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A Pine Tree Maze

 

A favorite day trip spot is the Upper Deschutes river. This point is too far upstream for sea run or any of the huge fish the Deschutes River is famous for. However, the stream IS full of 8 to 10 inch Rainbow and Brook Trout.

There are about eight miles of stream from Lava Lake, the headwaters to Crane Prairie Reservoir. Along that stretch of highway are pullouts and parking spots, as well as a day use area on the northern end. We usually find a great picnic spot along the bank and not see another person all day. It is also a favorite river for Tip to fetch sticks and floatie toys.

Unlike the lower river, this stretch of water meanders through flat pine forest and grassy marsh land. There are lots of open meadows, but there is also a hatchwork of deadfall. The paths that lie either bank are an obstacle course of weathered logs. In places the downfall resembles jacksticks.  This makes it a bit more difficult for old legs to navigate, but only to the point of slowing us down a bit … Tip finds the steeple chase an extra bit of fun.

 

 

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The Morning Ritual

 

Wild fires have wreaked havoc on the west. Even without a fire burning in your area, the smoke from a regional blaze has likely drifted over your house.

A smoky haze obstructs views and along with acrid air, you’ll swelter in the summer heat. All this makes being outdoors difficult. We’re constantly checking the air quality alerts before going anywhere.

Regardless of the reduced outing schedule, we don’t miss the morning walk. Typically in Central Oregon, even a blazing hot day starts with temps in the low 40’s.

The neighborhood remains in a perpetual state of construction. There are dirt roads linked to paved paths, all of which run through forest and fields.

We’ve settled into a route that takes nearly an hour, stretches our old legs and gives the pup plenty of sniffing time.

While it is a developed neighborhood, we’re still treated to encounters with wildlife, mostly deer, rabbits, coyote, and a wide variety of birds. And while there is highway din, the forest is relatively quiet at dawn.

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A Summer Lake Overview

 

For us, there are regular excursions to Summer Lake area and the wildlife refuge there. It’s a favorite spot to bird and shoot weather images.

But this week we are looking at Summer lake from a different angle.

 

Winter Rim. The Western edge of the Summer Lake Basin is lined with basalt columns with vertical rock walls plunging to the valley floor below. This offers a beautiful backdrop for the many photos we snap while exploring the refuge.

There is a trail (Fremont NFT #160) running along the top edge of Winter Rim. The Southern OR. Intertie Trail extends from the northern boundary of the Fremont NF to the southern edge of Summer and Albert lakes. At the top of Winter Rim, the views of Lake County are stunning.

At the point we  intersected it, there’s a picnic table that hangs quite literally on the edge of Winter Rim. The view was obstructed with smoke haze on this day, but still very impressive. There is also a rental cabin at this site.

 

We have always used US 31 to get to Summer Lake, but this trip we found a whole new area to explore on the western side of Winter Rim.

 

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Still Waters

The cascade range between Crater Lake and Mount Washington holds hundreds of natural lakes. Most of them small alpine bodies of water a few acres in size, many of which require walking on mountain trails to reach.

We’re more likely to spend time on rivers or streams, preferring moving water. But this week we explored some of the road accessible lakes near home.

Waldo Lake sits on the west side of Willamette Pass, about an hours drive from us. At 39,000 acres it’s one of the largest natural lakes in Oregon and second deepest, next to Crater lake. Bordered on three sides by wilderness the pristine waters of Waldo Lake are off limits to power boats. Once there you can choose from three different camp grounds, each with a boat launch, but none with day use picnic sites.We quickly discovered the area is a huge draw for paddle craft. While the large parking areas were lightly populated it was impossible to find an open spot to picnic on the bank. This did renew our interest in acquiring a canoe and / or trying some of the wilderness hikes north of the lake.

Princess Creek day use site on Odell Lake is a great spot for a picnic.

South of Waldo, along Highway 58, is Odell and Crescent Lakes. In the fall Trapper Creek, running into Odell’s western edge, teams with spawning salmon. The day use site at Princess Creek CG on Odell offered a quiet spot to have some lunch.

Crescent Lake, a few minutes southeast of Odell, offered sandy beaches and excellent fetch and swim time for Tip.

We finished off the trip with a drive north on the Cascade Lakes Highway, past Davis Lake, Wickiup and Crane Prairie Reservoirs. If we hadn’t turned east for La Pine there are another half dozen lakes along that highway as you swing around the base of Mt Bachelor and drop down into Bend.

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Good Fortune at the River

Not sure what happened.

Time of day, day of the week, or maybe just heat of summer …  regardless, there was no one at our favorite picnic site on the Crooked River!

 

And then we were visited by an osprey and treated to aerial acrobatics and maneuvers …, good luck indeed.

Monday we got going early to avoid afternoon heat. We were ready for what had become typically packed campgrounds and had riparian picnic gear at hand.

As has become custom, we start with a fetch/swim at the reservoir, which has been drawn down quite a bit.

Wet and happy dog back in the car we head down into the canyon and search out a parking spot on the river.

Over the past few months the river has been unusually crowded, however today Post Pile CG was completely empty. It stayed that way until we left about 3 pm.

The other thing that stayed away was August heat. These last few weeks have seen temperatures hit near ninety by noon. Shade trees aided with a light breeze up the canyon offered pleasant reading sites all day.