the summit. Her dislike of heights had kicked in on her way up so she was ready for a nice break but after having been stung two weeks earlier the presence of the yellow jackets did not help her relax. We did however stay long enough for the clouds to start breaking up a little.

Mt. Bailey

The Watchman and Hillman Peak directly behind with Mt. Thielsen further in the distance.

Llao Rock

Applegate Peak

When Heather was ready we headed down. She was a little nervous but managed fine and we soon found ourselves crossing the boulder field again.

Looking back up from the rock field.

Mount Shasta arnica

By the time we were recrossing the ridge near the colorful outcrop a bit of blue sky had appeared behind Union Peak.

Bleeding heart

That trend continued and we imagined that the two hikers we’d passed on the way down were enjoying even better views than we’d had.

We had no complaints though. The smoke hadn’t been bad, we didn’t smell any at all until we were nearly back to the trailhead, and the clouds had kept the temperature down without raining at all. The Sun even made an appearance along the way.

One of several mountain bluebirds we spotted.

Bumblebees on a few remaining aster.

Sunshine

A sulphur butterfly.

Arriving back at the trailhead.

While Sullivan and the signboard listed this as an 11 mile hike our GPS came in at only 10 miles round trip. Either way there was 1600′ of elevation gain, much of which came in the final, steep, half mile.

From the trailhead we continued west on Highway 62 to the Edgewater Inn in Shady Cove, OR where we would be spending the next three nights. A quick check of the forecast for Sunday before bed revealed that “severe” thunderstorms were now forecast for Crater Lake overnight and Sunday called for clouds and a 50% chance of showers everywhere we’d planned on hiking. The good news was that our planned hike for Sunday was a visit to several lakes in the Sky Lakes Wilderness so showers wouldn’t really affect any views and getting some much needed precipitation was a lot more important than whether or not we would be getting wet on our hike. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Union Peak

Tags Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park, hiking, Mount Scott, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, the watchman, union peak, Union Peak trail, Union Peak Trailhead