The Hike to Broken Top is Among Central Oregon's Favorites

People exploring the Three Sisters Wilderness can hike to Broken Top from multiple trailheads. Three Creeks to Tam McArthur Rim provides for a social trail past Broken Hand to Broken Top and No Name Lake. Hikers looking for more distance can start at the Green Lakes Trailhead and hike Soda Creek to join with the Broken Top trail. Most people will drive past Todd Lake on the poorly maintained road to the Broken Top trailhead (high clearance vehicles are recommended) and cut the distance to 5.5 miles and under 1500 feet of elevation gain. And there is a well defined trail starting at Todd Lake which creates a much longer hike through old growth forest to join with the Soda Creek Trail and then the Broken Top trail. Total distance to the Broken Top summit exceeds 14 miles and pushes 2700 feet of elevation gain, but the experience is well worth it. Stunning views of Broken Top's eastern flank and Mt Bachelor become visible after hikers join with the Broken Top trail; bushwhacking in this open area can lead to new areas to explore and other beautiful views. 

The hike taken October 21, 2023 was on a sunny, warm day after snow had fallen the week before.  Remnants of melting snow were obvious, but created no real obstacles for hikers. This was also the first weekend in 2023 that did not require trailhead passes, so the trail was busy with many Broken Top hikers and off leash dogs; at times it seemed as if there were more dogs than people, but all encountered were well behaved and the people very friendly and happy to be out enjoying the beauty of the Central Oregon Cascades. No Name Lake was beautiful and cold with snow and glacial runoff, and the views from the summit toward Middle and North Sister were outstanding, although the ridge was very windy and not the best place to enjoy lunch.

We have hiked to Green Lakes multiple times. However, fewer hike this popular trail when the weather turns cold and cloudy. Our experience hiking to Green Lakes on 10-14-23 was the first we had this year. The trail passes to Green Lakes are so hard to get that if you are 30 seconds past 7 am on the US Forest Service website, you will be too late. Despite trying weekly all year, last Saturday, the last weekend of the year where passes are required, we finally obtained two. 

The weather was cloudy and cool, and during our hike the expected "ring of fire" eclipse occurred, resulting in a drop in temperature and a darker sky. However, after that event, the rest of our hike up to Green Lakes was uneventful, outside of hitting more and more snow the higher we climbed. At the second log bridge we put on our microspikes for safety against slippery conditions and the rest of the hike was fine. We had to do some postholing once we reached the first lake, but it was well worth the effort to travel to the far side which fewer people travel to, but is among our favorite spots due to the beautiful views of South Sister which can be mirrored in the lake. We also trekked a bit up the east side of the largest Green Lake, but decided against going further and returned back after enjoying lunch and the views.

On our hike back to the trailhead, we met a good number of hikers coming up in the later afternoon.  Our morning experience was solitary with no one visible during our hour at the lake.

In all the years we have lived in Central Oregon, we have never been to Clear Lake, much less hiked around it. Located off Hwy 126 just south of the junction with Hwy 20 in the Willamette National Forest, the Clear Lake trailhead is next to the parking lot of the Clear Lake Resort where cabins, fishing supplies, boats and kayaks are available for rent. We arrived early before the parking lot filled and started our hike along Clear Lake's western shore.  When we reached the southern edge of the lake, we took the cutoff trail to the Sahalie and Koosah Falls loop, which extended our hike and enabled us to view these beautiful waterfalls from the western side as well as the well known eastern viewpoints. 

After completing the loop around the falls, we returned to Clear Lake and continued our hike up its eastern edge, passing the spring which is the headwaters of the McKenzie River and the northern edge of the lake. In reading up on Clear Lake, we learned that the lake was formed 3000 years ago when lava from Sand Mountain reached the river and backed up the water to form the lake. Hikers and boaters can still see remnants of the drowned forest in submerged trees still standing under 120 feet of water. The water is near freezing which is why these trees have not fully decomposed after 3000 years.

The northern part of the lake provides for views of North and Middle Sister. It is also here that we saw beautiful reflections in the lake, which at times had a turquoise tint. In returning to the lodge, the parking lot was filled to overflow. Our entire hike, including the waterfall loop,  was just less than 10 miles and under 1000 feet of elevation gain. People wishing to see the beautiful colors need to hurry before the leaves fall.

What's in the October, 2023 Bend Premier Newsletter?

• Bend Home Sales Down While Rate of Price Increase Drops
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Beginning with Pre-Approval
• Hike Pamelia Lake to Grizzly Mountain
• Explaining Today's Low Housing Supply

Marion Falls is a Hidden Treasure

Marion Lake, on the west side of Santiam Pass, is a lovely lake that we had never seen during all the years we have lived in Central Oregon. The drive to the trailhead is longer than what we normally travel for our day hikes (roughly 1.5 hours), but the 10 mile gravel road off Hwy 22 to the trailhead is well maintained and easy to access. We hiked to Marion Lake on a late September Saturday in which the air quality in Bend was poor. Reports showed that the quality of the air west of Santiam would be better than in Bend, so we felt a hike in this area would be warranted and were able to obtain two passes.

Once we arrived, the trail began with a fairly short hike through the woods to Ann Lake, a smaller body of water in which the lake's rocky outlet flowed under our trail, creating interesting sounds. Past this point, the wooded trail continued until we reached larger Marion Lake. The trail steepened here, passing through some burned forests until we eventually reached Marion Mountain. There should have been great views of Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack from the peak of this mountain, but they were shadowed through smoke. After a short break, we returned down the trail, sampling wild blueberries which were still hanging from their fall foliaged bushes. We knew there was a trail somewhere to Marion Falls in the area, but it wasn't until we consulted with a couple of hikers we met that we were directed to the non-maintained social trail which is not on current maps. We quickly discovered why the forest service does not want people to hike this direction; the path has places which are extremely steep, slippery, and can be dangerous. Careful hikers will find plenty of rocks, trees and roots to hold onto to travel up and down this path, however, to obtain great views of both Upper and Lower Marion Falls. 

The entire hike was 12.24 miles with 2381 feet of elevation gain. We will return to this section of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness soon. There are many trails which we need to explore!