I took a trip in mid-September up to a lake I'd last visited a couple of years ago. The lake is called Burnt Lake because a wildfire burned much of the area up before the turn of the century. So unfortunately there's no old growth. Even if the early white settlers hadn't logged so much of it off, the old growth suffered due to numerous fires that the whites started. Though fire is a natural part of the forest's growth cycle, the pioneers caused fires at high rate. So a lot was burned. Indians set fires in the valley and along ridge tops in order to promote certain plant species and make hunting easier, as well.
I walked up a second growth forest in beams of afternoon sun.
I arrived at Lost Creek.
Here is the triple cascade of Lost Creek Falls, from above:
I got an early view of Mt. Hood from the trail:
I arrived at Burnt Lake a few hours after setting out. This is a very crowded lake, in an area where any lake is a popular place. I saw one other group of people there that afternoon, which wasn't too bad. Hiking on weekdays tends to limit the crowds. I feel sorry for people who have to hike on weekends!
Mt Hood from across the lake:
I walked up to the summit of East ZigZag Mountain, another mile and a half up. From there I hoped to get nice views of the mountain at sunset. While I waited for the sun, I cooked dinner and relaxed. These distant buildings are actually quite large, and are part of the Timberline ski lift operation.
While dinner cooled off, I hiked around, looking for the best viewpoint. Here's the mountain with Burnt Lake nestled into one of its radiating ridges:
The Cascades, looking to the south, with fall colored huckleberries:
Mt Hood in all its splendor, from East ZigZag summit.
I ate my dinner after the sun went down, and hiked back down to the comfortable campsites at the lake. Along the way I noticed this little tidbit of post-recession humor on a trail sign.
At the lakeside, I discovered that the other campers had lit a fire (against regulations at this lake) and were playing a stereo and carrying on. It's times like this that I'm reminded of why I don't normally camp in crowded places. Even a weeknight can have this kind of silliness. I don't know why some people need a radio and alcohol to enjoy being outdoors. Personally, if I wanted that stuff, I could get it in town, where I can actually sit down in a comfortable seat and not be cold. But, I think maybe these campers weren't really out there to enjoy being out there. Seems to me that they bring these distractions specifically to distract themselves from the unpleasant parts of the experience. I prefer a rich awareness of the quiet, cold and isolation.
Sunrise the next morning:
A terrific lenticular cloud built up over the mountain as I walked down to my car.
After returning to the car, I drove on to a very short trail to Castle Canyon. This small area has a number of basalt crags, which are all that are left of a basalt plug. Here are a few photos of the crags:
Finally, there's a peephole in one of the crags. It's a steep rock face on the other side, so I didn't bother crawling through!
Hope you enjoyed!
Charley
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