Tag: waldo lake wilderness

Hiking

Progress Report – Oregon Wilderness Areas (Completed)

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 1, 2022
8 Comments on Progress Report – Oregon Wilderness Areas (Completed)

Several years back we set several hiking goals, one of which being to hike in all of Oregon’s federally designated wilderness areas. At that time there were 47 such areas in the State with two of those being off-limits to visitors (Three Arch Rocks & Oregon Islands are also National Wildlife Refuges that provide nesting habitat for sea birds as well as serving as pupping sites for marine mammals. To prevent disturbances public entry to any of the rocks/islands is prohibited and waters within 500 feet of the refuge are closed to all watercraft from May 1 through September 15.) In 2019 Congress added the Devils Staircase Wilderness to the list giving us a total of 46 designated wilderness areas to visit in order to complete this goal. Staring in 2019 we began posting annual updates on our progress (2020 & 2021) and we are excited to report that, unless any new wilderness areas are established in the future, this will be our last update. We managed to make it to the final four wilderness areas on our list, the North Fork Umatilla, Devils Staircase, Black Canyon, and Monument Rock, in 2021. We have to give credit to Bruce (Van Marmot) over at Boots on the Trail for not only getting to all 46 first but also providing inspiration and a lot of helpful information.

A little over 2.5 million acres are designated as wilderness throughout the State and range in size from 15 acres (Three Arch Rocks) to 355,548 acres (Eagle Cap). Oregon shares a wilderness with three of its bordering states. The Wenaha-Tuccanon is shared with Washington, Hells Canyon with Idaho, and Red Buttes with California. The areas are managed by three different federal agencies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages the Oregon Islands and Three Arch Rocks areas while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages nine and the Forest Service manages forty-one. If you do the math those numbers add up to fifty-two. The reason for that is four of the areas, the Devils Staircase, Lower White River, Hells Canyon, and Wild Rogue are managed jointly by the Forest Service and BLM. Seven of the areas have no official trails, the two off-limit areas, and the Devils Staircase, Rock Creek, Lower White River, Bridge Creek, and Spring Basin wildernesses. Although irregularly shaped (except for the exactly 6 square mile Mountain Lakes Wilderness) the majority of the areas are a single unit. In addition to the Oregon Islands and Three Arch Rocks the Mount Hood (4), Mark O. Hatfield (2), Badger Creek (2),Salmon-Huckleberry (3), Clackamas (5), Soda Mountain (2), North Fork John Day (4), and Steens Mountain (2) consist of multiple separate areas.

We visited our first Oregon Wilderness in 2009 when we visited Henline Falls in the Opal Creek Wilderness. Since then we have spent parts of 215 days in these special places. For sixteen of the areas it was only a single day while we’ve spent part of 30 days in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Below are some of our best memories from each of the wilderness areas. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed visiting them.

Badger Creek: 28,915 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-6

Black Canyon: 13.088 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Boulder Creek: 19,911 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

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Bridge Creek: 5,337 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Bull of the Woods: 36,869 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-6

Clackamas: 9.465 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Copper-Salmon: 13,724 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Cummins Creek: 9,026 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Devils Staircase: 30,787 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Diamond Peak: 52,477 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-7

Drift Creek: 5,792 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Eagle Cap: 355,548 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-5

Gearhart Mountain: 22,587 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Grassy Knob: 17,176 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Hells Canyon: 131,337 acres in OR (217,613 in ID) Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Kalmiopsis: 179,550 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Lower White River: 2,871 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Mark O. Hatfield: 65,420 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-12

Menagerie: 4,952 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Middle Santiam: 8,845 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Mill Creek: 17,173 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Monument Rock: 20,210 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Mountain Lakes: 23,036 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Mount Hood: 64,742 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-22

Mount Jefferson: 108,909 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-27

Mount Thielsen: 55,151 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-5

Mount Washington: 54,410 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-7

North Fork John Day: acres Days Spent in Wilderness-8

North Fork Umatilla: 20,225 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-3

Opal Creek: 20,774 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-6

Oregon Badlands: 28,182 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Oregon Islands: 925 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-0

Red Buttes: 3,777 acres in OR (20,133 in CA) Days Spent in Wilderness-2 in OR, (4 in CA)

This photo is from CA but it actually shows the namesake Red Buttes

Roaring River: 36,548 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Rock Creek: 7,273 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1
Closest thing to a “wilderness sign” we saw for this one.

Rogue-Umpqua: 35,749 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-6

Salmon-Huckleberry: 62,061 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-11

Sky Lakes: 113,687 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-3

Soda Mountain: 24,707 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Spring Basin: 6,404 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-1

Steens Mountain: 170,202 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-5

Strawberry Mountain: 69,350 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-5

Table Rock: 5,784 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-3

Three Arch Rocks: 15 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-0

Three Sisters: 283,619 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-30

Waldo Lake: 36,868 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-6

Wenaha-Tuccanon: 65,266 acres in OR (176,737 in WA) Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Wild Rogue: 35,221 acres Days Spent in Wilderness-2

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Black Canyon Wilderness, Boulder Creek Wilderness, Bridge Creek Wilderness, Bull of the Woods Wilderness, Clackamas Wilderness, Copper-Salmon Wilderness, cummins creek wilderness, Devil's Staircase Wilderness, Diamond Peak Wilderness, Drift Creek Wilderness, eagle cap wilderness, Gearhart Mountain Wilderness, Grassy Knob Wilderness, Hells Canyon Wilderness, hiking, kalmiopsis wilderness, Lower White River Wilderness, Mark O Hatfield Wilderness, Menagerie Wilderness, Middle Santiam Wilderness, Mill Creek Wilderness, Monument Rock Wilderness, Mount Hood Wilderness, Mount Jefferson Wilderness, Mount Thielsen Wilderness, Mount Washington Wilderness, mountain lakes wilderness, North Fork John Day Wilderness, North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, opal creek wilderness, Oregon, oregon badlands wilderness, Oregon wilderness areas, Red Buttes Wilderness, roaring river wilderenss, Rock Creek Wilderness, Rogue-Umpqua Wilderness, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, sky lakes wilderness, soda mountain wilderness, Spring Basin Wilderness, Steens Mountain Wilderness, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, table rock wilderness, Three Sisters Wilderness, waldo lake wilderness, Wenaha-Tuccanon Wilderness, Wild Rogue Wilderness, Wilderness Area

Hiking Uncategorized

Central Oregon Cascades

Several years ago we set a goal for ourselves to hike all 500 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes…” series of guidebooks (post). In 2020 we finished the first of his five guidebooks covering the Central Oregon Cascades. The achievement became bittersweet just 10 days after finishing the final featured hike at Erma Bell Lakes (post) when a freak windstorm caused the Lionshead and Beachie fires to explode burning a number of the trails that we had hiked on our journey to complete this goal. On the one hand we were fortunate enough to see these areas before they burned but it also means being more aware of what was lost, at least for the time being. The 2020 fires were not the first to burn trails that we’d hiked in the area, sometimes after and sometimes before. Fire is part of a forest’s cycle but their time frames take much longer than ours.

For this post we want to recap our journey to complete the 100 featured hikes while sharing a little of what the area looked like as we experienced it but first a little context. The area that Sullivan covers in the Central Cascades book, as well as his books for the other four areas, isn’t exactly easy to define. The vast majority of hikes could be fit into a rectangle starting with the upper left hand corner in Salem and extending east to Highway 97 then south to the junction of highways 97 & 58, then west until intersecting with a line due south from Salem. (The imaginary line follows I5 south until Cottage Grove where the freeway jogs SW.) That is over simplification though as that description overlaps at times with hikes described in the NW & Eastern books and excludes two featured hikes west of I5 and two east of Highway 97. The first snip below generally shows the described rectangle with the hiker symbols representing trailheads where we have started hikes (not limited to the featured hikes being discussed here). The second snip excludes any hikes that are included in one of the other areas that Sullivan covers.

The area is home to a variety of landscapes and ecosystems and contains at least parts of nine designated Wilderness Areas: Opal Creek, Bull of the Woods, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, Three Sisters, Menagerie , Middle Santiam, Waldo Lake, and Diamond Peak.

The area has been hit by a number of large fires since 2000. The map below covers the same approximate area as the second map above. The colored areas represent fires with yellow being 2000-2005, light orange 2006-10, dark orange 2011-14, and red 15-19.

Not included in the map above are the Green Ridge, Beachie or Lionshead Fires from 2020. The Green Ridge fire did not burn over any of the featured hikes (it did burn part of the Green Ridge Trail) but the Beachie and Lionshead Fires impacted a number of hikes in the Mt. Jefferson, Bull of the Woods and Opal Creek Wilderness and surrounding areas.

The map below includes the Riverside Fire (large fire to the north), Beachie and Lionshead (center left and right which combined after Labor Day) and the Green Ridge Fire (SE).

We were lucky enough to complete many of the hikes prior to them being burned but we also hiked a number post fire and have seen the recovery in process. I’ve done my best to note below if a featured hike has experienced fire since 2000 with the year and name of the fire.

After all of that here are the 100 featured hikes from the 2012 4th edition of “100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades”:

#1 – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge-Hiked 4/6/2014

#2 – Silver Fall-Hiked 2006, 7/30/2010 & 3/29/2018
Middle North Falls

#3 – Shellburg Falls-Hiked 5/23/2011
Burned-2020 Beachie Fire
Shellburg Falls

#4 – Little North Santiam-Hiked 4/5/2012
Burned-2020 Beachie Fire
Snow on the Little North Santaim River

#5 – Henline Falls & Henline Mountain 7/27/2009 & 6/14/2020
Burned-2020 Beachie Fire
Henline Falls

#6 – Opal Creek 7/4/2010, 7/4/2012, 6/21/2014 & 7/24/2019
Burned-2020 Beachie Fire
Jawbone Flats

#7 – Dome Rock and Tumble Lake 7/18/2010
Burned-2020 Beachie Fire
Tumble Lake from Dome Rock

#8 – Battle Ax and Twin Lakes 9/20/2014
Olallie Butte and Mt. Jefferson with Elk Lake below Mt. Jefferson from Battle Ax

#9 – Stahlman Point 5/6/2013
Burned 2020 Beachie Fire
View from Stahlman Point

#10 – Coffin Mountain Lookout 8/2/2013 & 7/4/2016
Coffin Mountain Lookout with the Three Sisters and The Husband beyond

#11 – Three Pyramids 7/18/2020
Meadow along the Pyramids Trail Meadow below the Three Pyramids

#12 – Crescent Mt. 7/6/2014
Beargrass meadow along the Crescent Mountain Trail Beargrass on Crescent Mountain

#13 – Browder Ridge 9/9/2012 & 7/4/2018
Mt. Jefferson from Browder Ridge

#14 – Echo Basin and Fish Lake 6/19/2020
Echo Basin Trail Boardwalk in Echo Basin

#15 – Iron Mt. 7/25/2010 & 7/4/2014
Iron Mountain from the Cone Peak Meadow Iron Mountain from the trail.

#16 – House Rock 11/8/2014

#17 – Rooster Rock 6/12/2016
Rooster Rock from a viewpoint in the Menagerie Wilderness

#18 – Cascadia State Park 6/12/2016
Soda Creek Falls

#19 – Crabtree Lake 9/7/2019

#20 – McDowell Creek Park 2/16/2014
Majestic Falls

#21 – South Breitenbush Gorge 5/11/2013
Burned 2020 Lionshead Fire
Roaring Creek

#22 – Jefferson Park 9/23/2011, 10/13/2014, & 8/8/2015
Burned partly in 2017 Whitewater and rest in 2020 Lionshead Fire
Mt. Jefferson from Jefferson Park Mt. Jefferson

#23 – Pamelia Lake 9/19/2013 & 9/8/2018

#24 – Marion Lake 10/3/2014 & 9/10/2016
Burned 2002 Mt. Marion, 2003 B&B Complex, 2006 Puzzle, 2015 208SRZ Marion
Three Fingered Jack from Marion Lake

#25 – Duffy Lake 7/28/2010
Burned 2002 Mt. Marion, 2003 B&B Complex
Mowich Lake and Duffy Butte from Red Butte

#26 – Three Fingered Jack 10/13/2012
Burned 2003 B&B Complex

#27 – Canyon Creek Meadows 7/28/2013
Burned 2003 B&B Complex
The trail ahead Three Fingered Jack

#28 – Carl Lake 9/1/2018
Burned 2003, B&B Complex, 2006 Puzzle

#29 – Metolius River 7/23/2012
Wizard Falls

#30 – Black Butte 10/13/2013 & 5/28/2018
Burned 2009 Black Butte II
Cupola style lookout on Black Butte

#31 – Alder Springs 8/3/2011
Deschutes River

#32 – Scout Camp Trail 5/1/2016
Balsamroot hillside

#33 – Steelhead Falls 5/1/2016

#34 – Smith Rock 7/14/2006, 7/13/2011 & 6/5/2015
Monkey Face

#35 – Shevlin Park 8/5/2011
Hixson Crossing Covered Bridge

#36 – Tumalo Falls 9/27/2014

#37 – Dillon & Benham Falls 8/1/2013
Benham Falls

#38 – Lava Cast Forest and Lava River Cave 5/28/2017
Newberry Crater from the Lava Cast Forest

#39 – Fall River 9/16/2015

#40 – LaPine State Park 9/16/2015
Deschutes River

#41 – Poxy Falls and Linton Lake 5/3/2014(Proxy Falls) & 6/25/2017(Linton Lake)
Burned (Linton Falls) 2017 Separation Fire
Proxy Falls

#42 – Obsidian Trail 10/14/2012
Burned (tiny portion of trail) 2017 Separation Fire
Obsidian Falls

#43 – Four-in-one-Cone 10/14/2012 & 8/14/2019
View from Four-in-one Cone View from Four-in-One-Cone

#44 – Benson Lake 10/14/2012 & 8/30/2014
Burned (small section of longer loop trail) 2010 Scott Mt. Fire

#45 – Hand Lake Shelter 8/30/2014

#46 – Little Belknap Crater 9/14/2015
Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt. Jefferson from Little Belknap Crater

#47 – Matthieu Lakes 7/29/2013
Burned 2017 Milli Fire
North Sister from South Matthieu Lake

#48 – Black Crater 10/1/2016
Burned 2017 Milli Fire
Remanants of the lookout tower on Black Crater Former lookout site on Black Crater.

#49 – Chambers Lakes 8/26/2014
Burned 2012 Pole Creek Fire
South Sister from Camp Lake

#50 – Park Meadow 8/27/2014
Burned 2012 Pole Creek Fire
Middle and North Sister beyond Golden Lake Middle and North Sister from Golden Lake

#51 – Tam McArthur Rim 8/31/2013
Broken Top and Broken Hand from Tam McArthur Ridge

#52 – Tumalo Mt. 9/27/2014
Trees near the summit of Tumalo Mountain.

#53 – Todd Lake and Broken Top 8/23/2014
Broken Top from No Name Lake

#54 – Sparks Lake 10/1/2014
South Sister from Sparks Lake

#55 – Green Lakes via Fall Creek 9/15/2015
The third Green Lake

#56 – Moraine Lake and South Sister 9/1/2013
View from the South Sister Looking north from the South Sister.

#57 – Sisters Mirror Lake 9/19/2015
South Sister from Sisters Mirror Lake

#58 – Horse Lake 8/4/2011
Horse Lake

#59 – Doris & Cliff Lakes 9/29/2014
Doris Lake

#60 – Clear Lake 6/15/2014

#61 – Sahalie & Koosah Falls 9/9/2012
Sahalie Falls

#62 – Tamolitch Pool 5/27/2013

#63 – Rainbow Falls and Separation Lake 5/3/2014
Separation Lake

#64 – Horsepasture Mt. 7/7/2018
South Sister and Mt. Bachelor form Horsepasture Mountain.

#65 – Olallie Mt. 9/1/2019
Burned 2017 Olallie Lookout Fire (Lookout burned down winter 2019/20).
Olallie Mountain lookout

#66 – Lowder Mt. 9/1/2019
View from Lowder Mountain.

#67 – Tidbits Mt. 6/29/2019
View from Tidbits Mountain.

#68 – Castle Rock 6/3/2017
Monkeyflower and pletritis Monkeyflower and plectritis on Castle Rock.

#69 – French Pete Creek 5/16/2015
Burned 2017 Rebel and 2018 Terwilliger Fires

#70 – Erma Bell Lakes 8/29/2020
Middle Erma Bell Lake

#71 – Spencer Butte 2/9/2020
View from Spencer Butte Fog over Eugene.

#72 – Mt. Pisgah 10/5/2019
Summit of Mt. Pisgah Summit marker on Mt. Pisgah.

#73 – Shotgun Creek 2/9/2020

#74 – Fall Creek 3/31/2013
Burned 2003 Clark and 2017 Jones Fires

#75 – Mt. June 6/2/2013
Sawtooth Trail

#76 – Goodman Creek 11/10/2013
Small Falls on a branch of Goodman Creek

#77 – Patterson Mt. 5/5/2018
Lone Wolf Meadow

#78 – Tire Mt. 6/8/2014
Wildflowers along the Tire Mountain Trail Wildflowers along the Tire Mt. Trail.

#79 – North Fork and Buffalo Rock 5/10/2020
Buaffalo Rock from the North Fork Willamette River Buffalo Rock from the North Fork Willamette River

#80 – Grasshopper Meadow 7/8/2017

#81 – Blair Lake and Wall Creek 6/11/2015
Beargrass meadow along the Blair Lake Trail.

#82 – Chuckle Springs 5/24/2020
Burned 2009 Tumblebug Complex
Indigo Springs (These springs have not burned.)

#83 – Spirt, Moon, and Pinard Falls 6/17/2020
Moon Falls

#84 – Brice Creek 5/5/2014
Upper Trestle Creek Falls

#85 – Bohemia Mt. 8/15/2020
Bohemia Mountain

#86 – Eddeeleo Lakes 8/25/2018
Lower Eddeeleo Lake

#87 – Waldo Mt. 9/7/2013
Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, The Three Sisters and Broken Top from Waldo Mountain View from the Waldo Mountain Lookout.

#88 – Lillian Falls 8/30/2019

#89 – Fuji Mt. 10/6/2013
View from Fuji Mountain

#90 – South Waldo Lake 8/22/2015

#91 – The Twins 9/14/2019
View north from the south summit of The Twins

#92 – Rosary Lakes and Maiden Peak 9/3/2016
Pulpit Rock from Middle Rosary Lake

#93 – Salt Creek Falls 7/4/2013

#94 – Midnight & Yoran Lakes 10/18/2014
Yoran Lake

#95 – Diamond View Lake 8/22/2020
Diamond Peak from Diamond View Lake

#96 – Fawn Lake 9/22/2018
Huckleberry Bushes along Saddle Lake.

#97 – Divide Lake 8/24/2020
Notch Lake

#98 – Blue and Corrigan Lakes 8/23/2020
Diamond Peak from Corrigan Lake

#99 – Marie Lake and Diamond Peak 8/23/2020
Climbers trail to Diamond Peak Diamond Peak

#100 – Timpanogas Lake 9/17/2016
Sawtooth Mountain from Timpanogas Lake

In addition to the 100 featured hikes we’ve manged to add other hikes from Sullivan’s additional hikes located in the back of his book. In doing so we have also completed all 100 featured hikes in the 3rd edition and are just 2 hikes short of completing the 5th edition as well. There were 14 hikes from the 3rd edition that were not featured hikes in the 4th edition while the 5th edition contains 12 new featured hikes from the 4th edition (Three of these had been featured hikes in the 3rd edition.) Even with all of the hikes we’ve done, and the areas lost to fire in 2020 there are a number of trails in the Central Cascades we have yet to explore. We will continue to work those into our plans as we strive to explore as many different places as possible while we can.

Happy Trails!

Scout Lake and Mt. Jefferson

Tags Bull of the Woods Wilderness, Central Cascades, Diamond Peak Wilderness, hiking, Menagerie Wilderness, Middle Santiam Wilderness, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Mt. Washington Wilderness, opal creek wilderness, Oregon, Three Sisters Wilderness, waldo lake wilderness, William L Sullivan

Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail – 08/29/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 30, 2020
5 Comments on Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail – 08/29/2020

With our recent backpacking trip around Diamond Peak (post) leaving us with just one more featured hike yet to do from William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Central Oregon Cascades” (4th edition) the only logical thing to do the following weekend was that last remaining hike. That hike was to the Erma Bell Lakes and as luck would have it late August was a pretty good time to visit, the berries were ripening and the mosquitoes weren’t too much of a nuisance. With a drive time of almost three hours the loop around the 8.5-9 mile loop around the lakes wouldn’t take long enough for us not to break our self imposed rule of the driving time being longer than our time spent hiking so we added a second stop to the day at the Shale Ridge Trail.

We started the morning by driving to the Skookum Creek Campground where the Erma Bell Trail begins.

The trail crosses Skookum Creek on a footbridge.

Soon after crossing the creek the trail enters the Three Sisters Wilderness.

The trail traverses a forested hillside where we found a few ripe thimbleberries to snack on.

A little over half a mile from the trailhead the Irish Mountain Trail splits off to the left toward Otter Lake allowing for a loop past that and several other lakes.

We stayed right choosing to follow Sullivan’s suggestion to complete the loop counter-clockwise. The trail continued along the forested hillside for another mile before crossing a small stream on a bridge near Lower Erma Bell Lake.

Just beyond the bridge we took a short spur trail to the left to visit the lake.

The lake was a pretty blue color and quite deep.

Despite the beauty of the lake our attention had been diverted by the familiar “meep” of pikas, our favorite trail critters. We quickly spotted one of the little fur balls collecting greens along the rocky lake shore.

We watched the pika go back and forth with its greens several times before resuming our hike. We continued on the trail around the lake taking another detour after crossing the lake’s main outlet creek to check out a small cascade.

20200829_083744

Beyond the outlet the trail began a .4 mile climb up toward the Middle Erma Bell Lake.
Lower Erma Bell Lake from the climb.

A short but steep trail to the left just before the high point of the trail led to a viewpoint of a waterfall between the lower and middle lakes.

Above the falls.

After checking out the waterfall we continued up to Middle Erma Bell Lake.

Ouzel

Ducks

We continued beyond Middle Erma Bell Lake passing a small pond on the right before arriving at Upper Erma Bell Lake .7 miles from the waterfall, also on the right.
Pond along the trail.

Spur trail on the right to Upper Erma Bell Lakes.

Paintbrush and aster along the lake shore.

Upper Erma Bell Lake

Lupine and paintrbush

In addition to a few flowers there were lots of ripe berries near the lake which we sampled before continuing. The trail climbed gradually for half a mile to a junction with the Judy Lake Trail which passes Mud and Edna Lakes (but no Judy Lake) before ending at the Taylor Burn Guard Station.
Judy Lake Trail on the right.

We stayed left passing above Mud Lake which was barely visible through the trees below.

Just under a mile from the Judy Lake Trail junction we arrived at another junction, this time with the Williams Lake Trail.
Williams Lake Trail joining from the right.

Again we stayed left continuing for another .4 miles to Williams Lake. Before reaching the lake we encountered a grouse that was less than pleased with our presence.
Grouse giving us the what for from a tree.

Williams Lake

Dry creek bed near Williams Lake.

The trail began to descend beyond Williams Lake passing through some damper meadows where berries were plentiful and some flowers remained (and so did some mosquitoes).

Pearly everlasting

Fleabane

Prince’s pine

Mushroom

Aster

Coneflower

Paintbrush

A little over two and a quarter miles beyond Williams Lake we arrived at a junction with the Irish Mountain Trail which headed uphill to the right.

A short distance from the junction we came to Otter Lake.

Curious dragonfly

The trail descended for another half mile to the Erma Bell Lakes Trail completing the loop.

We turned right and returned the .6 miles to the now busy trailhead. Sullivan lists the hike at 8.4 miles but we both came up with a little over 9 miles, most likely due to the various side trips tp the waterfalls and along the lake shores. We left the trailhead and headed back toward Oakridge on Forest Road 19 stopping at the Shale Ridge Trailhead on the left (south) near milepost 30.

This trailhead serves as the start of the Shale Ridge Trail and the upper terminus of the North Fork Trail (segment 5). We had spent time on the North Fork Trail earlier in the year hiking segment 1 out of Westfir and another short section to Buffalo Rock in May (post).

We weren’t here for that trail today and instead headed south on the Shale Ridge Trail, which according to a note written on the signboard had been partially logged out in June.

The trail quickly entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness.

We followed the trail through old growth forest. The North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River could be heard at time off to our right but not seen.

Ghost Pipe aka Indian Pipe

We were below the ridge that we had been on during the Erma Bell Lakes hike and at the 1.8 mile mark we came to Skookum Creek which was flowing through multiple channels through the forest. This area was the highlight of the hike along the Shale Ridge Trail.
20200829_125709_HDR

We continued beyond Skookum Creek just over a mile to the North Fork Middle Fork River at Cedar Bog. This was as far as we had planned on going and as far as the trail had been cleared to. In theory the trail continues up to the Blair Lake Trail (post) on the far side of the river but the condition beyond Cedar Bog is mostly likely very rough.
Arriving at Cedar Bog.

One of a couple dry channels.

North Fork Middle Fork

Flagging on a downed tree marking the continuation of the Shale Ridge Trail.

North Fork Middle Fork at Cedar Bog

Orange flagging on the far side of the river.

20200829_132354 Monkeyflower at Cedar Bog

Candy flower

We turned back here and returned to our car completing a 5.8 mile out and back. While this hike was short on views there were some impressively large trees along the way and it was fairly level with only a 400′ cumulative elevation gain. The two hikes combined for nearly 15 miles of hiking which ensured that our hiking time was indeed longer than our driving time. More importantly we’d seen some nice lakes, all of which had their own distinct differences and had been gotten to watch a pika doing its thing. On top of it all we could finally say that we had done at least part of all 100 featured hikes in one of Sullivan’s guidebooks. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail

Tags Cedar Bog, Erma Bell Lakes, grouse, hiking, Irish Mountain Trail, Judy Lake Trail, Lower Erma Bell Lake, Middle Erma Bell Lake, north Fork Trail, Oregon, Otter Lake, Pika, Shale Ridge Trail, Skookum Creek, Three Sisters Wilderness, Upper Erma Bell Lake, waldo lake wilderness, Waterfall, Williams Lake

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Lillian Falls and Joe Goddard’s Old Growth Trail – 8/31/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 5, 2019
1 Comment on Lillian Falls and Joe Goddard’s Old Growth Trail – 8/31/2019

As we continue to move closer to our goal of completing all of the featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s 100 Hikes series of guidebooks (post) we have begun narrowing down the specific editions to base our progress off of. (For various reasons the featured hikes are a little different with each edition.) For the central cascades region we have decided to focus on the 4th edition from 2012. A few of the remaining featured hikes from that book are not part of the 100 hikes in the 5th edition as was the case with Lillian Falls.

It’s not always evident why Sullivan removes a hike from featured status and moves it to the back of his book (or removes it all together), but we thought it might have something to do with what he describes as “dangerous” potholes on the road to the trailhead. I checked with the Middle Fork Ranger District on the status of the road and the ranger there indicated that the road was fine for a high clearance vehicle but needed to be driven carefully. That sounded reasonable enough to us so we headed for the Black Creek Trailhead for the second hike of our long Labor Day Weekend.

We had planned on stopping at the short Joe Goodards Grove Trail first as it is located 1.6 miles before the Black Creek Trailhead on FR 2421 but we missed the unsigned turn (we saw the road but didn’t realize it was the one we wanted) and by the time we realized it we decided it was just going to be easier to do the longer hike first then end the day with the nature trail. We parked at the end of FR 2421 and took the unsigned Black Creek Trail into a second growth forest.

Less than a quarter mile from the trailhead we arrived at a signboard where we filled out a wilderness permit.

Just beyond the signboard we crossed a small stream and entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness
Looking back at the stream.

A few old footbridges remained as we passed through old growth above Black Creek.

20190831_074449 Not many flowers left but this one reminded us of fireworks.

The trail climbed gradually for just over a mile to a switchback along Nettie Creek where we could hear the roar of Lillian Falls just upstream.
Nettie Creek at the switchback.

We honestly weren’t expecting much from the falls which was described as a 150′ series of cascades. The drops visible from the switchback were nice enough and about what we had expected to see.

Working our way up alongside the cascades though revealed a much more impressive sight than we were prepared for.

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Lillian Falls was a worthy goal on its own, but at just over 2.5 miles round trip it was too short of a hike to justify the nearly 5 1/2 hours of driving to get to the trailhead and back so after thoroughly enjoying the falls we continued up the Black Creek Trail.

The trail veered away from Black Creek as it began a relatively steep climb up a a ridge along Nettie Creek. We leveled out a bit .7 miles from Lillian Falls passing through a section of forest with rhododendrons.

We crossed Nettie Creek on stones .4 miles later.

The trail continued its fairly level grade as it passed through more forest before arriving at a rocky hillside where it turned north and began to climb again.

The open hillside provided a view west and to a lesser extant south to Fuji Mountain (post).
SW view

Looking south

Fuji Mountain

Just before reentering the forest there was a short section of narrow tread where the hillside appeared to be slide prone.

There had been a dry creek bed below the trail but as we reached the trees we began to hear running water, faintly at first, but then suddenly there was a full creek in front of us flowing through the forest.
Klovdahl Creek

After briefly leaving the creek to pass around a small hill the trail crossed Klovdahl Creek.

A fairly steep quarter mile climb followed as the trail gained 275′ via a series of switchbacks. The trail then leveled out a bit again. Instead of rhododendron this section was full of huckleberry bushes and a sooty grouse.
Grouse on the Black Creek Trail.

Huckleberry bushes along the trail.

We kept waiting to reach a purported downhill to Waldo Lake which finally arrived about a hundred yards before arriving at a junction with the Jim Weaver Trail which loops around the lake.
Heading down to the Waldo Lake Trail (Jim Weaver Trail)

Across the lake we could see the distinct summit of Maiden Peak (post).

To the right along the shore of Klovdahl Bay the remains of an attempted diversion tunnel for hydroelectric power and irrigation.

We considered hiking the half mile to visit see the tunnel up close but opted instead to turn left and head north along the lake to visit Green Lake. Green Lake is part of a 5th edition featured hike that also includes Elbow Lake. We had visited Elbow Lake in 2013 as part of our Waldo Mountain hike. (post)

The trail climbed a bit in this direction as it veered away from Waldo Lake to pass several much smaller, unnamed lakes.

First lake on the left.

Second lake on the left.

A third lake on the left that was set back in the trees.

First lake on the right.

Ducks at the lake on the right.

Dry pond on the right.

After 1.9 miles on the Waldo Lake Trail we came to a junction with the Koch Mountain Trail where we turned right at a pointer for Green and Waldo Lakes.
Wide trail junction.

We passed by Green Lake opting to visit the shore of Waldo Lake first and followed this trail downhill a third of a mile to it’s end at the lake.
Dry creek bed along the way.

We sat on the rocky shoreline here for a bit enjoying the view of Broken Top and Mt. Bachelor.

Across the lake to the east were The Twins, a peak that we hope to hike later this year.

After the break we headed back up to the Waldo Lake Trail but first detoured to visit Green Lake which was a few hundred feet off the main trail to the north.
It was a nice little lake, enough so that it warranted a second short break.

It was close to 11am when we left Green Lake and headed back along the Waldo Lake Trail. There was a marked increase in traffic on the trail now, but after turning onto the Black Creek Trail again we didn’t see another person, but we did get a chance to watch a pileated woodpecker for a bit.

We stopped again at Lillian Falls which was now receiving more light.

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We then returned to our car and drove back along FR 2421 the 1.6 miles to the unsigned road (now on the left). We parked at its end after a tenth of a mile and took an unsigned path to a nice footbridge over Black Creek.
Unsigned start of the nature trail.

Black Creek

Once across the creek the trail passes briefly through a former clearcut before arriving at a sign announcing the Joe Goddard’s Nature Trail.

Just beyond the sign the trail split marking the start of the loop.

We went left here but in hindsight it might have been a little better to go right based on the direction the signs along the trail were facing. In any case after taking the left fork we quickly came to another fork where a footbridge crossed Louisie Creek near a picnic table.

We crossed the bridge and followed a path past an impressive old growth cedar.

The path appeared to end back at Black Creek although there were some faint trails in the area. This was a bit confusing because the trail that was shown on our Garmin maps appeared to be in this same area, but we knew that the location of trails on maps isn’t always correct so we crossed back over Louise Creek and continued on the clearer trail which crossed a dry creek bed.

The creek bed was followed by a large old growth Douglas Fir that a sign put at 217′ tall and over 118 inches in diameter.

Even though our GPS track was not matching up at all with the trail shown on the device the signage along the route we were following told us we were on the right path. We continued on the loop and came to a log that had been cut for the trail and subsequently marked with Joe Goddard’s birthday and the year “1776”. A little online research revealed that this tree dated back to the year 1340.

It was an interesting little loop (.5 miles total from the parking area) and well worth the stop.
Another picnic table.

Another big Doug fir.

We ended the day having covered 13 miles, 12.5 for Lillian Falls and Waldo Lake and the half mile at Joe Goddard’s Grove. We were a bit surprised that the only people we saw were along Waldo Lake given how nice the falls were, but perhaps their out of the way location and potholed road keeps them a bit less visited. The only negative on the day was Heather getting stung by a yellow jacket at Lillian Falls. Those things are just mean. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lillian Falls and Joe Goddard’s Nature Trail

Tags Black Creek Trail, Black Creek Trailhead, Green Lake, hiking, Jim Weaver Trail, Joe Goddard's Grove, Joe Goddard's Nature Trail, Klovdahl Bay, Klovdahl Creek, Lillian falls, Nettie Creek, old growth, Oregon, Waldo Lake, Waldo Lake Trail, waldo lake wilderness

Hiking Uncategorized

Progress Report – Oregon Wilderness Areas

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 1, 2019
5 Comments on Progress Report – Oregon Wilderness Areas

In our last post we wrote about our ambitious (possibly overly so) goal of completing 500 “featured” hikes in William L. Sullivan’s guidebooks. The topic of this post is another one of our goals, visiting all 45 of Oregon’s accessible designated wilderness areas (Three Arch Rocks and Oregon Islands are off limits to all visitors). This goal should be quite a bit easier to accomplish given the much smaller number of needed hikes and the fact that the wilderness areas aren’t changing every few years. (There is legislation pending that would create the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness in the coast range between Reedsport and Eugene.)

The inspiration for this goal came from a fellow hiker and blogger over at Boots on the Trail. This smaller goal fit well into our 500 featured hikes goal too as thirty nine of the wilderness areas are destinations of at least one of the featured hikes. The remaining six: Copper-Salmon, Lower White River, Rock Creek, Cummins Creek, Bridge Creek, and Grassy Knob were still included in the books but as additional hikes in the back. Between the hike descriptions in the guidebooks and Boots on the Trail’s trip reports we’ve had plenty of information to work with.

This was an appealing goal too. Wilderness areas are dear to our hearts and home to many of our favorite places. These areas are the least affected by humans and we feel best reflect God’s work as Creator. To me they are akin to a museum showcasing His finest artistry. Just as we would in a museum we admire and enjoy the wilderness but we do our best not to affect it meaning adhering whenever possible to Leave No Trace principles.

We have made pretty good progress on this goal so far and as of 12/31/18 we had visited 38 of the 45 accessible areas (and seen the other two from the beach). We’re currently on track to have visited them all by the end of 2020.

Below is a chronological list of the wilderness areas we’ve been to (or seen) as well as any subsequent year(s) we’ve visited with some links to selected trip reports.

Opal Creek – 2009, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18

Battle Ax Creek – 2014

Mt. Jefferson – 2010, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18

Mt. Jefferson from Russell Lake – 2016

Drift Creek – 2010

Mt. Washington – 2011, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17

Mt. Washington from the Pacific Crest Trail – 2015

Three Sisters – 2011, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

The Three Sisters – 2014

Three Arch Rocks – 2011, 18

Three Arch Rocks from Cape Meares – 2018

Mark O. Hatfield – 2012, 14, 15, 16

Triple Falls – 2012

Mt. Hood – 2012, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Mt. Hood – 2015

Oregon Islands – 2012, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Bandon Islands – 2018

Mill Creek – 2012

Twin Pillars – 2011

Mt. Thielsen – 2012, 14

Howlock Mountain and Mt. Thielsen – 2014

Table Rock – 2012, 15

Table Rock – 2015

Salmon-Huckleberry – 2013, 14, 15, 17, 18

Frustration Falls – 2018

Diamond Peak – 2013, 14, 18

Trapper Creek – 2014

Waldo Lake – 2013, 15, 18

View from Fuji Mountain – 2013

Roaring River – 2013

Serene Lake – 2013

Badger Creek – 2014

Badger Creek Wilderness – 2014

Middle Santiam – 2014

Donaca Lake – 2014

Bull of the Woods – 2014, 15, 18

Emerald Pool – 2018

Soda Mountain – 2015, 17

View from Boccard Point – 2015

Red Buttes – 2015

Oregon Badlands – 2016

Oregon Badlands Wilderness – 2016

Kalmiopsis – 2016

Vulcan Lake – 2016

Menagerie – 2016

Rooster Rock – 2016

Eagle Cap – 2016

Glacier Lake – 2016

Mountain Lakes – 2016

View from Aspen Butte – 2016

Sky Lakes – 2016

Mt. McLoughlin from Freye Lake – 2016

Lower White River – 2016

White River – 2016

Rock Creek – 2017

Spring Basin – 2017

Hedgehog Cactus – 2017

Bridge Creek – 2017

Bridge Creek Wilderness – 2017

Wild-Rogue – 2017

Hanging Rock – 2017

Grassy Knob – 2017

View from Grassy Knob – 2017

Clackamas – 2017

Big Bottom – 2017

North Fork John Day – 2017, 18

Baldy Lake – 2017

Cummins Creek – 2017

Cummins Ridge Trail – 2017

Rogue-Umpqua Divide – 2018

Hummingbird Meadows – 2018

Steens Mountain – 2018

View along the Pine Creek Trail – 2018

Strawberry Mountain – 2018

Slide Lake – 2018

Copper-Salmon – 2018

Barklow Mountain Trail – 2018

The remaining areas and year of our planned visit looks like this:

2019 – Hells Canyon, North Fork Umatilla, Wenaha-Tucannon
2020 – Boulder Creek, Black Canyon, Monument Rock, Gearhart Mountain

If the Devil’s Staircase is added in the meantime we will do our best to work that in (it is currently on our list of hikes but not until 2023. For more information on Oregon’s wilderness areas visit Wilderness.net here.

Happy Trails!

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Bridge Creek Wilderness, Bull of the Woods Wilderness, Clackamas Wilderness, Copper-Salmon Wilderness, cummins creek wilderness, Diamond Peak Wilderness, Drift Creek Wilderness, eagle cap wilderness, Grassy Knob Wilderness, hiking, kalmiopsis wilderness, Lower White River Wilderness, Mark O Hatfield Wilderness, Menagerie Wilderness, Middle Santiam Wilderness, Mill Creek Wilderness, mountain lakes wilderness, Mt. Hood Wilderness, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Mt. Thielsen wilderness, Mt. Washington Wilderness, North Fork John Day Wilderness, opal creek wilderness, Oregon, oregon badlands wilderness, Oregon Islands Wilderness, Red Buttes Wilderness, Roaring River Wilderness, Rock Creek Wilderness, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, sky lakes wilderness, soda mountain wilderness, Spring Basin Wilderness, Steens Mountain Wilderness, Strawberry Mountain Wilderness, table rock wilderness, Three Arch Rocks Wilderness, Three Sisters Wilderness, waldo lake wilderness, Wild Rogue Wilderness, Wilderness Areas

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Waldo Lake Wilderness Day 1 – Winchester Ridge and Eddeeleo Lakes Loop

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 31, 2018
4 Comments on Waldo Lake Wilderness Day 1 – Winchester Ridge and Eddeeleo Lakes Loop

We ended our August hikes with an overnight stay near Waldo Lake. After several days of smokey skies the weather had shifted and most of the smoke had been pushed out of the area. The exception to that was the smoke being produced by the Terwilliger Fire burning east of Eugene along Cougar Reservior and into the Three Sisters Wilderness. 😦

We were hoping that the smoke from that fire wasn’t going to be aimed right at us all weekend. Things were off to a good start when we arrived at the Jim Weaver Trailhead at the north end of Waldo Lake. The sky was a crisp blue but the sky wasn’t the only thing that was crisp. The temperature gauge in the car had read 36 degrees when we’d parked.
Jim Weaver Loop Trailhead

Diamond Peak from Waldo Lake

From the parking area we walked down to boat ramp and turned right at a Shoreline Trail sign.

Initially the trail passed through green trees with occasional views across the lake to Diamond Peak and Fuji Mountain (post).
Shoreline Trail

Diamond Peak and Fuji Mountain from Waldo Lake

Diamond Peak and Fuji Mountain from Waldo Lake Diamond Peak to the left and Fuji Mountain directly behind the island

Soon the trail entered the fire scar of the 1996 Taylor Burn.
Waldo Lake

Diamond Peak and Fuji Mountain from Waldo Lake

Despite the frosty morning the wildlife was out in force.
Frost on the Shoreline Trail

Bluebird

Tree full of birds

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Bald eagle

After 2.3 miles we passed a trail signboard for the Rigdon Lakes Trail. We planned on returning the next day via that trail so for the time being we stuck to the Shoreline Trail for an additional 1.4 miles to another trail signboard, this time marking the Wahanna Trail. Along the way we’d passed Conim Lake on our right just a bit before leaving the Talor Burn fire scar.
Conim Lake near the edge of the 1996 Taylor Burn

Wahanna Trail

Just beyond the Wahanna Trail junction we came to the North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River flowing from Waldo Lake.
Footbridge over the North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River

North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River

A side trail to the left here led passed a small outbuilding to Dam Camp where we had hoped to find a camp site but that area was already spoken for so we settled for a spot further back from lake.
Some sort of monitoring station

Outlet of Waldo Lake Dam Camp is to the left in the trees and rhododendron

Campsite near Waldo Lake

This worked out to be a fine spot despite not being close to the lake as it was closer to the Wahanna Trail which we would be taking then next day on our way to the Rigdon Lakes Trail. After getting camp set up we put on our day packs and continued beyond the river crossing just a tenth of a mile to a fork where the Wahanna Trail forked downhill to the right (the Wahanna and Shoreline Trail briefly share tread).
Wahanna Trail splitting to the right from the Shoreline Trail

The trail promptly entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness.
Entering the Waldo Lake Wilderness

Just a quarter mile from the fork the trail forked again. This time the Wahanna Trail forked to the left while the right hand fork was the Six Lakes Trail.
Wahanna Trail to the left and the Six Lakes Trail to the right

Here we faced a choice. If we stayed left we could complete a long loop past Lake Chetlo and along Winchester Ridge and eventually following the Six Lakes Trail from its other end past the Quinn and Eddeeleo Lakes. Alternatively we could go right and after visiting the lakes turn back or decide to complete the loop in the opposite direction. We were feeling ambitious and felt up to the loop so we decided to go left. This way we would be saving the bulk of the lakes for the end of the loop.
Wahanna Trail

The trail remained relatively level for the next mile passing through a forest full of huckleberry bushes and several small meadows.
Wahanna Trail

Meadow along the Wahanna Trail

It was along this section that we encountered the only other people we would see during the loop. After 1.2 miles we spotted Lake Chetlo through the trees on our left.

Lake Chetlo

Expecting to find a side trail down to the lake we continued on but the trail began to climb up and away from the lake. Less than a quarter mile later we were at a junction with the Winchester Ridge Trail and that had been the only look we had at Lake Chetlo.
Wahanna Trail junction with the Winchester Ridge Trail

We turned right onto the Winchester Ridge Trail which climbed steeply for a little over half a mile to another junction. We had been on this section of trail before in 2012 as we were coming down from the Waldo Mountain Lookout and heading for Elbow Lake (post).

We turned right at this junction as well to continue on the Winchester Ridge Trail which now leveled out somewhat as it traveled along the ridge.

The blue skies from the morning were quickly being replaced by smoke from the Terwilliger Fire as we made our way along Winchester Ridge. There aren’t many views from this trail to begin with and the couple that we did get we could just barely make out the Three Sisters to the NE.
South Sister through smoke

Smoke from the Terwilliger Fire obscuring the view of South Sister South Sister

Smokey view from the Winchester Ridge Trail

The Three Sisters

View from the Winchester Ridge Trail Rigdon Butte beyond the Eddeeleo Lakes from the Winchester Ridge Trail

Not only does the Winchester Ridge Trail suffer form a lack of views, but there aren’t many distinguishable landmarks along the way. A little over two and a half miles from the fork though the Waldo Meadows Trail came up from the left.

That trail went downhill for .5 steep miles to Swann and then Gander Lakes, neither of which we could not see from the Winchester Ridge Trail. The trail climbed briefly beyond this junction before descending to yet another junction with a trail on the left. This time with the Winchester Trail, a total of 1.8 miles from the Waldo Meadows Trail.

Winchester Ridge Trail junction with the Winchester Trail

The Winchester Ridge Trail ends at the Winchester Trail. We stayed straight at the junction and followed the Winchester Trail for a half mile to its end at the Blair Lake Trail.

Blair Lake Trail sign

We turned right onto the Blair Lake Trail.

We had hiked the western end of this trail in 2015 on what remains to this day as the best beargrass hike ever. (post)

The Blair Lake Trail descended for a mile to Lower Quinn Lake which was unfortunately suffering from the increased smoke.

After a brief stop at the lake we continued on the Blair Lake Trial for another quarter mile before reaching the signed junction with the Six Lakes Trail.
Blair Lake Trail junction with the Six Lakes Trail

Six Lakes Trail

We turned right onto this trail which climbed gradually for the next half mile to a fork where we went right to visit Upper Quinn Lake.

Although the smoke wasn’t bad enough to cause us any issues with breathing or our eyes it was putting a damper on the views of the lakes. At Upper Quinn Lake we found a few empty campsites and lots of little frogs.
Frog at Upper Quinn Lake

Frog

Somewhere along the way we wound up losing the trail (most likely in one of the campsites) and had to bushwack back to the Six Lakes Trail. Once we had regained the trial we turned right and in just a tenth of a mile spotted the northern end of Long Lake beyond a grassy meadow.

Again we erroneously assumed there would be obvious side trails leading to the lake but the Six Lakes Trail passed on the opposite side of a rocky ridge for nearly a mile which hid the lake from sight.

When the GPS showed that we were nearly past the lake we decided to try and bushwack through the rhododendron to the southern end of the lake. We had managed to make it most of the way there when we spotted a tent set up near the shore. Not wanting to stumble into someones camp we settled for an obstructed view through the trees.
Long Lake

Long Lake

We left Long Lake and continued for another half mile toward Lower Eddeeleo Lake. Shortly before reaching the lake there was an obvious side trail to the left.
Side trail at Lower Eddeeleo Lake

This side trail led across a dry outlet creek to an open area along the lake shore. We took a longer break here. We could just make out the old Waldo Mountain Lookout through the smoke.
Waldo Mountain from Lower Eddeeleo Lake

Waldo Mountain

Waldo Mountain Lookout

We might have taken an even longer break if not for the yellow jackets who were just a little too interested in us for my liking. We left the lower lake and returned to the Six Lakes Trail which climbed a short way above the lower lake which was barely visible through the trees.

Lower Eddeeleo Lake

Just under one and three quarter miles from the side trail to Lower Eddeeleo Lake we came to a short side trail to Upper Eddeeleo Lake on our right. We stopped again briefly at this lake which had a little sunlight glinting off the water.
Waldo Mountain from Upper Eddeeleo Lake

The next lake on the map was Round Lake which lay below and to the east of Upper Eddeeleo Lake. The Six Lakes Trail wound around the lake but never got very close to it and the one side trail we spotted heading to the lake would have required a steeper climb back up than either of us were willing to do at that point so we once again settled for a very limited view through the trees.
Round Lake through the trees

The Six Lakes Trail climbed up a ridge away from Round Lake for the final mile of its 6.6 mile length before dumping us back out on the Wahanna Trail.

According to our GPS we had hiked a total of 19.4 miles at that point and still had the quarter mile climb back up to the Waldo Lake Shoreline Trail. We had known that this was going to be a long day but by our calculations we were expecting closer to a 17 mile day. We had also brought our dinner with us thinking we could eat it at one of the lakes, but between the smoke, yellow jackets, and a few hardy mosquitoes we hadn’t found a spot where we really wanted to sit for an extended time.

When we got back to the Shoreline Trail we turned right (away from camp) hoping to find a spot along Waldo Lake to eat. Fortunately we only had to go about 100 yards where we found a trail down to the rocky sore across from Dam Camp.
Waldo Lake with some smoke

Even better was the fact that the smoke was starting to move out of the immediate area bringing back some of the blue sky from the morning.
Waldo Lake

We tried a new meal, three cheese chicken pasta, which wound up being underwhelming. It sort of fit with much of the day. The hike was nice but nothing really stood out and the smokey conditions at the lakes didn’t help. It also seemed like most of the lakes were very similar in that they were surrounded by forested hillsides but nothing dramatic.

We sat out on the rocks for quite a while watching a paddle boarder and a canoe float around on the lake as well as having some mergansers swim by.

It was quite a bit busier at the lake than where we normally camp and after getting a little chilly and returning to our tent to put on some extra clothing we noticed that a family? that had set up camp near where we had eaten had lit a campfire. Just a couple of days earlier the Willamette National Forest had announced a ban on all campfires and we had seen numerous posted signs that morning. On top of the illegal campfire we were also being treated to the melodious (NOT) sounds of someones portable music player. Thankfully the music died down and at one point we heard someone yell to the family that they needed to put the fire out. We went to bed hoping that the next day would be just a bit better. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Waldo Lake Wilderness Day 1

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

South Waldo Lake

South Waldo Lake is a hike that had been bumped for the schedule the past two years for various reasons. Last year it was due to the nearby Deception Creek Fire which caused the area to be rather smokey at times. Smokey conditions were exactly what prompted us to move this hike up two weeks on our schedule and finally do it. We had originally planned on making our first visit to the Indian Heaven Wilderness in Washington but scrapped those plans when the forecast called for a shift in wind direction that would flood that area with smoke from the Cougar Creek Fire near Mt. Adams. The forecast for the Waldo Lake Wilderness looked quite a bit more appealing. It called for hazy skies but it didn’t appear that smoke from any of the numerous fires would be heading directly for that area.

It was a beautiful morning as we began our hike from the Shadow Bay Boat Launch on Waldo Lake.
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There was a little haze on the horizon but the skies were blue overhead. There was a good bit of wind blowing which made for a cold morning as we headed along the Shore Trail.
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Occasional glimpses of Waldo Lake revealed the clear blue waters of the second largest natural lake in Oregon.
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At the 1.7 mile mark we arrived at the South Waldo Shelter. It was one of the nicest and well stocked shelters we’d visited.
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Just beyond the shelter after crossing a footbridge we arrived at a junction with the South Waldo Trail. Here we left the Shore Trail and entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness.
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We followed this trail through the wilderness for 1.6 miles passing small meadows and a pond to a four way trail junction.
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The trail left the wilderness just before reaching the junction. At the junction there were signs and flagging up for a trail run that was happening that morning. We had seen the runners preparing for the race when we were driving to the trailhead and had wondered where their course was. A runner was just passing the junction as we arrived and we cheered him on before continuing. We were a little distracted by the signs and runners and wound up taking the wrong trail. We had meant to take the first trail on the right but had not seen the correct one as the race organizers had laid some branches down across it so the runners wouldn’t take a wrong turn. We were on the race course now heading in the opposite direction of the runners. We moved and offered support as they passed by. We hadn’t gone too far before we both began to get the feeling we had taken the wrong path at the junction. A quick check of the GPS confirmed our suspicions and we hustled back to the junction.
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This time we saw the partly obscured path and headed toward Black Meadows. We reentered the wilderness and climbed up and over a ridge.
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The trail led down to Black Meadows at the base of Fuji Mountain (A hike we did in October of 2013 https://wanderingyuncks.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/fuji-mountain/).
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On the far end of the meadows we arrived at the High Divide Trail. This trail starts at Road 381 and leads to the Shore Trail along Waldo Lake.
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We turned right on the High Divide Trail toward Waldo Lake and began to climb up toward Bingo Lake. The trail had quite a few downed trees across it but none were too difficult to go over or around.
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As we climbed we could see Fuji Mountain behind us.
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In front of us was a forest that showed signs of an old burn and was now filled with berry bushes.
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We stopped at Bingo Lake which was a peaceful little lake and a great place for a break.
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The High Divide Trail headed downhill from Bingo Lake to its junction with the Shore Trail along Waldo Lake.
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We turned right on the Shore Trail passing the shelter in .6 miles and arriving back at the trailhead after another 1.7 miles. Along the way we stopped along the lake shore to take in a view of Twin Peaks and the Middle and South Sister across the lake.
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It had turned out to be a really nice day with only a slight amount of haze on the horizon and we were really glad that we had decided on this hike. We were even happier with our choice when we arrived back in the Willamette Valley to find it inundated with smoke. Eastern winds had funneled smoke from fires as far east as Idaho down the Columbia Gorge and then into the valley. It was a stark contrast to the blue skies above the Waldo Lake Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157655297413233

Tags bingo lake, Black Meadows, fuji mountain, High Divide Trail, hiking, Middle Sister, Oregon, Shadow Bay, South Sister, South waldo shelter, Twin Peaks, Waldo Lake, waldo lake wilderness

Hiking Oakridge Area Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Blair Lake Trail

On Fathers day we headed to Blair Lake outside of Oakridge, OR hoping to see some wildflowers. My parents had done this hike two years before on June 11th. In 2013 there were still patches of snow in the area and the majority of flowers were still a few weeks away. With the low snow pack we had this year we were hoping that we weren’t going to be too late. As it turned out the beargrass was spectacular and there were quite a few other flowers along the way. We encountered a few mosquitoes (most of them found Heather), but they were not too bad. There were a few people camped at Blair Lake Campground and another group set near the meadow at Spring Prairie but we didn’t see any other hikers on the trail.

We parked at the campground and took the short trail to Blair Lake first then walked back .4 miles along roads to the start of the Blair Lake Trail.

The trail starts in a damp meadow where we spotted a large variety of flowers.

Additional flowers appeared as we left the meadow and entered the forest.

After climbing for about a mile and a half we arrived at a rocky viewpoint and our first good look at Diamond Peak for the day.

Just after the rocky viewpoint the trail entered one of the best beargrass meadows we’d seen. Beargrass blooms in cycles so it could be several years before the meadow looks like this again, but we seemed to have chosen the right year and right time as most of the stalks were either in full bloom or nearly there.

We came out of the meadow with a light coating of pollen.

After the amazing beargrass display we climbed another mile to road 730 at Spring Prairie and the old Mule Mountain Shelter. We could have driven here just like the group camping had, but then we wouldn’t have passed through either wildflower meadow.

The views from Spring Prairie included a string of Cascade peaks from Diamond Peak to Mt. Jefferson and more beargrass.

Mt. Bachelor

Broken Top

The Three Sisters

Mt. Washington

Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Jefferson

There were a few more flowers here and as we were looking around I spotted a lizard that scurried into a clump of beargrass. It was one we had not seen before, a northwestern alligator lizard. He was hiding in the grass which made it difficult to get a decent picture but still a neat find.

We continued past Spring Prairie on Road 730 to the continuation of the Blair Lake Trail then at a fork headed right to visit the site of the former lookout which was .6 miles away.

We found some different flowers along this path including bleeding heart and yellowleaf iris, but the views were inferior to those at Spring Prairie.

When we got back to the fork we decided to continue on the Blair Lake Trail for another couple of miles just to see what it was like. The trail itself continues all the way into the Waldo Lake Wilderness and connects with trails near the Eddeeleo Lakes. The trail lost quite a bit of elevation in the first 3/4mi before leveling out somewhat. We were now in a rhododendron filled forest.

We went about 2 miles along this portion of trail before deciding to turn around. The trail was beginning to descend a bit to another road crossing and we didn’t want to have anymore elevation to gain. The highlight of the 2 mile extension was another beargrass meadow. This one was much smaller but still very nice.

On our way back the butterflies and other insects were out giving us something new to look for as we returned to the trailhead.

We wound up covering 12.6 miles but shorter hikes would still yield plenty of flowers and longer hikes could lead to backpacking trips into the Waldo Lake Wilderness. The variety of flowers in the first meadow make this a worthy wildflower hike and if you happen to hit a beargrass year as we did then it’s like hitting the jackpot. Happy Trails!

Tags Beargrass, blair lake, blair lake campground, blair lake trail, butterflies, Diamond Peak, hiking, Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Jefferson, mule mountain shelter, northwestern alligator lizard, Oregon, road 730, spring prairie, The Three Sisters, waldo lake wilderness

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Fuji Mountain

After a (well timed) scheduled week off we were back on the trails this past weekend. A highly unusual storm had rolled through as September gave way to October. Not only had this storm brought record amounts of precipitation but some of that precipitation fell as snow as low as 4000′. The hike we had planned, Fuji Mountain, topped out at 7144′ so we weren’t sure if it was going to be doable but some warmer weather moved in and we decided to give it a go. If we managed to make it up to the summit we knew the views should be great, and worst case scenario we could just choose a different lower trail in the area.

Fuji Mountain is located in the Waldo Lake Wilderness near Highway 58. A pair of trail heads lead to the summit. From the SW a 1.5 mile option starts on road 5883 making for a nice short hike. We chose to start from road 5897 (Waldo Lake road) to lengthen the hike a bit and visit some of the areas many lakes.

The trail begins just below 5000′ and started out snow free, but that didn’t last for long. We quickly began seeing snow along the trail and then on the trail itself. We followed a single set of hikers prints as we climbed up toward the first of the lakes.

They weren’t the only set of prints in the snow. 🙂

It wasn’t long before there was more snow covered trail than not but the snow wasn’t very deep, only on occasion measuring 6″. The trail climbed for about a mile then gently rolled along a plateau dotted with ponds and lakes for another 2.5 miles. Many of these were at least partly frozen making for some pretty scenery.

Shortly after crossing the South Waldo Trail the Fuji Mountain Trail began climbing again. In another mile we met up with the trail coming from road 5883 and began the final 1.2 mile climb to the summit. Here there were more hiker tracks in the snow but we only saw one other couple who were on their way down after spending the night on the summit.

As we climbed we began to have views of snowy Diamond Peak and Mt. Thielsen to the south, but these views paled in comparison to what awaited at the summit. When we arrived at the summit a 360 degree view awaited with Waldo Lake and a string of snowy peaks to the north and more mountains to the south. To the east lay Wickiup Reservoir and Odell Lake with distant Paulina Peak and nearby Maiden Peak in between. To the west were the foothills leading to the Willamette Valley.

Cowhorn Mountain, Mt. Thielsen, Hillman Peak and Diamond Peak

Looking west along the summit ridge of Fuji Mountain

It was a beautiful day at the summit, sunny and warm with no wind. We took our time eating lunch and enjoying the tranquility before heading back down. On the way out Heather and I decided to take a brief side trip along the South Waldo Trail to the Island Lakes. It was around half a mile to Lower Island Lake with it’s green water and tiny rock island. Just up and across the trail from Lower Island Lake was Upper Island Lake which also had a small rocky island.

Lower Island Lake's island — Lower Island Lake’s island

The warm weather made the return trip pretty slushy as the snow was melting fairly quickly. When we arrived back at the half frozen pond the scene had changed quite a bit.

We all really enjoyed being able to take a hike through the snow and it made for a nice change of pace. I don’t know if the early snow is a sign of things to come or just a fluke but it was enjoyable. Happy Trails!

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Tags birthday lake, Diamond Peak, fuji mountain, High Cascades, hiking, island lakes, Mt. Jefferson, mt. thielsen, Oregon, The Three Sisters, Waldo Lake, waldo lake wilderness