wanderingyuncks

Puck Lakes Backpack – 08/31/2024 & 09/01/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 3, 2024
3 Comments on Puck Lakes Backpack – 08/31/2024 & 09/01/2024

We hadn’t managed to get out on an overnight backpacking trip in 2024 due to a combination of weather, fires, and being focused on finishing our goal of hiking at least part of 500 of William L. Sullivan’s featured hikes in his “100 Hikes” guidebook series (post). We’re now down to having just one featured hike left which we are planning to do as an overnight trip. We have that planned for September so we thought it would be a good idea to break out our backpacking gear for a test run first.

We chose the Puck Lakes in the Sky Lake Wilderness as our destination. These lakes are actually part of one of Sullivan’s featured hikes, but we had missed them due to having started at the Cold Springs Trailhead when we completed part of that hike (post). On that trip we’d combined his featured hike from that trailhead with a loop around Luther Mountain which Sullivan listed as an option for the featured hike from the Nannie Creek Trailhead. Starting at the Nannie Creek Trailhead would allow us visit the Puck Lakes and complete the remainder of Sullivan’s “Sky Lakes via Nannie Creek” hike. With the Puck Lakes being under 2.5-miles from the trailhead they provided a relatively short hike in with our full backpacks, then we could continue on to the Snow Lakes Trail and Margurette Lake which had been part of our loop during our earlier trip.

It was a 4-hour drive to the trailhead from Salem, so we got a later start than we normally would. It was a little before 9am when we set off and already warming up quickly. The forecast was for temperatures at the Puck Lakes to push 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Nannie Creek Trail gradually climbs for the first 1.6-miles making good use of switchbacks to keep the trail from ever feeling steep.

There were hundreds of dragonflies along the trails which were much more welcome than the mosquitos that are a problem here in July and early August.

The trail entering the wilderness.

After gaining approximately 500′ of elevation the trail leveled out for a bit before descending 100′ to the Puck Lakes.
To the left through the trees is Mt. McLoughlin (post).

The currently dry outlet creek of South Puck Lake.

South Puck Lake from the Nannie Creek Trail.

Just under 2.5-miles from the trailhead we turned right toward South Puck Lake at an unsigned junction with the former Puck Lakes Trail.
Someone had taken it upon themselves to craft their own sort of sign for the Puck Lakes Trail.

The Puck Lakes Trail has long since been abandoned but at one time it had covered around 6.5-miles connecting the Nannie Creek Trail and Sevenmile Trail (post). We followed this trail a little over 200′ to South Puck Lake then continued around the western side of the lake looking for a suitable campsite.

The southern end of the lake was closed to camping for site restoration.

South Puck Lake

Use trail around the lake. The alignment of the former Puck Lakes Trail is further back from the lake.

Two of three common mergansers that seemed to be calling the lake home for now.

Our campsite for the night.

We appeared to be the only ones currently at the lake. We’d passed a couple hiking out shortly after starting our hike who mentioned that there had only been one other person at the lake the night before, and then a little later that gentleman passed us. With it being Labor Day Weekend we suspected that the privacy wouldn’t last, but it was an encouraging sign that maybe it wouldn’t be too busy. After getting camp squared away, and starting a list for Hidden Lake of things that we had forgotten, we returned to the Nannie Creek Trail and continued toward the Snow Lakes Trail.

The Nannie Creek Trail made a small climb over the first 0.9-miles from the lake then began a mile long, 400′ descent to the Snow Lakes Trail.

Just after the trail began its descent it crossed a talus field.

Mt. McLoughlin behind Luther Mountain.

Shale Butte and Lucifer Peak (double hump is Lucifer).

Pelican Butte straight ahead with peaks in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness (post) behind to the right.

A faint Mt. Shasta through the haze.

Agency Lake

The trail made a couple of switchbacks through the shale before reentering the forest where we began to encounter a fair amount of blowdown.

A good representation of the trail conditions between the talus slope and the Snow Lakes Trail. Nothing was overly problematic, but it did mean more effort on our part which in turn made it feel even warmer.

Rock cairn marking the junction with the Snow Lake Trail.

Looking back at the hillside we’d descended.

We turned left onto the Snow Lakes Trail and followed it a little under 2-miles to a trail junction between Margurette and Trapper Lake. We were familiar with this trail having hiked the first 1.4-miles as part of our loop around Luther Mountain.

One of several grouse that crossed the trail in front of us.

Entering the fire scar from the 2014 “790 Fire”.

Northwestern Rabbit-tobacco

Martin Lake

Pair of Lewis’s woodpeckers.

One of the Snow Lakes below Luther Mountain.

One of the Snow Lakes.

After 1.4-miles we came to a junction with the Donna Lake Trail on the left. (Deep Lake is the lake visible below through the trees.) We’d turned down that trail on our previous visit, so we stayed right this time.

One of several small, unnamed, bodies of water between the Donna Lake Trail junction and Margurette Lake.

Blue beetle

Hardhack

Margurette Lake

Unsurprisingly there were several people at Margurette Lake so instead of taking our break there we turned left at the junction with the Sky Lakes Trail and continued on.
Margurette Lake

Coming up on the junction.

The Sky Lakes Trail.

This trail descended for 0.2-miles past the end of Trapper Lake to a junction with the Donna Lake Trail.

Trapper Lake

The Donna Lake Trail to the right.

We turned up the Donna Lake trail and climbed gradually for a quarter mile to Donna Lake.

Donna Lake

We didn’t see a shaded spot at Donna Lake where we could take a comfortable break, so we continued another tenth of a mile to Deep Lake.

Luther Mountain from Deep Lake.

There were several unoccupied campsites at Deep Lake, and we picked one with some shade to set up our chairs and finally take a break.

Tiny western toad

It was a lot warmer than we’d have liked so we spent over ninety minutes resting and refilling our water supply. We had considered cooking our dinner there as well, but another pair of backpackers came along, and we didn’t want to be prepping food anywhere near where others might be camping. We left deep lake a little after 3:30 and continued on the Donna Lake Trail to the Snow Lakes Trail.
Signs of Fall.

Lousewort

There was a slight chance of showers/thunderstorms between 5PM and 11PM and it had begun to cloud up while we were at Deep Lake. The clouds continued to build as we made our way back along the Snow Lakes Trail.

Young grouse

Martin Lake

Back at the Nannie Creek Trail junction.

We had been looking for an open flat area where we could stop to cook dinner but didn’t have any luck until we’d traveled 0.4-miles back along the Nannie Creek Trail. After eating our Mountain House yellow curry we began the climb back up through the talus slope.

The cloud cover had increased even more which helped keep the heat from feeling too oppressive.
It was increasingly looking like a shower or two might happen.

A deep zoom in at Mt. Shasta.

We returned to the trail to the Puck Lakes and after a brief stop at camp we continued on to visit North Puck Lake. We were surprised to find that we were still the only people at the lakes.

Pine white

Spotted sandpiper

The three resident mergansers.

The abandoned Puck Lakes Trail.

A dark cloud passing over the Puck Lakes (no rain).

North Puck Lake

After visiting North Puck Lake we headed back to camp and enjoyed the views that the still water and passing clouds created.

We turned in hoping to get a good night’s sleep, but neither of us had much luck for the first few hours. It was still a little too warm to be comfortable, but we eventually dozed off. It didn’t rain and we never heard any thunder which we were thankful for.

I woke up a little after 4am (that counts as sleeping in for me) and started prepping for our hike out. Heather got up about 5am and did the same.
Heather in the tent packing up.

A sliver of the Moon reflecting in the lake at 5:48am.

6:06am

North Puck Lake at 6:22am as we set off.

Luther Mountain from the Nannie Creek Trail in the morning.

We arrived back at the trailhead at 7:45am.

Day one of our trip came in just under twelve miles with a little over 1500′ of elevation gain. Day two was just 2.7-miles with less than 150′ of elevation gain.
Dark blue = day one, magenta = day two, light blue = previous visit.

This was a good test run for our first backpack this year. The heat made it much more challenging than it should have been and provided a good reminder that we’ll need to carefully consider that before heading to Hidden Lake later this month (hopefully). We were also able to make a list of things that we forgot to bring with us so we won’t forget them for that trip. Finally, it gave us a chance to try out our new water filtration system, the Sawyer Squeeze, which has replaced the pump filter that we previously used. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Puck Lakes Backpack

Tags backpacking, Deep Lake, Donna Lake, Donna Lake Trail, hiking, Luther Mountain, Margurette Lake, Martin Lake, Nannie Creek Trail, Nannie Creek Trailhead, North Puck Lake, Oregon, Puck Lakes, Sky Lakes Trail, sky lakes wilderness, Snow Lakes, Snow Lakes Trail, South Puck Lake, Trapper Lake

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Aneroid Lake – 08/22/2024

For the final hike of our trip we’d chosen Aneroid Lake. This would be our 99th featured hike out of the 100 in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) and our 499th out of the 500 featured hikes that we’ve been working on for a number of years now (post). Sullivan gives two options for this hike, a moderate hike gaining 1150′ of elevation in just under 4-miles (round trip) to a waterfall on the East Fork Wallowa River, or the difficult hike to Aneroid Lake gaining nearly 3000′ of elevation in what he lists as a 12-mile round trip. Other reports put the hike to Aneroid Lake at just over 13-miles RT but agree on the elevation gain. Our plan for the day was to once again split up and go our own paces with Heather’s goal being the waterfall and mine being the lake. Heather would return to the trailhead and then head to the Trailhead Coffee stand and do a little shopping in the Wallowa Lake community while she waited for me to get back. We figured that the hike to Aneroid Lake would take me anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on how long the hike really was and how well my legs were working after four days of serious hiking.

We began at the Wallow Lake Trailhead which we’d started two other previous hikes from, a five-day backpacking trip (post) and a short hike to B.C. Creek Falls (post). For both of those hikes we’d taken the West Fork Wallowa Trail. Today we would be using the East Fork Wallowa Trail.

Map at the trailhead signboard and wilderness permit station.

Trail sign at the split of the East and West Fork trails.

The trail began by following a rocky roadbed uphill.

Trail sign for the East Fork Wallowa Trail at a junction with a gravel road.

The roadbed soon became a proper trail as it continued uphill.

Ghost pipe

Entering into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

A little over three quarters of a mile from the trailhead I came to a junction with a connector trail to the West Fork Wallowa Trail used as a loop for horse tours.

Beyond the junction the trail passed through some rocky hillsides with views across Wallowa Lake.

Chief Joseph Mountain and Wallowa Lake

I never saw any but I heard a number of pikas in the rock fields.

Switchback

Rock clematis seed heads.

When Heather came through the rock fields she did spot a pika.

Bridge at the upper end of the access road that I had passed earlier.

The lower section of the waterfall from the bridge.

After checking out the lower portion of the falls from access road bridge I returned to the trail and continued up to a switchback with a view of the upper section of the falls.

The access road bridge from the switchback.

From the switchback the trail continued its steady climb arriving at a damaged bridge after a little over 2 miles.

East Fork Wallowa River Forebay

Interpretive sign at the forebay.

Aster

The trail entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Shortly after entering the wilderness the trail passed through some small meadows with fireweed and various berries.

Elderberry and baneberry

As I was pondering which animals if any might eat the different berries I spotted something brown in the fireweed below the trail. It took a moment to register what I was seeing. I had my camera out and was zooming in to try and identify it, but as soon as it lifted its head I realized it was a bear.
Zoomed in photo.

It didn’t seem to notice me so I quietly and quickly continued on trying to put some distance between myself and it. I wasn’t too thrilled when the trail suddenly made a switchback and I was headed back toward where the bear was, albeit I was now higher up the hillside. I continued with a bit of a quicker pace until I felt that I’d gotten a decent distance away then slowed a bit to avoid missing the scenery. I passed a couple of hikers on their way down who I mentioned the bear to just in case it was still there.

Small meadow along the trail.

Aneroid Mountain in the distance.

Mountain larkspur

Pika underneath some raspberries.

Pika

A few lupine were still blooming along the trail.

Doe in a small meadow along the trail.

Tall mountain bluebells

The damaged footbridge.

While the climb had not been steep beyond the footbridge the climb became even more gradual. Just under a quarter mile from the bridge the trail split with inbound traffic staying right.

The inbound trail traversed an exposed hillside with views down to the East Fork Wallowa River.

East Fork Wallowa River

The inbound and outbound forks rejoining.

East Fork Wallowa River flowing through a meadow along the trail.

Goldenrod

Unnamed creek crossing.

American sawort

Another doe in a meadow.

A hazy view of Aneroid Mountain.

Pearly everlasting along the trail.

East Peak (post)

A closer look at East Peak.

I arrived at Roger Lake at what my GPS said was the 6-mile mark.

It was another half mile of climbing to reach Aneroid Lake.

Sullivan’s description said to ignore a use trail on the right leading to a campsite and to continue on to another fork that led to the private cabins at Camp Halton. I passed what I believed to be the right-hand fork Sullivan mentioned just before reaching a pair of wooden benches along the trail.
The benches.

Beyond the benches I came to a second fork which I mistook for the trail to the cabins. Sullivan mentioned that despite the cabins being on a small parcel of private land the caretakers accepted respectful visitors.

There were no signs posted at all at this fork, so I proceeded steeply downhill and wound up in a campsite.

I still wasn’t sure if this was the trail to the cabins or the one Sullivan had said to ignore so I continued to follow the trail to the lakeshore.
Groundsel along the trail.

A boat docked on the lakeshore in the distance.

I decided to follow the trail along the lake shore and eventually wound up at the boat dock. At that point I realized that I for sure had taken the wrong fork and backtracked.
An inlet creek to the lake near the boat dock.

East Peak from Aneroid Lake.

I followed a different use path that climbed up from the lake a bit more gradually and wound up on the path down to the private cabins.

I started down the trail but when I got into view of the cabins I decided not to bother anyone and took some zoomed in photos and headed back uphill.

Signs for Camp Halton at the actual junction with the East Fork Wallowa Trail.

I headed back on the East Fork Trail and detoured down the first righthand fork to visit the lakeshore one last time before heading back to the trailhead.

I kept a pretty quick pace on the way back down stopping for a few photos and to let a handful of uphill hikers pass.
Hammond’s flycatcher

East Peak

Lewis monkeyflower

Aneroid Mountain

Pollinator on a flower.

The split trail.

The outbound trail dropped quite steeply before meeting back up with the inbound trail.

The damaged bridge from the other side.

Fritillary butterfly

A comma butterfly

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Mount Howard

Coneflower

Wallowa Lake

Quaking aspen

Arriving back at the trailhead.

According to the GPS my hike was 14-miles which lines up better with the reported 13.1-mile roundtrip vs Sullivan’s 12. The extra milage is mostly due to my taking the wrong righthand fork and then backtracking before heading down toward the cabins.

I finished in just over 6 hours and located Heather at the Little Alps Day Use Area near where we’d parked. After taking a break at the picnic table she was sitting at I changed my shoes and socks and we drove down to the Khao Neaow Food Cart to get some tasty Thai food to take back to our room.

This was yet another great hike in the Eagle Cap Wilderness which is easily our favorite wilderness area in Oregon. We’re excited that the final hike in our quest for the 500 featured hikes will be in this wilderness, hopefully a little later this year. Of course there are many other hikes in the Wallowas that we’ve yet to do so that won’t be the last time we visit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Aneroid Lake

Tags Aneroid Lake, Aneroid Mountain, Bear, eagle cap wilderness, East Fork Wallowa River, East Fork Wallowa River Forebay, East Fork Wallowa Trail, East Peak, hiking, Khao Neaow Food Cart, Oregon, Pika, Roger Lake, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, William L Sullivan

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Maxwell Lake – 08/21/2024

Continuing on our quest to hike at least part of all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) we followed up our hike to Chimney Lake (post) by returning to Lostine River Road for the second day and parking at the Maxwell Lake Trailhead.

Today’s hike was approximately 2.5-miles shorter than the hike to Chimney Lake but gained the same 2420′ of elevation.
Like the previous days hike we crossed Lostine River Road from the trailhead and then crossed the Lostine River on a bridge.

The trail passes through the Shady Campground.

Lostine River

On the far side the bride the trail entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Our plan for this hike was to split up to make the climb at our own pace and then I would wait for Heather at the lake, or until 11am in the event that she decided not to go the entire way. After entering the wilderness the trail initially climbed at a steady pace via 7 long switchbacks.
Unnamed creek crossing.

Thimbleberry

One of the switchbacks.

Climbing into the sunlight.

Possibly a Cassin’s vireo.

Another switchback.

Fireweed

Monkshood

Twisted stalk

Eagle Cap (post)

Looking down from the trail.

Paintbrush

Chipmunk

Shortly after the seventh switchback the trail turned uphill and began a very steep 0.8-mile climb to a pass.
The trail turning uphill ahead to start the steep climb.

Given this was our fifth day in a row of hiking, and fourth significant one, this steep section was a killer. My legs were burning as I made my way up to the pass.

Meadow along a brief section of reasonably graded trail.

Nuttal’s linanthus

The pass in view.

Twin Peaks to the left over the shoulder of the ridge.

From the pass it was 0.2-miles down to Maxwell Lake.
The trail down to Maxwell Lake.

Ground squirrel on alert.

Maxwell Lake

The lake was gorgeous. I explored the shoreline for a moment before climbing up a granite outcrop with a great view of the lake and the trail coming down from the pass. I figured that Heather might be able to see me when she arrived and/or I’d notice her on her way down.

Aster along the outlet creek.

Gentians

Island in Maxwell Lake.

The view from the granite outcrop.

Looking back at the pass from the outcrop.

Last of the snow at Maxwell Lake.

I relaxed for about an hour at this beautiful lake before I spotted Heather coming down from the pass. It was chilly enough that I wound up eventually pulling out my wind jacket which was a wonderful change from our last couple of trips to the Wallowas. She made her way to the outcrop and joined me there. After she’d had a chance to rest we did a little more exploring and followed a use trail to nearby Jackson Lake.
Trail along Maxwell Lake.

Trail to Jackson Lake.

Jackson Lake

False hellebore

Pika raising a warning call. Interestingly the pikas in the Wallowas make a sound that we don’t recall hearing from pikas in other areas. It was almost as if they had their own regional dialect.

After checking out Jackson Lake we started back.
Passing back over the granite outcrop.

Maxwell Lake’s outlet creek.

Trout in the outlet stream.

One last look at Maxwell Lake.

The view from the pass on the way back.

Heading down the steep section.

Aside from the lookout staffer at Summit Point and a couple of backpackers on the far side of Chimney Lake we hadn’t seen anyone else on the Wallowa trails until heading back down to the Maxwell Lake Trailhead. The first person we passed was coming up the steep section. She obviously spent quite a bit of time hiking in the area and was showing no signs of struggling with the steepness of the climb. We stopped and chatted for a bit and we told her about our featured hike quest. When we mentioned that the last hike on our list was Hidden Lake and we were planning on doing it as an overnight backpack she relayed some very helpful information regarding possible campsites. We thanked her and continued downhill running into a couple a little further down that were finding the climb as challenging as we had. We passed several more hikers on the way down, some with backpacking gear and some with fishing rods. We were glad to have had the lake to ourselves while we were there.
The afternoon lighting on the ridge across the Lostine River really brought out the colors.

Eagle Cap way up the valley.

Heather counted at least seven significant drops on a creek cascading down the far hillside.

Fritillary

Canada jay

Police car moth

Back at the bridge over the Lostine River.

Lostine River

The Maxwell Lake Trailhead in the afternoon.

My GPS read 8.6-miles for the hike to Maxwell and Jackson Lakes with a little over 2400′ of elevation gain.

We returned to Enterprise and after cleaning up headed out for an early dinner at La Laguna. The food was good, and their hand made Lagunita’s Salsa Loco had a nice kick to it. We took a slice of blackberry cheesecake to go which was also quite tasty. The next day would be our last hike for this trip and would put us at 99/100 featured hikes from Sullivan’s Eastern Oregon book and 499/500 for all five of the regions he covers. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Maxwell Lake

Tags eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, hiking, Jackson Lake, La Laguna, Lostine River, Maxwell Lake, Maxwell Lake Trail, Maxwell Lake Trailhead, Oregon, Pika, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, William L Sullivan

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Chimney Lake – 08/20/2024

After spending the first three nights of our vacation in Baker City it was time to move our home base to the north side of the Wallowa Mountains. We had three more hikes planned beginning with Chimney Lake. We packed up and made the 2-hour drive to the Bowman-Francis Lake Trailhead.

This was another of Sullivan’s featured hikes (post). He gives two options for the hike, an out-and-back to Chimney Lake or continuing on a nearly 30-mile loop past several other lakes. We didn’t have time for a three-day backpacking trip now, so we set our eyes on the out-and-back day hike.

We followed signs for the Bowman Trail and Chimney Lake which took us across Lostine River Road to a bridge across the Lostine River.

On the far side of the river the trail began to climb. It was a steady but reasonably graded climb using a series of five switchbacks to gain just over 2000′ in a little under 4-miles to a junction with the Chimney-Wood Trail.

The trail entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness at the first switchback.

At the second switchback we came to Slide Falls on Bowman Creek.

Lewis monkeyflower

The views from the trail improved as we climbed above the falls.
Eagle Cap (post) in the distance.

Chipmunk

One of the switchbacks.

Western tanager

Pearly everlasting

Paintbrush

Baneberry

Pika

Bowman Creek

Grass of parnassus

The trail crossing Bowman Creek.

Arnica

Monkeyflower

Bees on American sawort.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Another pika.

Elderberry

The trail leveled off a little at the beginning of Brownie Basin where we stayed right at a fork.
The lefthand fork led to a campsite and meadows in the basin.

Gentians

Meadow in Brownie Basin.

The junction with the Chimney-Wood Trail.

We turned right at the junction and climbed another 0.7-miles to Lower Laverty Lake.

One of several pine siskins that were in these plants.

Aster

Fritillary

Lupine and aster

Butterfly on pearly everlasting

Another western tanager.

Gentians and St. Johnswort

Lower Laverty Lake

A patch of fireweed above the lake.

Hooded ladies’-tresses

American kestral

Lower Laverty Lake

After walking along the lakeshore for 0.2-miles the trail continued another 0.5-miles to Chimney Lake.

Twin Peaks across the Lostine River valley.

Eagle Cap at the far end of the valley.

Heading for Chimney Lake.

Chimney Lake

We continued a short distance around the lake to some granite boulders where we took a break to enjoy the scenery.

Gentians along the lakeshore.

The rocks ahead where we took our break.

Islands in Chimney Lake.

We shared our resting spot with numerous golden-mantled ground squirrels, pikas, and butterflies.
No matter how cute they are, please don’t feed the wildlife (Leave No Trace principle 6).

Sulphur butterfly

We heard more pikas than we saw. Here is the one, blurry, photo I managed to get.

Milbert’s tortoiseshell

Golden-mantle managing to feed itself.

After a nice long break we started back. With the Sun now overhead, the views across the Lostine River valley were clearer than they had been in the morning.

Twin Peaks

Aster

California tortoiseshell

Grouse

A comma, possible green comma.

Back at the bridge over the Lostine River.

Lostine River in the afternoon.

Our GPS put our hike at 11.3-miles with over 2400′ of elevation gain.

We finished just after 2:15pm which was perfect timing for us to make the 50-min drive to Enterprise and be at our motel for check-in at 3pm. This hike was amazing, but we’ve come to expect that from anything in the Wallowas. They never seem to disappoint. I had even spotted a fox hunting in a field on the drive in that morning. (Heather unfortunately missed it.) We settled into our room and prepared for another hike from Lostine River Road the next day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Chimney Lake

Tags Bowman Creek, Bowman Trail, Bowman-Francis Lake Trailhead, Chimney Lake, Chimney-Wood Trail, eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, hiking, Laverty Lake, Lostine River, Oregon, slide falls, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Pine Lakes – 08/19/2024

For our second vacation hike in the Wallowa Mountains we set our sights on the Pine Lakes Trail. This was another of the 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) and would be number 96 for us on our quest to finish all 100 (post). Sullivan gives two out-and-back option for this trail, a 4.2-mile hike to Chute Falls and a 14.8-mile hike to Pine Lakes.

Heather and I had already decided that I would try for the lakes while she was going to aim for Chute Falls. She has continued to struggle with a breathing issue which has caused her to keep a slower pace than in years past making longer hikes problematic from a time standpoint. Our plan was to set off at our own paces and Heather would wait for me at or near Chute Falls. We also established a timeframe in which she should expect me.

The hike begins at the Cornucopia Trailhead which is on private land owned by the Cornucopia Lodge and Packstation. We followed pointers at the lodge to the current parking area.

The current trailhead was approximately half mile from where the public parking area was in Sullivan’s description. That meant an extra mile of hiking for each of us. I threw my pack on and set off on the private road following pointers for the Pine Lakes Trail.
This pointer refers to trail 1880 as “Pine Creek” but other signs and the Forest Service website refer to it as “Pine Lakes”.

This one says Pine Lakes.

Sign for the Packstation.

As I neared the packstation a pair of dogs noisily raced toward me, one a German shepherd. Luckily they were all bark and no bite, but it got my adrenaline pumping. I continued on passing the forest boundary and the small parking area Sullivan had described.
Squirrel with breakfast at the packstation.

The trail follows an old roadbed for most of the first 2.1 miles.
Old footbridge over a dry creek bed. It didn’t look particularly safe so I stuck to the road.

The dry creek bed crossing.

Shortly beyond the dry creek bed I came to the East Fork Pine Creek where a pair of cow elk dashed across the trail and disappeared in the underbrush.

Seeing the elk was exciting. Less exciting was seeing the actual cows after crossing the footbridge. In typical cow fashion their plan for avoiding me was to get onto the trail ahead of me and walk 10 to 20 yards down trail then turn around to see if I was still following.
Black cows on the trail ahead.

Meanwhile Heather was taking pictures of flowers along the road to the packstation.
Coneflower

Snowberry

Try as I might to convince the cows that they simply needed to step off the trail to either side they were convinced that sticking to the trail, and booby trapping it with fresh pies, was the best way to lose me.

West Fork Pine Creek

Formation on the hillside.

Western clematis

Paintbrush

Fireweed

Approximately a mile beyond the packstation I arrived at the first of two bridges over the West Fork Pine Creek. I briefly lost the cows here when they forked right along the creek while I crossed the slightly damaged bride.
The bridge felt stable despite being slanted at a 45-degree angle.

I picked up my pace hoping to beat the cows to the second bridge which was another 1.1-miles up the trail.

View from the trail.

I could hear and see the cows on the far side of the creek, and now they seemed to be racing me to the second bridge. Before getting that far I met a second group of cattle on my side of the creek near a ford where the fist group of cows were now crossing. Lucky for me this new group was a little smarter and they led the first group off trail into the brush leaving me cow free.

The second bridge.

West Fork Pine Creek

Heather caught this cool cloud from her currently cow free hike. (She would run into them later where they’d ducked off the trail in front of me.)

Not far from the bridge was an established campsite just before the trail began to switchback uphill.
Looking back down at the campsite.

Chute Falls is located slightly off-trail near a righthand switchback 0.3-miles from the second bridge.
The use trail straight ahead at the switchback.

I followed the steep use trail 150 yards to Chute Falls.

I carefully made my way down to the base of the falls.

The base of Chute Falls.

After visiting the falls I returned to the trail and continued to climb toward Pine Lakes. The trail switchbacked past the 10′ upper tier of Chute Falls.

I continued uphill through the forest past a view of a waterfall on the Middle Fork Pine Creek and passed into the Eagle Cap Wilderness 1.2-miles beyond Chute Falls.

Looking back down the valley.

View up the valley.

Wilderness sign on the tree marking the boundary.

The Pine Lakes are back up there somewhere.

The trail traversed a rocky hillside with excellent views for 0.8-miles after entering the wilderness before reaching another set of switchbacks. While the climb was gradual the rocky trail tread made for some tricky walking.

Somewhere on the other side of the peaks on the left is the Schneider Cabin where we’d hiked the day before.

Cliffs above the trail.

As I made my way across the rocks I tried to keep my eyes open for any larger animals on the surrounding hillsides. It wasn’t easy due to the tricky terrain, but it paid off when I spotted a few mountain goats on far side of the valley.
I spy mountain goats!

A zoomed in photo of the mountain goats.

I kept my eye on the goats as I continued.

I arrived at another set of switchbacks 0.8-miles from the wilderness boundary that climbed uphill through a rock field where I spotted a single pika that dashed out of sight before I could get a photo.

I believe that is Cornucopia Peak on the left.

Going up.

Fireweed above the trail.

Above the switchbacks the trail leveled out a bit then descended to a basin with a mixture of forest and meadows.

Paintbrush along the trail.

The forest on the other side of the pass.

West Fork Pine Creek

There was a large waterfall flowing down from the outlet of the Pine Lakes. (Not West Fork Pine Creek whose headwaters were beyond the meadowed basin.

West Fork Pine Creek begins somewhere above the basin at the far end.

Rock formations along the cliffs.

Arnica and pearly everlasting

I tried to get a clearer look at the large waterfall but couldn’t find a clear line of sight.

Approximately 3.2-miles from Chute Falls the trail crossed the outlet creek.

Gentians along the trail.

Evidence of an avalanche at the far end of this meadow. It took a lot of trail maintenance to clear the snapped trees from the trail.

Wildflowers lining the trail.

The trail began another series of switchbacks in order to climb above the waterfall and to Lower Pine Lake.
A doe that turned out to be on the trail above me. There was a switchback just ahead of where I was.

The forest in the basin.

The Pine Lakes are in the basin ahead.

Arnica and aster?

Monkshood

Seep along the trail.

Grass of parnassus

American sawort

Something had been bedded down in this little bowl below the trail.

Goldenrod

The valley I’d come up to the right.

Nearly 5-miles from Chute Falls I arrived at the dam at the outlet of Lower Pine Lake. A number of lakes in the Wallows were dammed to control water flow to the surrounding communities.

Lower Pine Lake

The trail headed north around Lower Pine Lake arriving at Upper Pine Lake 0.2-miles from the dam.

Lower Pine Lake

Lower Pine Lake from between the two lakes.

Upper Pine Lake from the same spot.

Upper Pine Lake.

I did a little exploration along the eastern shore and then found a spot in the shade to take a brief break and change into a new pair of socks.

The view from my break spot.

After my break I headed back to Chute Falls to locate Heather. Along the way I stopped for more photos and to look for pikas and mountain goats (to no avail).

Shrubby cinquefoil

White mariposa lily, the only one I spotted, and I’d missed it on the way up.

Yellow columbine, I also missed this on the first pass.

Dusky flycacther

A meadow and the forest in the lower basin.

Fritillary on pearly everlasting

Trail maintenance in the avalanche section.

Loved the rock colors in the area.

I’m guessing some sort of wren.

Caterpillers

I detoured to Chute Falls again to see if Heather was waiting there which she wasn’t, so I hiked down to the campsite where I found her waiting. While I was taking another break we started to talk about the falls and realized that Heather had missed the lower, larger, portion of Chute Falls. She had missed the first user trail and detoured at the next righthand switchback which brought her to the upper tier. I showed her a photo from my phone to confirm that she’d missed that part of the falls then, we hiked up together to check it out.

After making sure she’d seen the rest of Chute Falls we headed for the trailhead.

We picked up the cows again in between the two bridges and herded (followed) them back to where I’d picked up the first group at the East Fork Pine Creek before they finally turned off the trail.

Herding the cattle back past the damaged bridge.

West Fork Pine Creek.

The footbridge across the East Fork Pine Creek ahead. We’d left the cows behind here and made our way back to the trailhead.

Given our starting point, three detours to Chute Falls and some exploring at Upper Pine Lake my hike came in at 16.4-miles and over 2700′ of elevation gain.

The rocky trail surface and amount of sun exposure added to the difficulty of this hike, but luckily there had been a fairly consistent cooling breeze which kept it from feeling too hot. The views were spectacular along the entire route and aside from the cows the variety of wildlife was great. We returned to Baker City and had dinner at the Eagle Cap Grill before turning in for the night for our last night in Baker City. We’d be moving our base to Enterprise the next day for the final three hikes of our trip. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Pine Lakes

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Summit Point to Schneider Cabin – 08/18/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 26, 2024
3 Comments on Summit Point to Schneider Cabin – 08/18/2024

After traveling to Baker City the day before we were ready to kick off five days of hikes which, if successful, would bring us to 99 out of the 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivans “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) guidebook (post). The first of the hikes that we had planned was to Summit Point Lookout.

We weren’t sure that we were going to be able to do this hike due to the Town Gulch Fire which was burning a little over three miles to the south of the Summit Point Trailhead. A forest order was issued on August 7th closing some of the forest. In looking at the order and accompanying map it appeared that part of FR 7710 from Carson might be included in the closure. On the other hand a note on the order mentioned that FR 7700 was open north of the FR 7700/7710 junction. The Forest Service website provided directions to the trailhead via Carson and FR 7710 with no mention of a closure so on Friday Heather called the Pine Field Office in Halfway to inquire about access. The person she talked to indicated that the trailhead was open and that the route from Carson was currently the only way to access it. They mentioned that there might be a road closed sign, but that was actually further than we would be going. While that answer had surprised us it had come from someone at the Forest Service so we drove to drove to Carson and turned up Carson Lane (eventually FR 7710). We did indeed come to a “road closed” sign along the side of the road, but we had expected that, so we continued on. When we arrived at the junction with FR 7700 there was another road closed sign to the south on FR 7700 but no signs indicating that FR 7710 heading east toward Carson was closed. We turned right on FR 7700 which, per the forest order, was for sure open then turned right again on FR 7115 and followed it to the trailhead.

The Cliff Creek Trail followed a closed section of FR 7715 for a mile steeply uphill to the lookout.
Smoke rising from the Town Gulch fire to the south.

Scarlet gilia

Paintbrush

Town Gulch Fire

Penstemon

Pearly everlasting and aster

Big Lookout Mountain

Summit Point Lookout from below.

At the 0.7-mile mark the Cliff Creek Trail split off to the left while FR 7715 continued right.

Cornucopia Peak

The Summit Point Lookout with the Town Gulch Fire behind the forest below.

The lookout staffer came out to greet us and she was a bit surprised that we were there. She asked if the forest order had been rescinded or amended to which we said no but then we explained the conversation between Heather and the Forest Service employee at the Pine Field Office. She still seemed puzzled, but a little less so after learning we’d come up from Carson. She did mention that she had thought she’d seen someone else up at the trailhead a couple of days before. She then asked us where we were headed and told us to enjoy and that while there is a wolf pack in the area she hadn’t heard or seen any wolves. We left the lookout and returned to the junction with the Cliff Creek Trail and turned right, once again confused as to if we really had been allowed to drive up here. (If we did in fact violate the Forest Order we apologize as it wasn’t our intent, and we do not condone or encourage anyone to intentionally do so. As of 8/22 the closure area has been lessened and the drive to the trailhead is clearly outside of the closure.)

The Cliff Creek Trail followed another old roadbed gradually uphill to a crest with a view of Little Eagle Meadows below Cornucopia Peak.

The Elkhorn Range (post) in the distance.

The Elkhorns

Finch

The trail crossed a fence at the southern end of Little Eagle Meadows.

Little Eagle Meadows and Cornucopia Peak.

The trail descended through the meadow passing into the Eagle Cap Wilderness along the way.

The wilderness sign in the distance.

Birds on a wire.

The views along the trail were amazing. In later July there is also a plethora of wildflowers along the route.

Trail marker

Ground squirrels

We veered right here but had to be careful not to follow one of the many cow trails leading off into the meadows. Our GPS maps were helpful.

Looking back up the hillside.

Dry pond along the trail.

Sullivan gives three options for his featured hike here. The shortest option is the 2-mile out-and-back to the lookout. His second option is to continue on the Cliff Creek Trail for an 11.8-mile out-and-back gaining 2120′ to Tuck Pass above the Pine Lakes, and the third continues down to Pine Lakes before turning around. That final option is 16.2 miles and 2950′ of elevation gain round trip. With four more days of challenging hikes ahead both of his longer options seemed overly ambitious. That and the fact that the next featured hike we had planned was Pine Lakes (via the Cornucopia Trailhead) led us to a different destination, the Schneider Cabin. Hike Oregon includes the hike to the cabin on here website. It is one of her members only hikes and her write up convinced us that the cabin would be a worthy destination. This out-and-back would be just over 7 miles with only 1480′ of elevation gain. (BTW – We would highly recommend checking out Hike Oregon and considering becoming members. While we haven’t had the opportunity to meet Franziska, she puts a lot of effort into her content and provides good information on a number of hiking related topics.)

Following the Hike Oregon route when we reached an unsigned fork near the pond we veered right on the Cornucopia Trail.
Savage Peak is the round peak at the center.

Heading toward Cornucopia Peak.

The cabin was visible in the distance at times from the trail.

Near the cabin we ran into a herd of cattle who had a lot to say about our presence.

Yarrow along the trail.

Green around a small stream.

The Schneider Cabin

Cow at the cabin.

The cabin is still used by hunters and snowmobilers and possibly hikers.

View from the loft.

Summit Point from the cabin.

Summit Point Lookout

After visiting the cabin we returned the way we’d come, disturbing the cattle again as we passed by.
Torn up trail tread.

Cricket

Tree full of mountain bluebirds.

Arriving back at the fence.

Hawk

Northern flicker

Butterflies on Greene’s goldenweed.

Fritillary butterfly

Becker’s white

Smoke from the Town Gulch fire.

Insect on chicory.

Arriving back at the trailhead.

The GPS put this hike at an even 7 miles with the 1480′ of elevation gain.

An enjoyable hike with great views that would have been even better in the latter part of July when the flowers were blooming. We drove back to Carson without incident and then returned to Baker City to clean up and then head out to dinner at the Oregon Trail Restaurant. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Summit Point to Schneider Cabin

Tags Cliff Creek Trail, Cornucopia Peak, eagle cap wilderness, hiking, Oregon, Schneider Cabin, Summit Point, Summit Point Lookout, Summit Point Trailhead, Town Gulch Fire, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest

Blue Mountains - North Hiking Oregon Trip report

Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area – 08/17/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 26, 2024
4 Comments on Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area – 08/17/2024

For the second time this year we headed east to the Wallowa Mountains for a week of hikes to further our goal of hiking all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022). The eastern book is the final of the five areas covered by Sullivan that we need to finish in order to reach our goal of hiking all 100 featured hikes from a single edition of each area (post).

We would be staying in Baker City for the first few nights which is a six-and-a-half-hour drive from Salem so we’d planned for Saturday to simply be a driving day, but on the way we realized we were going to arrive before check-in time. We decided to sneak a quick hike in to kill the time and landed on a short loop at Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area.

The park is located at one of the stops along the Oregon Trail where pioneers could find water (at the nearby springs). Located in the Blue Mountains this was the first forested area along the trail in Oregon. We couldn’t find much information on actual trails in the park, but there was an entry on AllTrails which we used as a guide. It has been our experience that AllTrails is best used as a secondary source of information, but in this case the park’s website didn’t seem to contain a map nor was there one at the Oregon Trail Picnic Area where we parked.

We attempted to follow the AllTrails map, which was a combination of road and trail walking, in a clockwise direction. We picked up a dirt trail near a set of interpretive signs at the day use area.

Memorial to pioneers dedicated by President Harding in 1923.

This path led us back to the park entrance and campground.

The map we had led us through the campground, but it was difficult to tell exactly where we were supposed to be so we did a bit of winding through the campground loops.

We eventually spotted a large signboard and a sign for the “Cabin Loop”.

The Cabin Loop sign pointed up this hill.

We followed the Cabin Loop pointer which led us uphill to the park’s rentable cabins then veered left and followed a dirt path downhill. This path crossed a paved road to a small pullout on the far side where the dirt trail continued.

Thistle

Foam flower

Coneflower

We followed this path uphill and stayed left at the first junction we came to.
There were virtually no signs to indicate what any of the trails were or where they led.

We quickly came to a second junction at an old roadbed. Based on the AllTrails route we wanted to turn right onto the roadbed so that is what we did. While doing research for this trip report I found a photo online of a paper trail map posted in 2018 which shows the “Nature Trail” continuing across the roadbed and swinging out to make a loop back to the roadbed further along. I have no idea if that trail still exists or what condition it is in, but I wish we’d have discovered that map sooner. We stuck to the roadbed which climbed uphill and looped around to an open grass area behind the park’s community building.

We had to duck under this tree.

Mountain lady slippers that had bloomed many weeks ago.

Pearly everlasting

Paintbrush

Thimbleberries

Aster

It was hot (pushing 90 Fahrenheit) which made the climbing less enjoyable.

This was most likely the Nature Trail rejoining from the left.

Not sure if this is native or invasive.

Wedding set up behind the Community Building.

Soon after passing the Community Building we arrived at the Horse Camp where we turned right on a gravel road.

Bee on fireweed.

Horse Camp

The gravel road led us downhill to another parking lot in the day use area. From there we simply followed a path along the road back to our car.

Our version of the loop came to 1.6-miles with approximately 150′ of elevation gain.

This was a nice leg stretch during our long drive which would have been nicer earlier in the year when more of the flowers were blooming, but the scenery was pleasant and the history interesting. It isn’t a quiet hike with I-84 so close by along with the campgrounds, cabins, and other park amenities, but we enjoyed the hike for what it was. From the park we continued on to Baker City where we arrived at our motel just after check-in time and got ourselves settled before the more intense hikes we had planned over the next five days. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area

Tags Blue Mountains, Emigrant Springs Campground, Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, hiking, Oregon, Oregon Trail

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
1 Comment 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

Crater Lake Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

Merriam Point and Wizard Island (Crater Lake NP) – 08/04/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 8, 2024
1 Comment on Merriam Point and Wizard Island (Crater Lake NP) – 08/04/2024

When we decided to try and hike all 100 featured hikes in a single edition of each of the five areas covered in William L. Sullivan’s 100 Hikes books (post) we decided that the criteria for being able to check off a hike was doing (or attempting to do) at least a portion of the hike. Sullivan often provides multiple options for each featured hike with some options being 20+ mile one-way trips or nearly 30-mile loops. Doing every option in their entirety just wasn’t feasible when you also factor in having to deal with trail closures due to fires, damage, or restricted access.

In 2023 we completed the southern Oregon & northern California area (post), but missed out on a portion of three hikes in Crater Lake National Park. On Saturday we’d finished up two of the hikes, The Pinnacles and Lady of the Woods (post). The third hike that we’d been unable to do in its entirety was on Wizard Island which requires taking a boat from Cleetwood Cove (post). The boats did not operate in 2023, an issue caused by the previous contracted concessionaire, so we were only able to hike down to the docks at the cove on that trip.

We reserved tickets ahead of time for the Wizard Island shuttle which is a 15-minute boat ride from Cleetwood Cove to Wizard Island. There were two other tours available, one a trip around the lake, and the other stops at Wizard Island on its way around the lake. Had we not needed to get home the same day we would have opted for the latter, but a tour around the lake would need to wait for another time. We nearly blew the whole thing though.

Somehow we got it into our heads that our shuttle left Cleetwood Cove at 12:30pm. We slept in and left our room so that we’d arrive at Beckie’s Cafe in Union Creek when it opened at 8am. After eating, and buying a whole blackberry pie to share with my parents, we made our way to the park and stopped at several viewpoints along the rim to admire the views. The overcast and smokey skies from the day before had given way to big fluffy white clouds and relatively blue sky.
Llao Rock and Wizard Island

The docks on Wizard Island.

The views were so good even the golden-mantled ground squirrels were taking them in.

Mt. McLoughlin (post) and Union Peak (post).

Cassin’s finches

Mount Scott (post) across the lake.

Wizard Island’s Fumarole Bay

The Watchman (post)

Mt. Bailey on the left and Mt. Thielsen (post) on the right. You can’t really make it out in the photo but with the naked eye we could see Diamond Peak (post) in between the two in the distance.

Smoke from the Middle Fork Fire burning inside the park boundary.

Fire information at one of the viewpoints.

At this pull out we got out and hiked a little of the Rim Trail. I decided to just continue on to Merriam Point while Heather was nice enough to drive the car down and meet me.

Western pasqueflower seed heads.

Silvery raillardella

Hillman Peak (post)

The Watchman and Hillman Peak

Dwarf lupine

We were intentionally taking our time so we wouldn’t arrive way too early for our boat tour. We had been targeting 11am to give us an hour and a half but wound up arriving a little before 10:30. That wound up being a good thing because when we went to check in we noticed that there were two shuttle times listed, 9am and 11:30. After some confusion with our tickets, Heather inadvertently pulled up our Wallow Lake Tram (post) tickets from 7/26 (issued by the same online company Fareharbor), the attendant was able to find our reservation. It had been for the 9am shuttle and there was never a 12:30 shuttle. We’d messed up pretty good. The young man was very understanding and let us know that they still had three openings on the 11:30 shuttle and that he could move us to two of those spots. We were very thankful and quickly headed down the 1.1-mile Cleetwood Cove Trail to the check in at the dock there.

From left to right: Dutton Cliff, Applegate Peak, and Garfield Peak (post).

Our shuttle arriving at the docks below.

We checked in and got our boarding instruction then spent some time watching people jump into the lake from the rocks.

When it was time we boarded the boat which zipped us over to the island.

The boat traveled at about 35mph so I didn’t have too many chances to take photos. The exception was when we had to briefly circle back to retrieve someone’s hat that had flown off into the lake.

Nearing the island.

There are two short trails on the island, one leads to Fumarole Bay and the other to the top of Wizard Island’s cone. Most of the people in our group headed for the cone with a few heading to the bay to either fish or swim. We were also going to head up the cone first and had decided to split up and do our own thing then meet back up at the docks later.
The trails shared tread for the first tenth of a mile. (Toilets were to the right.)

In the line heading up to the cone.

Part of the reason we’d decided to hike our own hikes is because I have a slight competitive streak and tend to speed up when there are people ahead of us. It wasn’t long before I’d passed most of the other hikers and was just following a pair of younger guys from San Diego.

Looking up the cone.

The Watchman and Hillman Peak from the trail.

These two were setting a crisp pace and the only reason I was able to keep up was because they would occasionally stop for pictures and to admire the views.

Mount Scott

The trail was well graded keeping the 750′ climb from ever feeling too steep.

Prince’s pine

Buckwheat

Paintbrush

I managed to pass the Sandiegans shortly below the summit while they were taking a few more photos. Just before the summit a hiker from a different tour passed me as she was descending and mentioned that there wasn’t anyone left at the summit.
The summit crater also known as the Witches Cauldron.

A 0.3-mile loop circles the crater so I headed clockwise around the loop. The pair from San Diego caught up while I was taking photos and asked if I could take one of them before continuing on.
Mt. Scott from the loop.

Llao Rock

Dutton Cliff, Applegate Peak, and Garfield Peak

Crater Lake lodge on the rim to the right of Garfield Peak.

Crater Lake lodge.

Hikers across the crater starting the loop.

Looking down toward the dock area.

The Watchman and Hillman Peak.

Looking toward Cleetwood Cove.

Fumarole Bay is to the left of lava flow.

Pool in the lava flow.

After completing the loop I headed down for the Fumarole Bay Trail.

Dwarf alpinegold

Another boat tour heading around the island.

I had passed Heather on her way up and we spoke for a moment before going our separate ways.

Heading toward Fumarole Bay.

It’s approximately a half mile to Fumarole Bay on a very rocky trail due to it being in a lava flow.

The Watchman from the trail.

Fumarole Bay. Note the person fishing on the rocks to the right.

Fumarole Bay

Stream flowing into Crater Lake.

Hillman Peak

The trail continued around the bay for almost another half mile.

Bleeding heart

The Watchman

I believe this may be Felt-leaf everlasting.

An even fainter, rockier, trail continued beyond the sign marking the end of the maintained trail. I followed it for just a bit before losing it in the lava where I decided to turn around.

I made my way back around the bay and returned to the dock where I found Heather soaking her feet in the water.

Heather below at the edge of the lake. She had opted not to visit the bay.

I joined Heather as we waited for our return shuttle. In the meantime she took a quick dip in the lake to cool off.

Here comes our ride.

Once they herded everyone back to the dock we boarded the boat and rode back to Cleetwood Cove.
Arriving back at the cove.

We split up again on our way up the busy Cleetwood Cove Trail.

It got a little hazier as the day went on.

I was glad to make it back to the parking area where I changed into cooler clothes before using the restroom.

I ran into Heather as I came out of the restrooms so we walked back to the car together and prepared for our drive home. My Wizard Island hike came to 6.6 miles including 2.2 miles to and from Cleetwood Cove. Total elevation gain was a little over 1450′. Seven hundred of that was up from Cleetwood Cove which was steeper in sections than anything on Wizard Island had been.
Track including the boat rides.

My Wizard Island track.

It had been a beautiful day and a lot of fun to see the lake and surrounding peaks from the island. The smoke had somehow stayed away and so had the thunderstorms. Unfortunately storms did hit other parts of the Cascades along with central and eastern Oregon igniting more wildfires. We hit heavy smoke on our drive home between Odell Lake and Oakridge reminding us of just how bad this fire season has been. A big thank you to all the firefighters working hard to try and minimize the damage. Hopefully conditions will improve sooner rather than later. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Merriam Point and Wizard Island

Tags Beckie's Cafe, Cleetwood Cove, Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park, Furmarole Bay, Govenor's Bay, hiking, Merriam Point, Mount Scott, Oregon, the watchman, Witches Cauldron, Wizard island, Wizard Island shuttle

Crater Lake Area High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report

The Pinnacles & Lady of the Woods (Crater Lake NP) and Pearsony Falls – 08/03/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 7, 2024
1 Comment on The Pinnacles & Lady of the Woods (Crater Lake NP) and Pearsony Falls – 08/03/2024

In 2023 we took a trip to Crater Lake for a series of hikes as we pursued our goal of hiking at least some of all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” edition 4.2 (post). During that trip we were only able to complete part of three of the featured hikes due to two trail closures, The Pinnacles (post) and Lady of the Woods (post) and the boat tours to Wizard Island not operating (post). While we did check off those featured hikes for the purposes of our goal we vowed to return when the two trails reopened and the boat tours were operating.

The two trails reopened in 2024 and the company that had been contracted as the concessionaire for the park was replaced by ExploreUS. When the boat tours were announced for 2024 we planned a trip and made reservations. We scheduled a shuttle to Wizard Island for Sunday allowing us to do the other two trails on Saturday on the way to our lodging.

It was a smokey and overcast drive to park, but visibility was pretty good at the Pinnacles Trailhead.

The pinnacles are a result of gasses escaping superheated rocks after a volcanic eruption through vents and welding the pyroclastic deposits in their immediate vicinity

Mount Scott (post)

We followed the trail nearly half a mile to the former East Entrance to Crater Lake National Park.

Wheeler Creek below the trail.

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Coming up on the park boundary.

The former east entrance.

You can continue another half mile to FR 2304, but the best views are behind you at this point. We turned around here and returned to the car and headed for our next stop.

The second trail that had been closed in 2023 was the Lady of the Woods loop. The 0.7-mile loop starts at Park Headquarters, but we opted to park at the Castle Crest Trailhead instead.

Starting here allowed us to re-hike the 0.5-mile Castle Crest Wildflower loop then take a 0.4-mile connector trail to Park Headquarters for the Lady of the Woods loop.

Monkshood

Lewis monkeyflower

Monkeyflower

Lupine

Bistort

Hummingbird

Columbine and a visitor.

Fireweed

Bog orchid

Scarlet gilia

After completing the loop we headed for the headquarters.

Rim Drive and Park HQs.

Steele Visitors Center

We followed a pointer for the loop to the left of the visitors center.

Note the “The Lady of the Woods” sculpted in the boulder in 1917 next to the sign on the upper left side of the photo.

The loop climbed gradually through an open forest then passed an educational center that was formerly the superintendent’s residence.

Numbered posts were located along the interpretive loop.

Approaching the educational center.

Snow below the educational center.

Beyond the educational center the trail descended along a meadow and looped back to the Steele Center.

Arriving back at Park HQs.

Penstemon

Spirea

Completing the loop behind the visitor’s center.

We stopped in the visitor’s center for a moment then headed back to our car. The Pinnacles hike had been just under a mile and this hike came in at just 2.2-miles.

The Lady of the Woods and Castle Crest loops.

We had plenty of time and energy left for another hike and we’d chosen Pearsony Falls in Prospect, OR for our finale, but first we made a pit stop at Beckie’s Cafe in Union Creek for lunch. After our meal and securing a couple of slices of pie for later we drove to the Pearsony Falls Trailhead.

The trail starts at a large signboard and follows a wide path that soon reaches Mill Creek.

Oregon grape

We arrived at the falls approximately a third of a mile from the trailhead.

Pearsony Falls

The mist generated by the falls was hovering in front of them making it impossible to get a clear photo, but they were nice to look at none the less.

Random dude in front of the falls.

The trail continued beyond the falls another third of a mile to a viewpoint of the Avenue of Boulders on the Rogue River.

Madrones

We’d seen this feature from the other side during a hike to see Mill and Barr Creek Falls (post).

The trail continued beyond the viewpoint, so we did too, at least for another quarter mile. It was getting brushy and fainter as we neared Mill Creek again. When we looked at the GPS and saw that we had reached the end of the trail shown on that map. We turned back opting not to try and reach the lip of Mill Creek Falls.

Our turnaround spot.

We headed back passing quite a few other hikers along the way.

There was a slightly clearer view of the falls on the way back.

This hike came to 1.7-miles giving us a total of 4.8 for the day with just a little over 300′ of total elevation gain.

Ignore the “Barr Creek Falls” label to the upper left, the map has the placement wrong. Those falls are located along Barr Creek in the lower left corner.

We stayed in Shady Cove for the night with a view of the Rogue River. It was a little too smokey to sit out on the balcony, but we could see rafters drift by occasionally through the glass doors. Happy Trails!

Flickr: The Pinnacles, Lady of the Woods, and Pearsony Falls

Tags Avenue of Boulders, Beckie's Cafe, Castle Crest Trailhead, Castle Crest Wildflower Loop, Crater Lake National Park, hiking, Lady of the Woods, Lady of the Woods Loop, Mill Creek, Mount Scott, Oregon, Pearsony Falls, Prospect, Shady Cove, Steele Visitor's Center. Park Headquarters, The Pinnacles, The Pinnacles Trailhead, Union Creek