I did a 3 day backpacking trip to Jefferson Park from 12-Sep-2014 to 14-Sep-2014.
We started at the Breitenbush TH. 6 miles drive to this trailhead on Skyline road took almost an hour, since the road was in awful condition with giant boulders and potholes.
First 3 miles are mostly forested. Trail went up gentally as we followed PCT south. After that you enter a sub-alpine area which looks like a moonscape or some extra terrestrial landscape. Trail continues to climb aggressively toward the Park Ridge. As you get to the top, view opens up to the entire Jefferson Park and Mt Jefferson is standing right in front of you. You can see Russell Lake from the Park Ridge. From here it is all downhill as the trail switch backs down to the lakes in the Jefferson Park. First is Russell Lake and then as you follow PCT, Scout Lake and Bays Lake comes next. There are trails all around in this regions with many small lakes in the area.
Jefferson Park is probably the best place to see Mt Jefferson in all its glory. I tried to capture few moments here. I was hoping for some more clouds to get more drama in the sky, but instead I got perfectly blue sky for all 3 days.
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| Mt Jefferson at sunrise from Russell Lake |
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| Mt Jefferson after sunset from Scout Lake |
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| Mt Jefferson at sunset from Scout Lake |