July was a packed month of weekend trips and new adventures, which included starting a new job at Mt. Hood Community College. With so much going on over the weekends I fell very far behind with blog updates. Hopefully you can forgive me!
In July, Lindsay and I traveled to Montana to visit friends at Flathead Lake and explore Glacier for a few days, we competed in our first Olympic duathlon (5k run, 40 k bike, 10 k run), visited with cousins in Seattle, backpacked to Jefferson Park in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, and made the 10 hour round trip drive to Leavenworth to thru hike the Enchantments with my brother and cousin. Phew. I'm exhausted just typing this! Hopefully you understand now why I fell a little behind.
Lindsay and I had wanted to backpack in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness ever since our second backpacking trip brought us to Pamelia Lake, a beautiful lake right off the Pacific Crest Trail that boasts old growth forests and views of Mt. Jefferson. Jefferson Park is a large flat alpine wonderland dotted with a handful of lakes on the north side of Mt. Jefferson. Wildflowers paint the meadows in July and August. The price to pay for such beauty? Blood thirsty mosquitoes.
We leave Portland right after work on Friday and within an hour and a half we pull off the road along the Clackamas River and find a great flat spot to camp for the night. Dispersed camping is allowed by the national forest service unless otherwise posted. We knew there were innumerable spots along the river from our last time out this way back in May when we backpacked in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness. It is nice to get a few hour head start to make tomorrow's journey a little shorter.
I toss and turn throughout the night. We wake early and have coffee and oatmeal. We pack up as quickly as possible and are off. Earlier in the week we read about the different routes into Jefferson Park. We opt for the more scenic route but the price to pay is a very rough seven mile stretch of rocky forest service road. I had read reports that passenger cars have made it safely so we decide to make the attempt. It takes us one hour to drive a very rough seven miles.
We arrive at the trailhead around 10 am. It's already pretty hot and the sun is shining bright overhead. We walk over to Breitenbush Lake to filter water before beginning the six mile trek. The trail begins around 5,500 feet and we hike through some small forests. Soon, the forest opens up to views of Pyramid Butte and a few other notable peaks. The trail climbs for a few miles. We stop and talk with two backpackers who were now just a few miles from their destination after a 40 mile trek - their first backpacking trip! Damn, ladies. They are glowing and laugh about being attacked by mosquitoes at Jefferson Park. Their antidote? Whiskey in their tent - and lots of it. Not the worst remedy!
We continue onwards. Around three miles in we reach timberline and find snowfields and incredible views of the Cascades. We have a snack at Park Ridge and take in the views.
Mt. Jefferson from Park Ridge.
We can see Paradise Park from Park Ridge and I mistakenly think it's closer than it appears (in reality, our destination is three miles further). We pass a group of hikers who look to be mid-50s to mid-60s. We pass just as an older gentleman lights up a huge joint. Now that's a way to experience the beauty of this place!
A little over an hour later we reach Paradise Park, passing Russell Lake before eventually arriving at Bays Lake and our campsite at Rock Lake. Only recently has the forest service required advance reservations of campsites in the park area. Since it is such a popular and well-traveled area restricting access will hopefully allow some of the trampled meadows to recover and be restored. We were able to secure one of the last reservable sites which meant we didn't have a view of Mt. Jefferson or a prime campsite nestled in the trees above the lake shore but despite that, we were happy to secure a site.
We set camp and wander over to Bays Lake to enjoy the afternoon lakeside in our hammock. The mosquitoes are relentless but nevertheless we enjoy a leisurely Saturday afternoon.
“Parks represent the wilderness inside us. They’re the place where we can be lonely. Where we can experience solitude. They’re a place we go to as refuge, as sanctuary. The place we go out to - to come back in.”
I go for a dip - the water is frigid but refreshing. We tolerate the mosquitoes for a few hours and read on the rocks at the shore, dipping our feet in the lake. As afternoon turns into evening we return to our campsite and prepare for dinner, deciding to return to this same spot to eat, have a beer, and watch the sunset.
Indian Paintbrush fills the meadows in Paradise Park.
The lake settles to glass.
I love spending time at lakes in early morning and later in the day as the water almost always becomes still, reflecting the beautiful landscapes. As the sun begins to set we wander down the lake to find a different scene.
We watch the mountain change colors as the sun falls below the horizon. We cheers the moment and this beautiful place.
I see a photographer setting up his tripod. He shares that the Milky Way will rise over the mountain around 10:30 pm. Excited, I think about where to set up to have a nice composition. We decide to head over to Scout Lake and watch the evening fall into night. At Scout Lake I find another photographer set up to shoot the mountain at night. We chat for a few minutes about astrophotography and my confidence is boosted. I seem to know more about capturing the stars than I previously thought. (Generally, I say I have no idea what I'm doing and just mess around and hope the camera captures something.)
Someday I'll use a more sophisticated editing software to reduce the noise of this photo.
“When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dew drop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.”
When darkness falls we realize the mosquitoes are gone and the temperature has dropped significantly.
We stand along the lakeshore for an hour or so watching the Milky Way stretch across the sky over Mt. Jefferson. I could have stood there all night staring into that vast canvas of stars and blackness. Although we've been here not even a full day, I feel as if I've known this place for many, many years. The wilderness tends to do that to me.
“But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called—called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come.”
Distance: 12 miles, give or take / Elevation gain: 2,500 feet