Jefferson Park Backpacking

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.  

Mt Jefferson at sunrise from Russell Lake

Mt Jefferson after sunset from Scout Lake

Mt Jefferson at sunset from Scout Lake

South Sister Summit

I decided to climb South Sister in couple of weeks after summiting Mt Saint Helens. I was so impressed by watching sunrise from the summit of Mt Saint Helens that I decide to do the same this time. Since summit route to South Sister is longer and more difficult, I decided with my group to hike in third of the way in the day before and get some rest before the summit push,

We hiked in from Devil's Lake TH for couple of miles to Moraine Lake. Since the lake was few hundred feet below the trail, we decided to find a secluded spot in the wood next to the summit trail. 

At 1 AM, we made a start for the summit. First mile was almost flat and left us wondering to what's going to come ahead. In the dark, we couldn't see much. We only had a faint trail to follow to the summit. We reached teardrop lake, 2000 feet below the summit. Temperature was dropping down and it was getting windier. We had a quick snack break and kept going upwards and onwards. Up till this point, we haven't seen any groups. We started discussing that are we the only crazy souls to do this, that can't be true! After few minutes, we saw few headlamps coming our way and it immediately gave us some sense of relief that we are not the only ones on the mountain.

We reached the summit half and hour before sunrise. Temperature was definitely below freezing. We took shelter in one of the windbreakers at the summit and waited for sunrise. It was cold. I was wearing everything that I carried up with me (Fleece, Down Jacket, Rain Jacket). I was still cold. I also carried my down quilt up to the summit just for the scenario that in case we get there earlier than sunrise, then we'd need something to keep us warm. It came in handy, as we sat in a huddle using the quilt as a comforter. 

Few minutes later, as the sun was coming up, I broke the huddle and walked around the summit ridge to get blood flowing through my body and get some warmth. Soon after, the entire sky was glowing warm orange with a nice glow on the snowfields visible on Middle Sister. I took few shots and enjoyed the summit view before heading down.

Contrary to hike up, we saw tons of people coming up as we were going down. We kept turning around to see our approach as we walked in the dark and had no perspective of how far we have climbed.

Overall, it was about 14 miles and 5800feet of cumulative elevation gain. Totally worth the sunrise view that we got at the top. 

Summit View from South Sister

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Eagle Cap Wilderness Backpack

This was a 4 day backpacking trip to Eagle cap Wilderness in Easter Oregon - One of the most scenic and more popular backpacking loop. I planned this trip 3 months in advance and as the day come closure, weather started to take a nasty turn - rain and thunderstorm expected over the coarse of first 3 days. I had doubts in my mind as I packed up for this trip, but in the end my group decided to give it a shot.

Day 0 - Drive from Portland to Wallowa Lake State park Campground

We left Portland at around 4 PM, stopped for dinner in Hood River and reached the campground around 1 AM. I already had made the reservation for a campsite, so we found our spot and went to bed. It rained all night, heavy rain - which means I packed up a wet tent at the start of this hike.

Day 1 - Two Pan Trailhead to Minam Lake

Before starting a hike, we stopped in Joseph for a good breakfast and made a quick stop at ranger station to check for trail condition and fire closure. From Two Pan TH to Minam Lake is about 7 miles, 2000 feet hike. Trail is mostly gentle uphill with few steep areas. We found a campsite very close to the main trail and setup our tents. As soon as we were done setting up our tents, we noticed dark clouds rolling in, weather had changed from sunny to dark thunderstorm clouds in a passage of 30 mins. We enjoyed all the lightning and thunder sitting by our camp. It rained for awhile, so it was time for a nap. Everything cleared up in few hours before dinner. We had a nice fire going by now and enjoyed dinner sitting next to the fire. That was it for the day. It pretty much rained all night.

Day 2 - Minam Lake to Mirror Lake

We woke up to clear blue sky. cooked our breakfast and with thunderstorm predicted around noon, we started making our way to Mirror Lake. Our only worry was that we have to cross a mountain pass at ~8000feet elevation and we didn't want to get stuck in the thunderstorm exposed on the ridge. It was a short steep climb towards the pass, trail gained about 1500 feet in less than 1.5 miles. Once we got to the top, we could see dark clouds looming in the distance. This was our first view of the Eagle Cap and Mirror Lake just below that.

Lake Basin area

Camping at Mirror Lake

Day3 - Mirror Lake to Glacier Lake

I woke up early and walked to Sunshine Lake before sunrise to capture morning light on the Eagle Cap peak. It was a calm morning and I got a pretty good reflection in the lake.

Morning Glow on the Eagle Cap at Sunshine Lake 

Sunshine Lake at sunrise

My friends decided to base camp at Mirror Lake, but I wanted to go upto Glacier Lake and stay overnight. It was a steep climb over Glacier Pass for about 2000 feet. I got a very nice camp spot by the lake. There was one other group by camping by the lake. 

Day 4 - Glacier Lake to Two Pan TH
I woke up 30 mins before sunrise and hiked around the lake to capture alpenglow on Glacier Peak and Eagle Cap. After doing some morning photography and breakfast, I hiked down to the Mirror Lake and waited for my friends to get ready. Hike out had very specular views through out as we followed another fork of Lostine River. Last couple of miles were very steep decent, which made us all tired. Last day was about 12 miles for me.

Camp Spot at Glacier Lake

Alpenglow over Glacier Peak (left) and Eagle Cap (right)

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